We hear constantly about how men and boys always have to respect women and girls, but pretty much never the other way around. I strongly feel respect is something both sides have to earn and it should never be automatically granted purely on the basis of gender. Which itself is asinine as gender doesn't automatically make one good or respectable. I've known plenty of rotten women and girls in my time who were hands down the most unrespectable people I've ever had the displeasure of knowing in my short life, between abusive and cruel female school staff members and bullies who never got properly reprimanded for their actions. No doubt due to the overwhelmingly favorable treatment girls often get in schools and always being let off the hook because apparently things like bullying and bad behavior are perfectly fine if it's girls doing it. I'm still tormented by memories I had of my extremely abusive third grade teacher I had and also an abusive female staff member at a kindergarten who would painfully step on me with her high-heeled shoes when I was napping, for no reason at all. Also one instance where a female student in my third grade class falsely accused me of spitting on her and I almost got beat in the schoolyard over that. Over the years I've had my share of unpleasant encounters with women, including one who years ago exposed herself to me in public by flashing her breasts to me and soliciting me for sex.

Obviously none of these things merit respect whatsoever, and yet despite this we always hear about always treating women and girls with respect and how it's men and boys who need to do better, even though nobody's also telling women and girls like these they need to do the same. You can imagine how personally triggering and upsetting hearing things like "believe women" and "respect women" are for me, with these horrid experiences I've had. To say nothing of how female on male instances of abuse, violence, mistreatment, etc. are constantly underreported or not taken seriously or how misandrists like to downplay them claiming it's never as severe as the other way around. Which we know is BS.

It's ridiculous that being female is emphasized over merit and decency. I firmly believe respect is earned regardless of gender, and both good kind women and men alike who conduct themselves in a respectable manner and do things worthy of respect deserve it. To claim women and girls should always be treated and regarded with respect no matter what devalues and cheapens what respect is all about and especially when there's so many terrible women and girls who don't deserve it at all. I've known many women in my time who deserve it and many who don't, and those who don't get none from me whatsoever. I've known plenty of women (and men as well) who don't deserve it one bit. Want respect? Then earn it by being respectable. It's honestly a very easy thing to earn and you earn it primarily by being a kind and decent person, and doing the most minute yet kind of things like holding a door open for somebody or helping someone haul their groceries. To not just expect it but outright demand it and purely because of something like gender automatically makes you unworthy of it. Respect is earned on an individual basis and not automatically granted purely because of things like gender. The notion of always respecting women no matter what has absolutely cheapened what respect truly is when it's been extended to tons of women who don't deserve it whatsoever, like Amber Heard.