Becoming Her Superhero

I want to say this clearly first: I deeply believe in women. In strong women, fragile women, resilient women. I believe in female heroes with all my heart. Women have fought for space, for a voice, and for recognition for so long, and they absolutely deserve to be celebrated.

But maybe because so many women are finally beginning to tell their stories openly, I also feel the need, at least for a moment, to turn my gaze toward the men who quietly stood beside them with kindness, loyalty, and love.

The men who never tried to overpower women, but supported them. The ones who listened instead of speaking over them.

“The ones who stayed.”

When I close my eyes and think about the moments someone reached out a hand to me, I so often see the face of a school friend, a classmate, an old friend. Boys and men who probably never saw themselves as extraordinary, yet in those moments they were exactly that. I think those stories deserve to be told too.

Because patriarchy has harmed women deeply, but it has also hurt many men — teaching them to hide their sensitivity, suppress their emotions, and mistake hardness for strength. And in today’s world, many good men end up thrown into the same category as those who never respected women at all, even though they spent their lives doing the exact opposite.

“I don’t believe in men vs women.I believe in people who love unconditionally.”

People who choose to stay when things get difficult.

People who make others feel safe.

People who quietly become someone’s strength without ever asking for recognition in return.

And maybe that’s why writing the short story “Becoming Her Superhero” touched me so deeply.

Because it tells the story of a man who isn’t extraordinary in the way the world usually defines heroes. He doesn’t save the world through violence, power, aliens, or some epic apocalyptic battle. He becomes someone’s hero through presence.

By the end of the story, you realize he’s speaking to… but I won’t say who, because that would spoil one of the most beautiful parts of the story.

But, maybe we don’t only need superheroes who save the world from destruction.

“Maybe we need stories about the kind of hero who reaches out a hand and never lets go.”

In a world where we are constantly connected digitally, that physical hand — someone truly being there — has quietly become something urgent, rare.

Maybe that’s the kind of hero we need more of in stories.

And maybe in real life too. 🖤