It really bothers me when people say that men are protectors, not because I don’t want them to be, but because most aren’t. I’m speaking in broad generalities here, and certainly there are exceptions, but generally, this is how it goes... A woman spots a threat in her world, she goes to a man who is in a ‘protector’ position, a father, a brother, a husband, etc. She tells him what her concerns are. The ‘protector’ dismisses her concerns as hysteria. “You’re being paranoid”, “I’ve not seen him do that!”, “Not all men!”, “don’t be such a feminist.” And so she receives no protection. Instead she needs to arrange and manage her own protection. She forms alliances with other women. They text each other when they know they will be in the company of men they don’t feel safe with. They have code words. They share their location. They keep their phone near them waiting to go find and pick up their friend if needed. They help scheme on how to gather evidence. They are the shoulder to cry on when protection attempts have failed. And they are the support group when deciding how to manage an assault. And still, the ‘protectors’, don’t even believe them, let alone join any effort to protect. Gents, if you consider yourself a protector, if that is something you wish to be, I love that, I support that. Just please fucking do it! Please actually do the protecting. The women are exhausted with doing all the protecting. They could use your help!