"A Homemade Piece Of Artwork": Guy Hates GF's Birthday Gift, Says It Makes Him Uncomfortable

Many people want to get their loved ones something special for their birthday. But what is considered special differs with each person, so it’s important to know the birthday person well for the gift to be well-received.

For his birthday this year, this redditor’s girlfriend decided to make the gift herself. But the artwork she made didn’t evoke the reaction she likely hoped for; instead, it started a fight and resulted in the guy wondering if he was being a jerk to his partner. Scroll down to find the full story below.

For people who love giving gifts, birthdays, not to mention Christmas and similar occasions, are something they look forward to with joy – they get to watch their loved one’s face light up with joy after unpacking their present!

While that sounds like the perfect scenario, it’s not a universal one, as a) not everyone is equally excited about having to figure out what the best gift for someone is, b) even when you think it’s an excellent gift, the person on the receiving end might not. That’s why it’s absolutely crucial to think about the specific person when getting them a gift, as what works for some might fail completely given to others.

In her piece for The New York Times, journalist Kate Murphy delved deeper into the psychology of gift-giving, emphasizing that context is everything. She noted that according to a study carried out by an assistant professor of marketing at West Virginia University’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics, Dr. Julian Givi, people often give gifts that reflect the desires of the giver rather than the recipient. “People tend to fall into the trap of not fully putting the recipient first,” Givi told the New York Times. Needless to say, that can result in some unenthusiastic birthday people.

The OP’s gift didn’t fall into the category of things she would love to get, but her boyfriend wouldn’t; they have previously discussed the lack of artwork in her partner’s home, and she took notice. In this aspect, her gift was well-thought out and personal – two things that a good gift should be. However, what she didn’t know was what kind of artwork her boyfriend would like; or more importantly, what kind he wouldn’t.

According to Statista, paintings are the most common type of artwork displayed in people’s homes; data reveals that just over a half of respondents from the US had paintings hanging on their walls. The second most popular kind of artwork was photographs (displayed by roughly 30% of surveyees), followed by ceramics (displayed by a quarter). However, even more popular than the latter two is… nothing. Yes, the most popular option of artwork, following paintings, is no artwork at all.

It’s evident that for some people, no artwork is better than artwork they don’t like; the OP’s story is just one example of that. That doesn’t mean that his girlfriend’s artwork was unworthy of showcasing or that it was bad; it just shows that art is a deeply subjective matter and not every piece is equally liked by everyone. Another great example of that is the story of a man who found a Pablo Picasso painting—worth roughly $6.6 million—in his home that had been hidden away for years because his mother hated it.

Just like the Picasso-hating woman, the OP, too, wasn’t fond of the new piece of artwork he had in his home, and he didn’t hide the fact from his girlfriend. While many netizens didn’t think that that made him a jerk, others shared a slightly different opinion. Both sides took to the comments to express their views.