Some of my best friends are women and have been there for me in ways that my other guy friends certainly haven't during bouts of loneliness during times of lockdowns.
But perhaps it is different when it comes to partners.
But perhaps it is different when it comes to partners.
> I've cried in front of maybe three SOs. In each case, they were very understanding and empathic about it and their sexual attraction toward me started a gradual but inexorable slide to zero.
> I've learned my lesson.
If you're a man and you're with a woman who stops being attracted to you because you've cried in front of her, that's a great thing, because you've dodged a bullet, and found a strong signal that you should find a better girlfriend.
If you want to roll the dice then fine. But some of us are sick of being hurt and seeing others getting hurt.
In fact, I think this is common enough that it contributes in part to the high suicide rates for divorced men as opposed to divorced women [0] - women have friends that they can lean on emotionally during this time while men don't typically cultivate that kind of relationship.
Nothing can ever be a woman’s fault.
This "men don't cry" thing is a point of toxic masculinity. Men and women both perpetuate it. 'Tis silly.
Maybe some parts of toxic masculinity are perpetuated more by women and the media than other men.
Absolutely. During the Kavanaugh confirmation process I was blown away by how many women spouted off the "boys will be boys" excuse. It was frankly disgusting. In a similar way, the body image problems that so many women have are very much driven by male ideals about beauty.