Express Your Emotions — But Only If You’re A Man

We’re currently hearing that men are sad, lonely, depressed and so on. Books are launched and training delivered to encourage us all to talk about men’s feelings, show their emotions and not resort to anger so readily. Can’t really argue with any of that, and some good guys are doing sterling work towards this. I won’t reinvent the wheel on the subject, so <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mens-mental-health-man-up-is-not-the-answer" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">here are some stats</a> on the state of things for men. There’s a lot of work to do, and we must acknowledge the issue. Until men work on themselves, violence against women won’t go away. Amid all this enlightenment, however, two questions arise— <ol> <li>Why are women’s feelings still being dismissed? Sometimes even by men claiming to be allies or supporting men in voicing their emotions. Surely, if we’re validating emotions, it can’t be only for the guys.</li> <li>Why are we encouraging emotions in men yet still seeing ‘emotional’ women as weak, irrational and unreliable? <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/932596" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Studies show that</a> men and women are equally emotional, yet women are negatively pegged with the label. The study’s author, Adriene Beltz, stated:</li> </ol> <blockquote> For instance, a man whose emotions fluctuate during a sporting event is described as “passionate.” But a woman whose emotions change due to any event, even if provoked, is considered “irrational,” </blockquote> On social media last week alone, I read: “Cat-calling is not abusive”. — The statistics vary, but an <a href="https://stopstreetharassment.org/resources/statistics/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">astonishing number</a> of girls and women have experienced Public Sexual Harassment, often starting in childhood. (Yes, childhood — no matter how ‘mature’ some girls look, when they’re 12, they’re children.) <a href="https://medium.com/modern-women/express-your-emotions-but-only-if-youre-a-man-7bb6e1f76cea">Learn More</a>