I don't remember why it first started, but I can say with complete certainty that one of my most-used phrases goes like this: "Oh my God, I hate men." Before this is taken in the wrong way, allow me to elaborate. No, I do not actually hate the entire male gender, not by any means. I do not mean to say that all men are horrible, or commit acts that I detest. However, in what usually seems to be the case, there are many negative experiences and instances that stand out more than the positives. Therefore, too often I find myself caught up in the moment when my friend tells me the latest news about what some guy said or did to her, and it comes out in an exclamation of generalized strong dislike.

What exactly is it that I hate? I hate the way my friend came to me during dinner the other night and said that she feels hopeless, that there is no guy out there in the world who will treat her right. I hate that there are days when I feel the same way, or when another of my friends relays a story about how she feels wronged in one way or the other by another guy. Especially over the past few months, I have noticed a worrying loop of situation and circumstances that negatively impact my close friends about whom I care a lot about. For making my friends feel as if their self-worth has been lessened, I hate men.

Of course, not every man has reason to be hated, nor do they deserve it. Just as not every girl is completely innocent, not all of them are victims as they might claim to be. As stated, there are always exceptions. I know that there are guys out there who would never want a girl to feel less-than, or as if they are not capable of being loved, and I am sorry to group you into such a broad and generalized category.

There remains a flaw in the system, certainly, where so many girls feel as if they do not deserve to be treated as humans because past experience has pushed them aside and let them be brushed away like a child's toy grown boring and used. What does that say about our society?

And what does it say about our society where it has become such a pattern that it happens not once, or twice, but time and time again until we, as girls, feel so beaten down. We know there are genuinely good guys out there, who treat other humans just as that - as humans, that is - but by the time we cross paths, we have become so jaded that it becomes impossible to believe that there could be good. And where does that leave those guys with good intentions?

Therefore, when I say that I hate men, I actually mean that I hate what our society has become. I hate that we are caught in a cycle of low self-worth and hurting one another, and for no outcome. No one deserves to feel as if they are less-than, or that anyone can determine that their worth as a human is lower than anyone else. I hate what our society has made us become.