anexcerptfromapost

The "Experts"

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As I have gotten older I have come to realize that in my life there is no divide between men and women, that women can be as cruel to men as men are to women and to each other, I've seen that men can also be as emotional, as interested in fashion, poetry, writing, love and things we associate mostly in the media as feminine. In my early twenties I remember feeling so angry at men, blaming them for bad relationships and hurtful memories, bad sexual experiences and big fights. Shaking my finger at ex boyfriends as if to say, "You messed up!" Magazines reinforced this attitude, books like "Men are from Mars..." made it easier to believe that, behold, I was right to think men were all the same, they were going to hurt us and we had to develop a tough skin and "learn about men" and men are taught that we are "emotional" and they will have to deal with these women or find certain "types" to have a relationship.

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My non-expert, non harmful advice: Love the people around you for who they are, don't expect people to be different or the same, don't hold men and women to standards, don't make lists of what you want from friends or lovers, be open, be honest, and use the pain in your lives to grow, don't be cruel to people, listen to everyone, try to understand perspectives, be patient with me and each other :)

xxx

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