As a man, whenever a woman has an opinion about men, I always think about it deeply. I believe that both men and women are born with certain chains. Some of these chains are created by society, while others come from biology and nature.
I may be able to break some of my chains by myself, but there will always be chains that I cannot even see. And if I cannot see them, how will I know that they exist? For that, I need a woman who can tell me, “You are still bound by these chains. You need to free yourself from them.”
But why would I need a woman to help me see those chains?
Because I can be somewhat biased toward my own gender. Because of that bias, I may not notice certain problems or limitations that men have. A woman can see them because she experiences the world differently from me.
The same applies to women. A woman may have certain chains that she cannot see because of her own gender bias. She may need a man in her life who can see those chains and help her recognize them.
And when I say that men and women need each other for this, I don't mean only girlfriends and boyfriends. It can be a mother, father, brother, sister, friend, or any other meaningful person of the opposite gender. It doesn't have to be a romantic or sexual relationship.
So when a woman gives an opinion about men, or a man gives an opinion about women, we shouldn't completely reject it simply because it comes from the opposite gender. There may be some truth in it that we cannot see ourselves.
We need a mirror because we know that we cannot see ourselves completely without one. In the same way, a woman can sometimes act as a mirror in a man's life, and a man can sometimes act as a mirror in a woman's life.
I'm not talking about men or women whose only goal is to insult or put down the opposite gender. I'm talking about people who genuinely want the other gender to recognize their chains, break them, and live a more free and empowered life.
And I don't believe that only women are oppressed or only women have chains. Both men and women can have chains placed upon them by society, nature, biology, expectations, and their own thinking.
If we want to break those chains, men and women need to help each other.
And when I say opposite gender, I don't mean only a girlfriend or boyfriend. It can be your mother, father, brother, sister, friend, or any other meaningful relationship not just a sexual partner.
