9 Comments

I have read this about four times. I interpreted a few things:

1. Women are no longer dependent on men to reproduce (I mean, they are but I mean, they don't need to be with a male partner). They can just single parent it with a donor.

2. Intimacy and sex are some of the only real experiences we have left that we can share with someone.

3. The breakdown of relationships and the preference of other things in the place of sex.

4. Men and manhood being silenced by the "toxic masculinity" or "me too" culture wars. Male experiences being slowly rubbed out of the notebooks because although "not all men", men aren't allowed to have a seat at the table at the moment. Instead, they are reduced to 'inconsequential flesh'.

Am I barking up the wrong tree?

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No, you aren't. You've nailed it. Which is pleasing. Thank you for reading it four times. I know I should write in a simpler way, but sometimes I just splurge what comes into my head onto the page as a stream of consciousness. The result works for some people, but not everyone, independent of the topic.

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Oh no, the complexity was absolutely fine! It was really interesting to get this POV from a man, too. My husband often talks about how men have been vilified on social media even though if you want men to care about equality, they have to have a seat at the table. Shouting at them and eradicating their existence doesn't improve the outcome for women. I enjoyed this. Thank you.

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He's a smart man, with a smart wife 😊. We do need more intelligent conversation and less divisive shouting. I just try to hold up a mirror and continue to turn it both ways.

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I have read the text on a cup and I am already enough of this.

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I'm not preaching here. The ironic can be found in the symbolic.

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Johnathan, thank you for clearing it up. I will take time to read it then.

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Johnathan, I have read it all. I find the use of X and Y to be very innovative and poetic way to talk about gender dynamics in a society. Keep it up and greetings from Vilnius.

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Thank you so much, Tomas, for taking the time to engage with the poem. Your comment is a great summary! All the best to you.

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