Living in a society where the role of women has been clearly defined, men and women are subjected to formative expectations that heavily influence their perception of men; discouraging their emotions. In this fabricated and stereotypical society, men are expected to be the ‘man of the house’ or ‘breadwinner’, depriving them of their basic right to feel.
This is fairly evident in Asian societies where the notion ‘men don’t cry’ has been passed down generations, creating that schema that men are meant to be strong and should have their life together. Well, this isn’t the case! Regardless of their sex and gender, men should also be given the safe space to convey their feelings and emotions without their masculinity being questioned, as emotions are not based on gender. This notion further has negative implications within society as it influences the way men are likely to behave in their relationships - romantic relationships and friendships.
This negative perception and discouragement of men’s emotions has led to men developing the idea that they can’t be expressive as emotions make them less ‘masculine.’ Hence, in romantic relationships, especially in high school relationships, men tend to hide behind the facade of being uncaring of their significant other, leading to the deterioration of the relationship itself. Our society should nurture a relationship of mutual respect and love. However, due to social stigmas, men tend to be inexpressive of their emotions, contributing to a damaged relationship. Gender stereotypes are damaging to our society as they can lead to disoriented perceptions.
Lack of empathy and consideration towards men’s emotions has negative implications as men are expected to keep everything together, however that strategy doesn’t last too long, getting expressed through negative outlets such as aggression. Gender should not be a factor that determines someone’s emotions or how they are meant to behave as these boundaries get crossed very frequently, having damaging consequences not only on the individuals themselves but the society they are raised in - growing up to show unlikeable personality traits.
How is it possible that society is never questioned on these unhealthy expectations and their troublesome impacts? It has been evident prominently in the past where men were seen as the breadwinners and were seen as uptight and in control; however, these were just the expectations that had forced their behavior into something unnatural. In modern society, more research has been conducted into men’s psychology and the consequences of these social stigmas, therefore, these stereotypes should be abolished. At the end of the day, human emotions are the same regardless of gender. Crying is not a sign of weakness or inferiority, in reality, it's a sign of strength and occasionally everyone needs to have an outlet to channel those emotions. These are the key points that should be noted:
Crying is not a symbol of weakness
Gender does not define someone’s behavior
Men’s emotions are just as important as women’s
Traditional views are not always right
The stereotypes in regards to men and women should be abolished
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