When I type the word “meninism” into my Microsoft Word document, it underlines it red. Even Microsoft is like, “Don’t you mean feminism? Dude, Are you SURE about this??” No, Microsoft, I mean meninism. While yes, females everywhere have faced centuries of oppression and even today, in most cultures, are viewed as inferior to males, the topic of meninism in terms of the expectations placed on most males starting at birth needs to also be addressed.

I cry every time I see "Marley & Me" no shame. Literally, every time I look into that yellow lab’s eyes on my television, my own eyes get pretty misty. That dog was a best friend and confidant despite the family events and dog beaches he ruined. Imagine watching that entire movie and forcing yourself not to shed a single tear. Welcome to a man’s world. I remember one of my guy friends telling me that in the last two years, he’s cried once. What are you talking about? I cry at least once a week. I cry when a bomb a test I studied 30 minutes for. I cry when I break a brand new iPhone or M.A.C. lipstick. But I’m a GIRL. It’s expected that I flip out and ball a river while drinking a bottle of Barefoot when a photo of some blond hussy and the guy I’ve only been talking to for three weeks surfaces on Instagram. Meanwhile, if a guy dates a girl for two years and she cheats on him with one of his friends and he’s seen weeping in the corner of a Chipotle, that’s not manly, dude. Instead, he’s expected to go chug a case of Budweiser and go kick that kid’s ass.

There is an enormous amount of pressure placed on males in society to always be emotionless, bacon loving, big truck driving vats. It’s a little f’d up. Here’s the thing. While we’re all boys and girls, we are most importantly humans. Scientifically, thanks to our fantastically large brains capable of solving logarithms AND figuring out clever jokes to make about Taylor Swift, we can have emotions. Not only that, we can react to them too! How cool!! Also, science (psychology) says that if we ball up our emotions and neglect to react to them, that can lead to pretty severe psychological stress and an onslaught of various psychiatric disorders including depression and bipolar disorder. Perhaps that is something to consider instead of tossing around phrases like “little bitch” and “pussy” every time a guy gets upset about something.

There is also an enormous amount of pressure placed on males in society to score with the ladies as much as humanly possible. It’s become a form of validation. So while I’ve ditched the Barefoot and am onto Ben & Jerry’s after seeing that dude with that blond hussy, he’s probably thinking about how much of a lady killer he is for fooling me and scoring with her. We’ve raised generations of men to value sex more than the emotional content of a relationship. In college, the excuse is that it’s college. But due to the sexual habits heterosexual men form in the earlier years of their lives due to societal pressure, marriages are often torn apart because there is such a disconnect between the values of a husband and the values of a wife.

When the image of a great man comes to mind, I don’t necessarily think of some tall, strong fella with a big ole beard. It’s the abstract notions of respect, virtue, and humility I most associate with a good man. For me, being a great man isn’t about being gay or straight. Tall or short. Republican or Democrat. A great man is a great father. A great husband. I really don’t care if he cries at Marley & Me.