Truly Entitled Women Usually Display These 11 Obvious Behaviors Without Realizing It
Truly entitled women aren't afraid to put themselves first.
stockfour / Shutterstock Expressions of entitlement are often rooted in our life experiences, stereotypes, and societal expectations, and truly entitled women usually display certain obvious behaviors without realizing how they are coming across to other people. From weaponizing their own perceived weaknesses to expecting male peers to be protectors, these self-centered behaviors not only harm the woman herself but also the people she interacts with.
The flavor of entitlement may vary from vulnerable entitlement, which is characterized by low self-esteem, trauma, and emotional dysregulation, to grandiose entitlement, which manifests in antisocial, emotionally secure, and self-assured tendencies. But regardless of how it manifests, women who do these things sabotage themselves and the relationships that would otherwise add value to their lives.
Truly entitled women usually display these 11 obvious behaviors without realizing it
1. They ask for special treatment
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Many entitled women believe that they’re deserving of special treatment simply because of who they are, without any specific attachments to merit, knowledge, skills, empathy, or trust. When their needs aren’t met, it’s “unfair,” because they feel they should be the center of everyone’s universe, whether it’s at work, with a partner, or in family dynamics.
According to a study published in the Psychological Bulletin, entitlement is often associated with this expectation of special favors and treatment. Even when these expectations and needs aren’t met, the disappointment and anger that follows urges them to fuel their exaggerated self-image, restarting the cycle of entitlement and reinforcing these entitled beliefs.
Entitled women, specifically, may ask and expect more special favors from their male counterparts, subconsciously putting them in provider roles for their own material and emotional benefit. Often in alignment with societal norms and expectations, this entitlement can manifest in several ways, whether it’s in the workplace or an unbalanced personal relationship.
2. They expect men to be protectors and providers
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From expecting men to seek high-paying jobs, to avoiding conflict and confrontation, and choosing traditional domestic roles in relationships, truly entitled women usually display these obvious behaviors without realizing it in their everyday lives, whether it’s at work with male co-workers or at home with their partners.
They rely on traditional norms for their own benefit. But ironically enough, it’s these “male-breadwinner” archetypes in personal relationships that actually predict the risk of eventual separation, according to a study published in the American Sociological Review, putting men in impossible positions where their fundamental needs go consistently unmet.
So, even if an entitled woman is getting her needs met from a man in every way, the sustainability of that relationship is shaky, as she’s holding him to unrealistic and unbalanced expectations.
3. They weaponize their weaknesses
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Whether it’s their physical strength, their safety, or solving a complex problem, many entitled women will weaponize their societally perceived weaknesses to avoid discomfort or difficulty. Even if they are competent enough to take on a project at work or resolve a dispute at home, they weaponize their incompetence and socially defined gender weaknesses to make other people, usually men, do it for them.
These women want to be taken care of, to have other people constantly doing things for them, and to avoid discomfort in all forms, even at the expense of their later well-being and relationships. While the average woman may suffer at the hands of these stereotypes and beliefs, entitled women leverage them to manipulate other people and protect their own internal comfort and stability, even if that means avoiding corporate growth, personal development, and true self-esteem.
4. They refuse to help others
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Many entitled people, outside the context of gender, are motivated to help others only when there’s status or prestige involved, as a study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin explains. Essentially, they’re willing to help others, but only if it helps them, their social image, or their status in some way.
Whether it’s avoiding conversations where they know they’ll be asked for something, like a work meeting or a problem-solving huddle at work, or dismissing people’s struggles, truly entitled women usually display these obvious behaviors without realizing it. It’s obvious to friends, co-workers, and family members that the moment things go awry, that one entitled person is nowhere to be found.
They don’t reach out, don’t offer their help, and surely don’t make an effort to support others if it takes away time, money, and energy from their own lives.
5. They start petty arguments
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When other people don’t drop everything to help them, men in their lives don’t protect or provide for them like they’d expect, and they're forced to do things themselves. It’s not uncommon for truly entitled women to have disproportionate reactions. Even if it’s something as simple as needing to pay for a meal with their partner, they’re immediately disappointed, angry, resentful, and judgmental.
Entitled women’s reactions to other people are characterized by the degree to which their own needs are fulfilled, according to a study published in the Frontiers in Psychology journal, so if someone objects to helping them or putting them first, they’re not afraid to turn to petty arguments and hostility.
A study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology argues that entitled people spark conflict and bring hostility to many aspects of their lives, because they’re more interested in defending their self-image and purporting a specific narrative than truly supporting and bonding with others.
6. They flaunt their wealth
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A study published in Scientific Reports found that despite being under-researched, psychological entitlement plays a large role in shaping consumerist beliefs, spending behaviors, and the pursuit of status symbols and material items in daily life. Specifically for women who tend to face pressures to feed into trends and consumerism at higher rates than men, it’s not surprising that spending, status, and spending influence many of the behaviors that truly entitled women feed into.
Whether it’s buying status symbols, flaunting their wealth on social media, or living a materialistic lifestyle, truly entitled women usually display these behaviors without realizing it. They may also be more prone to taking on debt or overspending, as their internal “deservingness” influences spending decisions and financial habits, rather than financial stability or security.
7. They dismiss other people’s needs
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Truly entitled women tend to actively dismiss and invalidate other people’s needs constantly, putting themselves first in any and all relationships. Even at the expense of their relationships’ fitness, they overlook other people’s need for physical affection, emotional support, a balanced lifestyle, and help when their own needs and desires get in the way.
It’s no surprise that the presence of entitlement in relationships lowers intimacy, considering entitled women are constantly urging partners to overlook their own basic needs in favor of their own. There’s no balance, vulnerability, or connection, because one person is also walking on eggshells trying to protect and provide for the other.
Especially in hetero-relationships, where entitled women adopt and pressure male partners to fit into misguided and harmful gendered roles, there’s a loss of true intimacy and bonding that balanced relationships benefit from.
8. They seek external validation
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Many people who operate with a sense of vulnerable entitlement, characterized by lacking self-esteem, a need for attention, and insecurities, seek constant external validation from people around them. It’s one of the needs that they put above everything and everybody else, even at the expense of healthy connections and relationships.
According to a study published in the Social Psychological and Personality Science journal, entitled women who believe they’re more deserving than others in life are more likely to seek security, attention, and validation from men in their lives, even when they’re aligned with toxic beliefs like providership, female inferiority, and male dominance.
9. They invalidate other women’s success
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Considering entitled women are more likely to operate under misguided gender beliefs and toxic patriarchal norms, it’s not surprising that they also invalidate other women’s success on a daily basis.
When other female peers are successful in high-paying roles, boisterous careers, healthy, balanced relationships, or independent lifestyles, it feels like a personal attack toward them and a threat to the manipulation of traditional stereotypes they leverage for their own advantage.
Especially if they’re in a leadership or managerial role with women below them in places like the workplace, they may be more likely to treat them poorly or weaponize stereotypes at the expense of their well-being.
10. They never apologize
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People with entitlement traits are less likely to seek forgiveness, apologize, or take accountability, according to a study published in the Personality and Individual Differences journal, considering their self-image and social perception are fundamental to their sense of security and validation.
Suppose they believe apologizing or taking responsibility for their own actions will put them in danger of being perceived more negatively by others. In that case, they’ll avoid it by any means necessary, including blame-shifting, playing the victim, and manipulating others, even if it would support and benefit another individual.
11. They’re overconfident in their abilities
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Regardless of whether they have the skills, knowledge, confidence, or competency, like a study published in the Journal of Personality Assessment explains, entitled people believe they’re deserving of everything they want and everybody’s time, space, and attention. Whether it’s in the workplace or in their personal lives, they’re overconfident when talking about their abilities and less concerned with how well they’ll actually perform.
From a new job they want, to a potential partner they’re seeking out, and even material status symbols, they’re not afraid to lie and inflate their own skills and ideas of “deservingness” to inflate their own self-image. Even if this overconfidence is generally linked to worse outcomes, from accuracy to performance, and even social perceptions of competency, they’re not afraid to maintain this overconfident attitude when it serves them well.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
