The Narrative Needs Changing! Please!!

I suppose, everything else being equal – and that is statement in itself – the time will come when the growing list of women I know who have suffered, or are suffering with coercive control, mental and physical abuse, and the many variations of misogynistic game playing that men consider appropriate; when that growing list will stop growing. When it will stand still.

Can it really be that difficult to not be a total dick, at the very least? Can it really require too much reprogramming to realise that the behaviour you consider to be the norm, just is not?

A child is told, once, twice, three times. An adult – once should do it. Establish a marker. Flag up a warning. You are about to do or say something that is not acceptable, so stop. Not hard. Not requiring great intellect. Just basic humanity.

But it seems that we are not yet even at the stage when most men will even admit that, without any negative intentions, their standard response to any number of scenarios is not acceptable. They may consider that there is a matter of degree, but fundamentally not on is not on.

I admit that my life has been a learning curve, and I have had to reconsider and reassess past behaviour. But, strangely enough, it really doesn’t hurt to act as a human being to fellow human beings. And, to those yet to realise the humanity of it, I can assure you it is a whole lot easier than the perpetual one-upmanship that ‘masculinity’ demands these days.

Life has far too many external pressures, traps, trips and tears, to waste energy on proving even the most minor level of superiority. Especially when you are not. Accept that we are no better or worse than how we treat the next member of the human race, and things will get easier, for us all.

Until then, until then, until then!

I stopped being ashamed of being male a while ago, when I stopped being male.

I am human, and I will always stand behind every woman who is treated as less than who she is. There are far too many, and I will always be there. For those I know, and for those I don’t.

Now, about ‘everything else being equal’ ……….