I Have Something to Say

To all parents of girls and young women:

You aren't going to protect your daughter from being hurt by teaching her to be afraid of men. It is important for us to be able to spot the bad guys and avoid them, or at least keep them at arm's length, and you may be able to help them with that. But chances are, if your daughter is like me, and most other women, she will probably want to find love with a man at some point, and she may also want to have male friends, as well as female friends. This is a healthy part of life, though some parents of young girls probably shudder at the thought of their daughters ever having a boyfriend (as my parents did).

I think it's safe to say that almost every woman will probably come into contact with at least one jerk during her lifetime, probably more than one if her luck is anything like mine. If you really want to make sure that she doesn't experience any more pain than necessary, at the hands of these guys, the best way to protect them is to teach them to value themselves, and to maintain firm boundaries. If they value themselves enough, they won't cling so desperately to the first guy who will have them.

I wish my parents had taught me this when I was a kid.