I can’t remember the last time I cried. I try not to cry – not because I feel it’s unbecoming of a man, but because it doesn’t make me feel good. For so many people, tears are a form of catharsis, of letting go of ones emotions. I’m not a robot, I have emotions. While sometimes I do feel sad and want to cry, I just try to channel that feeling into something else, like focus and attention on a task.
I think it’s healthy to cry – I sometimes wish I cried more because it just feels good to let out your emotions. What I don’t appreciate is people crying at the drop of a hat, or people who mock the tears of others. It’s not necessarily even about tears, but showing some sort of emotion – tears are the most obvious as they are a physical manifestation of emotion. I also think it’s terrible for woman to be reproachful of men for showing their emotion – after years of encouraging men, why are they now discouraging men for doing so?
It makes no sense. If it is a reaction to the gender disparity in the work place, as posited by the article, then that is just ridiculous. Because men and women are almost on an even keel, does not mean it is okay for women to belittle men. This reminds me of an older CSI episode, in which the wife was the powerful lawyer, and the husband was a stay at home father. The wife was overbearing and hurtful to the husband, and in retaliation, the husband strayed and reenacted scenes of domination against the wife with a dominatrix.
These disparaging remarks do nothing – they do not help the situation. They push men further back – rather than show their emotion, they bottle it up until it reaches a breaking point. Everyone should be allowed the expression of their emotions, regardless of their gender.
Are tears OK, or should men ‘man up’? | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal.