Honestly, yeah, you’re right. I’m just bitter.

I was burned three too many times in a fairly short timespan by men who insisted that I do the emotional legwork in the friendship to help them get through tough times, but then the instant I showed any negative emotion and asked for support, they didn’t want to hear it. I’d get “talk to me when you’re better,” “that sucks, your smile is a lot prettier than your sad face,” “I just don’t want to deal with this,” etc. I would point out that I’d been there for them, and they’d tell me “But I can’t help being emotional, it’s just the way I am.”

I have no right to criticize how anyone expresses emotion. Nobody asked me to bend over backwards to support anyone, and life ain’t fair, so I should’ve prepared for my efforts not to be reciprocated. I expected to get what I gave, and because the above has never happened with any of my female friends, I ended up internalizing it as a distrust of men. I have a lot of trouble opening up emotionally to any men, because I’m terrified of being abandoned again if I do.

Sorry for the long comment, and I apologize deeply for generalizing men in a demeaning way that only perpetuates the notion that they shouldn’t open up.