A Man Can Only Change So Much

“A man can only change so much.”

Taking a shaky breath, I continued my speech.

“Because after a certain point, is he really a man?”

With that, everyone in the audience shifted.

“Are there certain things that are inherent in men, that if removed would render him ‘other’? Not to say that if we take away this or that, a man would become a woman. I would never demean women to say that they are a lesser form of man.

“But I propose that there are some things that a man must be, some things he has to be, or the core of who he is or will become is eternally destroyed.”

There was an audible smirk from the back row of the auditorium. I nervously continued.

“While we may not care about what makes a man a man at the present time, I believe that without men being men, and nurturing that within them, women cannot be women in the truest sense. And trying to change men from who they are too much will bring about the destruction of our society.”

I paused and then went to continue.

Someone yelled from within the audience, “How dare you call yourself a woman!”