Hey, it's International Men's Day! It's a good day to remember that men (both trans and cis) are harmed by toxic masculinity and our culture of machismo bullshit.
Men can have depression, men can be abused, and they often feel they can't talk about it or express emotions.

Our culture spreads some really damaging stereotypes and expectations about what a man should be. A lot of men simply *can't* grow six-pack abs and a ten inch dick. A lot of men simply *can't* benchpress their own body weight or earn a million dollars or beat anyone up.

I think it's important to lift up heroes and role models that can show other ways to be a good man. Jonas Salk. Leonardo Da Vinci. Muhammad Ali. Steve Irwin. Bob Ross. Mister Fred Rogers. Mister T. Alfred Nobel.

I often don't feel especially connected to my own manliness. In cases where I do feel like a man, it's often in a negative way - I've struggled with my own internalized misandry and unproductive guilt about the fact that I'm the same gender as... y'know... most rapists.

You know what really sucks? Vulnerable boys who are emerging into manhood, uncovering and deciding who they're going to be, who then run into so-called feminist discourse that tells them that the thing they are becoming is inherently dangerous and bad. Maybe don't do that.

So yes - in a totally non-sarcastic, honest way, I would like to commemorate International Men's Day. It's a good day to lift up and celebrate and honour men in your life and around the world. Let them know they can ask for help. Let them know they can be both great and good.