"That's bullshit," he huffed, picking at some of the food absently, "Families can't even exist without women." Gracie had mentioned facing hatred for her gender as well, and it frustrated him that there really wasn't much he could do to change things. For them, for himself. They were all stuck in a system that degraded them for nothing more than their existence. He was told he used to be overly protective, and he was beginning to understand why.
Hearing that even her own family had been the ones to hurt her felt so unfair, because that wasn't something that a child could escape or fight against. Family was supposed to be the ones that protected and supported you, not the ones that caused the pain. He had no idea what his own parents were like, what they thought of him, but he was glad they were no longer around to witness what he'd become.
"Sometimes I still feel like I deserved it," he admitted for only her to hear, biting into another berry. "Because I was too weak to stop it, ya know? And that maybe if I were pure..." he sighed, shaking his head, not wanting to excuse the actions. Feeling like it was his fault was what they did to him, the hatred of others and self they had forced upon him, and he needed to learn to escape that too. Otherwise he was letting them win, enforcing their ideals and bigotry.
"But look. We've survived this far, right? We're stronger than what was done to us." He gave her an encouraging smile, knowing words really weren't enough, but wanting her to feel less alone.