
If you wanted to take a tragic view of both genders, I think you could sum up the male side of things with a quote from Jack Donavan,
“Masculinity is tragic. Masculinity is a lifelong struggle, a gauntlet run against nature and other men to demonstrate virility and prove one’s worthiness as a man in the eyes of other men. Masculinity is a challenge to honor that ends only in death – a challenge to win coupled with a guarantee that, eventually, even the best man will lose.”
On the other hand, the tragedy of the fairer sex could be summed up in a line from “Centuries” by Fall Out Boy.
“And you’re a cherry blossom
You’re about to bloom
You look so pretty, but you’re gone so soon”