So, after going through a day of messages and memes about Men’s Day which ranged from blatant nonchalance to bickering attention, it made me think about the men in my life who have shaped it in some way or the other. Of course, it goes without saying that many many amazing women have changed my life in a big way. But I have been blessed to find some great male role models as well – personally, professionally, and/or as family.
I have had boys who stood up for me in class when I was being ridiculed for wanting to play cricket. I have had guy teenagers who have shown kindness that we generally cannot fathom 16-year-olds to have. I have male cousins who celebrate their sisters and nieces and daughters’ achievements like their own. There have been colleagues who gave me their respect irrespective of my gender and bosses who did not let me get away with a bad self-review, just because I wasn’t sure of myself. I don’t even want to get into the whole thing about my dad because then this post will become a book.
Of course, I don’t think these people are great as the benchmark is just doing the tiniest thing right. I have had my fair share of misogynistic encounters as well. And I also know that not everyone may have had such experiences.
But I am grateful for the men in my life – at least some of them anyway. Not because they are men but because they are just great human beings who happen to be men.
