What if we stopped waiting for men to fix everything?

This is a bit of a meandering post, and I don't know how well it will be received. I'm still thinking about this, so I'd love to hear other people's thoughts too.<br><br>I've been reading a lot of posts about women being frustrated with men not doing enough. And I get it, I'm frustrated too. It feels like every time a man makes an effort to support women's rights, he's ridiculed, ostracized or told he's doing it wrong.<br><br>And then there's the opposite end of the spectrum where men get praised for doing the bare minimum.<br><br>What if women started taking care of our own needs? What if instead of waiting for men to figure it out, we just started doing it ourselves?<br><br>Not with the intention of getting men on board, but because we don't have the luxury of waiting. Because every day that passes, we're losing ground. Because every day that passes, we're losing the opportunity to make a difference. Because every day that passes, we're giving men the power to dictate our future.<br><br>And what if men saw that? What if men saw that women were taking control of their own destiny? What if men realized that they're not the heroes we're waiting for? What if they realized that we don't need them to be heroes?<br><br>What if we stopped waiting for men to fix everything? What if we started fixing it ourselves? What if we stopped trying to get men on board and instead started getting women on board? What if we started working together as women, without men? What if we started creating our own spaces, our own movements, our own organizations?<br><br>What if we started supporting each other, instead of waiting for men to support us? What if we started lifting each other up, instead of waiting for men to lift us up? What if we started taking care of each other, instead of waiting for men to take care of us?<br><br>I'm not talking about exclusion or division. I'm talking about empowerment. I'm talking about autonomy. I'm talking about taking control of our own lives.<br><br>Because if we don't, who will? Because if we don't, when will it happen? Because if we don't, what will we be left with? A world where women are still waiting for men to fix everything.<br><br>What if we stopped waiting? What if we started doing? What if we started now?