Those DAMN Men!

Man 2.0 has arrived

I did it. I quit. I’ve torn up my Man Card and cancelled my membership in the Distinguished Alliance of Male Networkers or DAMN. Didn’t know such a thing existed did you? It seemed like such a good deal for a long time, but as I grew older I became aware of some unintended consequences resulting from my membership with DAMN. Members of DAMN are generally good, caring guys (and I mean guys, with the XY chromosome pair). The vast majority of them are well-intentioned and compassionate. I still have DAMN friends. But like everyone else, many of my buddies at DAMN have blind spots, especially as they have to do with XX chromosome-defined beings.

Here’s my story. I’ve been a DAMN member most of my adult life. Even as a youngster I was heavily recruited, getting letters in the mail about the many benefits that awaited me upon entry. As a DAMN member I was told I would have special privileges like not having to wait in line to go pee or take notes at a meeting. Yard work, unless it involved a two-digit horsepower, combustible engine, was not the domain of members. Women would have to do those things the advertising pamphlet promised. “Cool,” I thought as a 10-year-old.