i am at last myself

i think you've VERY fundamentally misunderstood the point of my post tbh

men and boys first and foremost hurt themselves to avoid being perceived as their lessers (i.e. women and gay men)

— The Will To Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love (2004), p. 66, by bell hooks

the entire point of the of the post is that i'm not going to sympathize with men experiencing "rituals of power that will assault his self-esteem" when that self-esteem is built on and maintained by the foundational belief they must be inherently superior to me

if they gave up that belief, those "rituals" would have very little power. but they clearly understand that they benefit from patriarchy more than they are harmed by it, which is why they won't let it go

Naomi Scott as Skye Riley SMILE 2 (2024) Dir. Parker Finn Costume Designer: Alexis Forte