Men.

Do you like men?

I'll be brutally honest—I don't. I know it's not something to be proud of, but it is what it is. I want to like men, cause, DUH, I'm a man too! However, try as I may, it has become increasingly difficult for me to trust, let alone like, men.

Why this self-loathing, you may ask? Am I not technically hating myself? Do I not sound like those misandrist fourth-wave feminists who cook up their own problems just so that they can villainize men?

Probably I do. And trust me, I do not like it one bit. 

Nonetheless, I cannot help it. 

It's just that the way men have usually behaved with me (and with the people around me—mostly women, but sometimes also "weak/effeminate" men—whom they love calling snowflakes—) has forced me to view them with disdain and suspicion. 

I could directly relate a particular incident, but I am too embarassed (moreso I do not wish for a scandal) to do so; suffice to say that when lawyers and feminists say men can be beasts, they mean every inch of it. Men are ruthless, heartless creatures. 

Do they ever cry? Do they ever express remorse? Do they ever think twice before hurling abuses? No, they don't. 

(I'm not saying that women don't. Dont you dare bring such arguments here.)

While hurling insults they don't even think twice—I've never seen any creature be so obscene and libertine in their ways as men! Short-tempered, hot-headed, impulsive—whatnot!

They will not hesitate from escalating the slightest of disagreements to full-blown fistfights. I've seen this happening in my college too many times now—even the most unintentional or innocuous slips of tongue can flare up temperatures and precipitate a flurry of detestable abuses and even a few blows. Na baap ka lihaaj na maa ka na beti ka, gaaliya aur laat ghoose to inki jeebh par ataki rehti hai—ki ab ucchlu, ab koodu!

A few months ago, while "attempting" to referee a football match, I kicked the ball too hard, causing the nail of my thumb to break. Immediately blood started oozing out. I cried for help but the people playing there simply told me "man up" and sit down—everything would be okay. 

Now I concede that I'm probably not the best example of an ideal man. I'm weak physically (not very athletic either). I'm soft-spoken. I..cry very easily....maybe you could say I'm emotional? Empathetic is the word, they say.

Have I committed a sin? Is it a cardinal sin for men to cry?

Why this insistence on machismo? What do you want? Cold, stony, arrogant,  muscle-toting, moustache-twisting ruffians? Why do you want men to become stick and stones? 

Tell me, Sigma males of the 21st century, will shedding a few tears slice your penises in half? Or will some random guy willingly deciding to embrace his feminine side cause testosterone levels to plummet to NaN?

(Personally, I find feminine-presenting men [and contrastingly, masculine-presenting women] attractive. However, let me not digress.)

Notwithstanding everything I have said, the one reason I despise most men is the way they view and treat women. 

Men rape, murder, assault, harass, denigrate, objectify, and suppress women. They ensure that women never rise to positions of power, and if they fail to do so, precipitate such circumstances that it becomes impossible for the woman to live in peace. 

(Who opposed the criminalisation of marital rape? "Mens' rights organisations".)

They can't stand female comedians.

They can't stand female priests.

They certainly can't fathom women showing some skin (neither bare-chested heroes nor sarees[wherein significant skin is visible; not that it's something to be ashamed of] in movies does not elicit any response from such people, but a women wearing somewhat revealing clothing—say, a two-piece swimsuit or a bikini or, um, crop tops—makes them lose their minds.). 

Aparrently obscenity is the woman's vice alone. 

(If you're so particular about propriety, I would suggest that you stop worshipping Kali altogether. She doesn't wear any clothing whatsoever.).

Ghoonghat, burqa, hijab, niqab—religions, the brainchild of dissatisfied men, have engendered novel ways to keep women obscure and in control. They are often denied entry to mosques and temples, barred from participating in religious activities while they're menstruating (a natural phenomenon that is irrationally considered impure in almost all world religions), prohibited from officiating as purohits and imams—the list goes on and on. 

Don't even get me started on how religious scriptures characterise women. From blatantly saying that the female brain is worth half the male brain to denying any sort of independence to women, scripture is probably single-handedly responsible for the issues women face today.

Who wrote these scriptures? Mostly men. 

(I say mostly because there is some evidence that suggests that certain hymns of the Rigveda were composed by women. The same goes for Theragatha.)

How many women hold agricultural land? How many women inherit ancestral property? 

Heck! How many husbands take their wives' surnames? 

The point of this article is not to spread misandry—yes, contrary to what fourth-wave feminists say, it very much exists. The point of this article is....I don't trust men...and I want to change my perception of men. I know hating an entire group is just plain bad. 

Bigotry begets bigotry. 

(In fact, despite my intense disdain for men's rights activists, there are certain points on which I agree with them. Perhaps I shall address them in a different article.)