I am a 49-year-old, “toxic male” with a wife and a 17-year-old daughter who is about to go to her senior prom.

I am white, I am born-again (read privileged) and, I am male. I am the antithesis of the “victim class.”

I also respect women for what and who they are. Partners, friends, co-workers, mothers, daughters, wives and more. My respect for women, the need I feel to protect the women I love, and the desire to see them flourish is ingrained in me. I do not consider women equal to men, in many respects they are superior creatures. In some situations, a man is superior. It’s not a contest, it’s a synergy.

I’ve worked with some amazingly talented women (and men) over the years. I have also worked with total idiots on both sides of the gender spectrum (if you can call two genders a spectrum) and that’s really the point. People should be judged individually and not as a group. When I think of the perfect woman for me, she is strong. Independent in ways, but relying on a man to help make her better, and vice versa. The thought of the bleach blonde, airhead stereotype is not at all attractive to most men I know. Women are every bit as valuable in their opinions, outlooks, and abilities as men are in most situations.

Does that mean I want a woman in the foxhole next to me when my leg is blown off and I need someone to schlep me to an aid station on their back? Of course not. Women don’t belong in battle, but ideally, neither do men. This insidious third wave feminism that tries to demonize all men while making so many women miserable is not about female empowerment. It’s about destroying the natural, God-given bond men and women are supposed to have. It’s meant to make all men out as some variant of Harvey Weinstein, and to turn women into a spiritual mess. It’s poison.

If you as a woman choose not to be a mother and go for career over family, that’s your choice. I personally think you might be missing out on the absolute most amazing thing a woman can do; bring life into this world, but again, your call. Don’t make other women seem like failures if that’s what they want to do though. Don’t confuse your rights as a woman with those of an unborn child either. It may be your body, but when a woman is pregnant, there are two people involved. Three if the woman will allow the father a say in the matter, which so often is not the case.

Don’t let the liberal “elite” fool you. Most men adore and revere the women in their lives, and would lay down their own life to protect them. We respect, admire and appreciate the women around us, and just because we believe in family and the indispensable role women play in that regard, does not mean we want to keep women “barefoot and pregnant” or remove their right to vote. Or, even more ludicrously, we secretly desire to make the world of The Handmaid’s Tale come to life. Get real.

Women have a place in society, as do men. We are all in this together, and the price men have paid socially the past thirty years or so due to a few bad apples is unfortunate. We have been turned into Al Bundy, Homer Simpson, and every other dumb male stereotype out there, and it’s sad. My wife and daughter (and Mom!) are beautiful, intelligent human beings with strong personalities and well balanced attitudes about who they are individually and as part of a family. They’re awesome people, and I love and respect them for who they are.

We all need to show more respect and love to one another generally, but I don’t see the kind of sexism, disrespect and vitriol feminists claim all men display towards women. It is our honor and duty to love the women in our lives. To respect and cherish them. To help them when needed, and to have them help us.

We are each one side of the same coin. Different yet inseparable, as God intended.

Have a good night at the prom honey, and if your date (even tries to) do anything to harm you, I can promise you he’ll have a “come to Jesus” moment very quickly…

…cause that’s what good guys- and Dad’s – do.  🙂

Chris Tome