What it is
My working definition is short on purpose: a man protects. A man protects the weak and defenseless.
Not a man who wins, earns or dominates. Size, money and title don’t count. What counts is who you stand in front of when it matters, especially when they can’t do anything for you in return.
How it shows up for me
I wrote it angry, after watching the people who handled a case protect no one. They weren’t men, I thought. They were men-children, men-something-else. The anger was real, and so is the standard it left me with: I measure myself by it, and some days I come up short.