If the root commentor is being serious, then I think it might be a trauma thing. Their profile specifically calls out being queer, and I can imagine many scenarios in someone’s past where conversations about being “masculine” or “manly” were… un-fun, let’s say. I know I felt some uneasiness as I initially read the headline and article summary due to my own childhood experiences. I’ve been told to “grow a pair” and “be a man” too many times for conversations around masculinity to be easy, and that’s as a bi cis man (I can sometimes appear to conform to the societal norms while being true to myself). I’m sure that it’d be much harder for someone who is gay, nonbinary, or a trans woman.

I dunno. I see trauma in so many things nowadays. Maybe it’s there in this case, maybe it’s not, but I figured I’d call it out. Their trauma and the responsibility for managing it and healing from it belongs solely to them if it exists. If they’re being a bad faith actor, then they can fuck off.

You’re probably not wrong, but I’m not busy today.