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    Real Men Don't Cry

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    Fucjko
    This document discusses the harmful phrase "real men don't cry" and how it promotes toxic masculinity. It teaches boys that displaying emotions openly makes them weak. As a result, boys grow up believing they must bottle up their emotions and avoid showing weakness to be considered a "real man." This leads boys to have inaccurate views of masculinity and a lack of healthy coping mechanisms. It also contributes to higher male suicide and depression rates. The document argues for moving towards a society with less rigid gender stereotypes where both men and women can express emotions in healthier ways.

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    Real Men Don't Cry

    Uploaded by

    Fucjko
    168 views2 pages
    This document discusses the harmful phrase "real men don't cry" and how it promotes toxic masculinity. It teaches boys that displaying emotions openly makes them weak. As a result, boys grow up believing they must bottle up their emotions and avoid showing weakness to be considered a "real man." This leads boys to have inaccurate views of masculinity and a lack of healthy coping mechanisms. It also contributes to higher male suicide and depression rates. The document argues for moving towards a society with less rigid gender stereotypes where both men and women can express emotions in healthier ways.

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    “Real men don’t cry”

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    This document discusses the harmful phrase "real men don't cry" and how it promotes toxic masculinity. It teaches boys that displaying emotions openly makes them weak. As a result, boys grow up believing they must bottle up their emotions and avoid showing weakness to be considered a "real man." This leads boys to have inaccurate views of masculinity and a lack of healthy coping mechanisms. It also contributes to higher male suicide and depression rates. The document argues for moving towards a society with less rigid gender stereotypes where both men and women can express emotions in healthier ways.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    168 views2 pages

    Real Men Don't Cry

    Uploaded by

    Fucjko
    This document discusses the harmful phrase "real men don't cry" and how it promotes toxic masculinity. It teaches boys that displaying emotions openly makes them weak. As a result, boys grow up believing they must bottle up their emotions and avoid showing weakness to be considered a "real man." This leads boys to have inaccurate views of masculinity and a lack of healthy coping mechanisms. It also contributes to higher male suicide and depression rates. The document argues for moving towards a society with less rigid gender stereotypes where both men and women can express emotions in healthier ways.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 2

    “Real men don’t cry”

    This is a phrase we hear almost every single day regardless of our gender. It is
    usually told to boys or men whenever they feel sad or hurt. It teaches boys that a
    “real” man would not display his emotions so openly and doing so makes him weak.
    This viewpoint is only the tip of the iceberg which dictates conventional and harmful
    gender norms to young children in the form of simple statements, which have
    become so normalised that it is hard for many people to recognize them in daily
    conversations. This particular statement goes back to many generations across
    almost all cultures as it spreads a damaging message to boys regarding the validity
    of their emotions.

    On hearing these words, it becomes clear to us that they refer to a very


    old-fashioned idea of what a man is supposed to be: a strong, dominating provider.
    Crying contradicts this idea as it has been conventionally associated with weakness,
    hysteria and instability- attributes which have been given to women. As a result, it
    becomes extremely difficult for a man to express his emotions in a healthy way
    without being perceived as feminine or weak. For him to be seen as a “real” man he
    is taught to sway to the extreme opposite and to “bottle it all up”. Hence, the words
    “real men don’t cry” prey on a person’s fear of being seen as weak and the need for
    him to be accepted as a capable man; especially in a conservative society which,
    until recently, has not allowed people to reflect upon the effects of such damaging
    ideas.

    Boys who grow up hearing such statements end up with a highly inaccurate view of
    masculinity and a lack of healthy coping mechanisms. If a boy ever encounters any
    stress or difficulty at any point of his life he would find it hard to, or would be unable
    to, reach out to get help as he is conditioned to believe that a man must stay strong
    in all situations and never show weakness. This is a major reason why suicide rates
    and depression for men is higher but is not spoken about in many communities. Men
    also become emotionally stunted because of their inability to identify and process
    negative thoughts and emotions. Not only do they internalise misogynistic
    stereotypes, they also pass them down to the next generation.

    All of these effects point to a greater problem, which is toxic masculinity. Boys grow
    up with a fixed mindset which focuses mainly on trying to prove their masculinity by
    acting on false stereotypes, which ultimately end up spoiling their ability to bond and
    create meaningful relationships. Toxic statements which promote the ideal of a “real
    man” choose to ignore the importance of the vulnerability people need to get a
    deeper understanding of themselves and others.

    As the people of our society become more educated, there is a greater importance
    given to psychology and feminism. We have started learning about mental health
    and therapy on a much deeper level and have started talking about healthy ways of
    coping with heavy emotions and expressing our feelings. Not only that, we are
    working towards a society which is open to people expressing their masculinity and
    femininity in different ways. More men are starting to open up about their
    experiences while growing up with such harmful statements. These statements
    which promote toxic masculinity are now being dropped by many people and boys
    are being comforted, rather than being criticized, whenever they feel like crying.

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