I never had a son. If I had, I would have encouraged him to be open, caring, considerate and empathic.

Somehow I managed to avoid the worst parts of this trap, though I still find it very difficult to cry. I think growing up in the 60s when everything was being questioned helped, and also having a very close friend that was not afraid to express things that men didn't normally express. And my father was a gentle man, unless he was very angry, which was rare. Also, there were a lot of strong women in my life, so the burden of "being in charge" was spread around and not laid exclusively at the feet of the men.