blindness

male blindness

1. The perceived inability of men to see, understand, or appreciate the struggles or difficulties faced by women in society. The incredulity so many men express regarding the pervasive pay gaps between men and women of similar roles is indicative of the male blindness that is still so entrenched in our society. It isn't malicious or intentional, it's simply that the comparative lack of harassment faced by men on a day-to-day basis leads to male blindness about how intrinsic it is in the life of a woman.

2. The perceived tendency of a man to focus solely on or be completely distracted by the physical attributes of women. I was chatting up a really cute guy at the bar, but as soon as that busty, scantily clad brunette came walking through the doors, he suddenly came down with a bad case of male blindness.

See also: blindness, male

nose blindness

informal The inability to notice a particular scent, typically after regular or prolonged exposure to it. Also known as "olfactory fatigue." Do cat owners just have total nose blindness? How else do they tolerate having a litter box in their house?

See also: blindness, nose

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

male blindness

n. the imagined failure on the part of a male to see approaching dangers owing to the male’s eyes being focused on a some well-proportioned female attribute. After an attack of male blindness, he walked into a lamppost.

See also: blindness, male

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.