Society and families are really good at celebrating women, mothers, girls. Girl power, women in STEM, and the like. Less so with men. Even in committed, loving family units, women garner most of the praise. Think of how Mother’s Day outshines Father’s Day, which probably makes sense given the more hands-on parenting very young kids tend to receive from their moms. The breadwinning function, often shouldered disproportionately by men, isn’t typically appreciated, if at all, until much later, particularly as grown sons slog through the workday to support wives and kids and a light bulb suddenly goes off. In truth, much of this is more or less fine. We men don’t tend to need too many showy words or affirmations to feel validated, purposeful, or successful. Our spouses can show their love and we’re cool with that—and yes, the bedroom very much counts in that regard. Still, it can frustrate men’s pride to hear the din of social media constantly denigrating them and nullifying their unique contributions. Wherever work necessitates physical strength, courage and the willingness to get literally filthy, men participate disproportionately, whether its repairing sewer lines, removing garbage and rubble, mining minerals, securing people and pets from burning buildings, fighting wars, building bridges, rockets, particle accelerators, or whatever. Without these guys, society would literally fail. And when a workaday type does a double shift to make sure the kids have decent clothes or dance lessons, chances are it’s a dude. So we know we’re necessary. But are we always appreciated? Hell no. One thing’s for sure, though: the influencers dismissing men couldn’t lift an axe or hang suspended from a bridge to save themselves.