Welcome to Cheaper Than Therapy, a newsletter by Shani Silver.
Content Warning: Mentions of sexual assault.
Societal norms and a fear of ostracization make me begin by saying I believe in love. I desire love, I see love happen around me all the time—I know it’s a real thing and I want it for myself as well as anyone else who’d like it, too. Now that we’ve got that shit out of the way: What the hell is going on?
It doesn’t matter if I’m speaking directly to a friend in my personal life, or scrolling through Are We Dating The Same Guy on Facebook (do not do this), or watching reels and TikToks. Wherever the information is coming from, the information is nightmare fuel. What are these men doing? Why has our entire sphere of connection been polluted with a seemingly bottomless supply of abhorrent behavior? Why are this many straight members of a gender so inclined to do rotten things to women? We are human beings, I believe in the good in human beings. The vile stories should stand out a exceptions in a collection of heartwarming ones. Any single woman alive can attest to the fact that things are very much the other way around. Which has me asking: Are men worth it?