CENSORED — WOMEN ONLY
by Josie Mac

Any moms with boys out there?
Because listen.
Dude. I had boys.
I grew balls too.
Only apparently, I know how to handle them.
Men love to tell us we’re:

• too sensitive
• too emotional
• too much
  Uh… what? Yeah, we can be. But let’s take a step back here.
  I’ve grown balls — unlike half the men I’ve dealt with.
  And the difference?
  Mine actually WORK.
  Not the fragile kind. Not the performative kind. Not the “I talk big until things get hard” kind.
  We haven’t been partnered with “men.”
  I’ve been partnered with adult-sized toddlers who:
• throw tantrums when confronted
• weaponize your vulnerabilities
• can’t regulate emotions
• expect mothering, not partnership
• use deflection as communication
• cling to kids to fill their own voids
• need constant reassurance
• can’t tolerate accountability
• collapse the second you stop carrying their weight.
  That’s not a partner. That’s a project with facial hair.
  And I’m DONE being someone’s emotional babysitter. Honestly? It’s past time.
  Meanwhile… these men? What have they got?
• Stress marbles
• Deflection marbles
• Feelings grapes
  And somehow they think we’re the emotional ones?
  Meanwhile, we’re handling:
• the kids
• sometimes their kids
• crises
• trauma
• regulation
• survival
  All while keeping ourselves afloat.
  And these dudes fall apart because we “explained something.”
  Boy, please.
  Here’s the part no one says out loud:
  I didn’t just grow balls.
  I grew EBRAI — the kind that actually function.
  EBRAI (pronounced ee-BRYE)
  The balls that actually work.
  E — Emotional balls: Facing hard shit head-on instead of running.
  B — Boundary balls: Saying “no” without explaining myself for 40 minutes.
  R — Resilience balls: Surviving storms grown men crumble under.
  A — Accountability balls: Owning my shit instead of flipping out.
  I — “I’ll handle it myself” balls: Running more than a household — court cases, medical chaos, trauma,
  LIFE.
  Men tally. Men pause. Men age out of accountability.
  Women build EBRAI.
  And once you have it? You don’t argue your worth — you operate from it.
  I grew a whole titanium set — strong enough to hold the damn family up if needed.
  Meanwhile, you’re still searching for yours.
  Let me be crystal clear:
  You’ve been the one with:
• strength
• stability
• follow-through
• and actual functioning emotional hardware
  If they had to do what you do? Their power evaporates.
  So don’t ever let someone tell you that YOU are too much.
  You’re not fragile. You’re not dramatic. You’re not the problem.
  You’re a woman who’s been forced to do the heavy lifting while men with weak-ass emotional kneecaps
  fold under pressure.
  And yeah… you might be “too much.”
  For someone who doesn’t know how to handle a woman with depth, backbone, and standards.
  That’s not your flaw. That’s their limitation.