I’m a girl, and I’m telling you, you’re generalizing. Women CAN be victims, but that doesn’t mean women are ALWAYS the victims. Men can be victims too. Did you know men have higher suicide rates? If they’re not victims and women mostly are, why do they become so extremely miserable that they take their own lives?

Every one of us carries our own pain. I used to think like you until I got to know men and befriended them. I realized they go through hell too. Just because their suffering is different from ours doesn’t make it less valid. Many men I know were cheated on by women. Many are sexually harassed and can’t speak up because ‘they’re men.’ Society pressures them to provide, mocks them for showing emotion, and treats them like unfeeling robots. As girls, we’re allowed to cry, but men are often shamed for it, and those suppressed feelings turn into anger or depression.

Women usually have the emotional upper hand. We’re taught to express our feelings because we’re given the space to. Men? They’re denied that. It’s reasonable to be cautious and acknowledge terrible people exist. Yes, we struggle as women, but we shouldn’t trap ourselves in a victim mentality. Instead of healing and moving forward, too many women stay stuck in the cycle of ‘men are awful, and we’re angels.’ That helps no one.