Hi, I have been lurking on this sub for a bit, I've had some questions pop up as a result of seeing things people say regarding men on social media.

I don't know, not to make it an us versus them debate but I feel as though many people- of all genders-hold a very certain view of men. Commonly ive seen that our relationships are hollow, men typically lack empathy or we are emotionally stunted/ underdeveloped: that men in general are socialized to be X,Y,Z. Furthermore, conflicting views on masculinity and what it means to even be a man! Make no mistake hegemonic masculinities do exist and do harm men... but I feel as though the average joe takes the concept and runs with it.My girlfriend was arguing that people make generalizations to protect themselves, that inherently not all men are ___, just a subset are.

To me that notion feels prejudiced and pedantic. If comments on the internet are to be believed, men, especially Caucasian men encumber the rest of society with BS. I am very aware of my own privilege in being able to freely voice my opinions and such; but I feel as though the many people's rhetoric regards men as inherently privileged and ergo maligned to be the perpetrators of the world's woes without investigating other factors that play. People on the internet-and in conversation-are all to quick to call the kettle black without considering whether they possess the attributes of the pot.

I am aware that physiologically speaking, young men are less developed, men are not typically fully myelinated until 25, but christ, isn't everyone on their own journey here? Isn't the behavior described in many posts just that of an imperfect individual? What gives another the right to comment or compare somone else's life or decisions when we only a glimpse? Is it wrong to look at people as individuals as opposed to investigating every behaviour as a product of larger isolated social trends?