One aspect of male disposability that I have mixed feelings about is its relation to agency. By being disposable, men aren't treated with kid gloves. This shows up in aggregate statistics like the gender gap in sentencing criminals. But most of us aren't going to serve jail time. Readers here are more likely to have their homework graded more harshly, or be considered the toxic party of a relationship after a breakup. Both are painful and should be changed.

But personally one of the things I value most is knowing I am independent and can compete without artificial advantages. It feels nice owning my actions and not trying to get off easy. To an extent, this is cope. But something to be said for personally making lemons of lemonade.