But why do you get to decide what is "for men" and what is "for women"? If thousands and thousands of women worldwide want to work in mining, why do you get to determine that they shouldn't? Women were working construction in the Middle Ages - as I've already told you, so why do you or any other man get to determine that it's not a job for women? Coding used to be a "woman's profession" until somebody figured out that it's not some sort of clerical work, and that it takes actual intelligence and that it must therefore be "for men." Nursing used to be a profession just "for women" but now tons of men are also nurses. Arbitrary rules made up and enforced simply because historically somebody had the power to do that are not "just the way things are." They are the way that we allow for and tolerate.

We used to toleratel children legally working in factories, and 100 hour work weeks for laborers, and no job safety parameters. When we got to where those things were no longer seen as acceptable, changes were brought about - often by decades of advocacy and even violence, and we got 8 hour days and safety standards. I'm sorry, but I don't have to accept discrimination or oppression just because that's the way it is now - and neither does anybody.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the first to say, "I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks."

And I get that work and life haven't been perfect for you, but it's due to the exact same patriarchal dominance hierarchy dynamics that drive misogyny, and racism, and homophobia. That's not just how the world is because it's the only one you've ever known. That's not the only social system, or a "natural" one. It is possible to impact that, and for those who are most direly affected by that shit, you can bet we're going to keep demanding it.

There are countries and social systems where rape doesn't exist, as just one example, because it's seen as unmanly and it's not tolerated. We have the culture we allow for. If you don't care about changing it, at least don't attack those who do care and who are working to make things better - because in the end, that will actually benefit you as well. In countries with better gender equality, men live longer, have better health, and report higher levels of happiness. If you won't support it because it's the right thing to do, at least support it for your own selfish interests.