Touche'.

I'm not a man, so I wouldn't know firsthand what men struggle with.

However, as a survivor of rape and related abuses, I've often thought that I wish I were a man so that I would have more autonomy and wouldn't be abused.

Yet a bit of reflection shows that I am mistaken. Men are under a lot of pressure from a very early age to be strong and competitive, to do their duties without complaint and without expecting anything in return, to view life as a zero-sum game, and to suppress all emotions except anger. That doesn't sound like much of a picnic to me.

You write very well and make some good points. May I suggest a writing prompt for an article on Medium?

What do you need as a man? How can society do better by you? Can you describe this in positive terms without bashing others? Maybe it would help to write it up as an open letter to a woman close to you, such as your mom, wife, or sister.

This past election has shown that we need to listen to each other better. As in Homer Simpson's Epiphany, we need to see that we're all in this together, and other people are people too.

It's hard to listen to the other side when we're flinging epithets and ad hominem attacks back and forth. The election is over, and we no longer need such rhetoric—if indeed we ever did. So, if you can tell us what you need in positive terms, this could be very enlightening to all.

If you like, you can send me a draft, and I can help with editorial suggestions. Early drafts will probably consist of venting, and that's natural. However, others would be likely to read or empathize with a venting piece only if they already feel the same way, and those who disagree would be happy to start a flame war, as these things usually go.

The point would not be to rile up those who feel the same way as you but to communicate across the aisle.

Are you up for it? If so, I'd love to see it.

We're all in this together, and other people are people, too.

Thanks.