It's time to debunk another gender stereotype: men can be just as emotional as women. The problem is society, which penalizes them if they express their feelings and show themselves vulnerable.
Last update: July 08, 2022
Sensitive, empathic, vulnerable and even sentimental. Men are just as emotional as women, although for a long time they have been described as strong and emotionally impenetrable.
Emotions and their expressiveness have been, until recently, an unequivocal symbol of weakness, and even of "hysteria".
Gender stereotypes have always been a cause of discrimination, paving the way for certain ideas that may later be difficult to refute. For centuries it has been believed that masculinity is synonymous with strength, restraint, determination and courage.
Women, on the other hand, are associated with that fragility derived from a deep emotionality. Factor that invalidates and reveals the instability.
Luckily, science is on our side and provides us with evidence of how obsolete and erroneous these approaches are. A study published in the journal Nature provides us with interesting and revealing data on the subject.
Men can also suffer much more than women after a relationship ends.
Beyond hormones: men are as emotional as women
This idea was addressed in a study conducted at the University of Michigan and Purdue University in the United States. The researchers monitored and analyzed the emotions of 142 men and 142 women for 75 days. Online questionnaires were administered to monitor, in private, how they felt throughout the day.
This daily follow-up in which everyone recorded their mood facilitated obtaining data on emotional stability and on the fluctuations of both sexes.
Hormones and emotions in women
The women who took part in the experiment were divided into two groups: those who took oral contraceptives and those who did not. The scholars were able to observe that hormones do not significantly affect mood swings.
Neither PMS nor menstruation causes greater emotional variability. On average, emotionality is under control. This fact is more important than it seems at first glance.
An example: throughout the twentieth century, women were excluded from much research on the idea that their hormonal fluctuations would make the data unreliable.
Men, on the other hand, were preferred as they were considered safer and biologically reliable. Now this may change. Today we know that this is not the case.
Men are as emotional as women (sometimes even more)
To date, no biological basis has been identified to support the myth that women are more sensitive and emotional than men.
According to the aforementioned study, conducted by Dr. Adriene Beltz, men are just as emotional as women. There are therefore no significant differences between the two sexes.
Similarly, research conducted at Lancaster University indicates that, on average, men handle emotional breakdowns worse and they express even greater feelings of distress and sadness.
This deep emotionality often translates into a worse management of emotional states and a higher risk of suffering from anxiety, depression, etc.
In general, men are taught to repress their feelings, and this results in worse resources with which to regulate negative emotions.
Patriarchal societies and emotional repression in men
Boys do not Cry. This message is a mental echo for many men. Especially for generations prior to millennials. Tears and emotions belong to the weaker sex, i.e. women, who are allowed to express what they feel, sometimes labeled weak or even hysterical because of it.
Gender bias, so entrenched in patriarchal society, has traditionally vetoed the male gender in many ways. One of these, the most classic, lies in the impossibility of expressing what they feel. Crying, being vulnerable or sensitive require adequate and necessary containment.
A society aimed at repressing emotions results in many cases in emotional illiteracy. It is obvious that men also feel sadness, happiness, heartache, hope and joy in the same way as women.
However, they are forced to hold back, to hide their pain, to contain what they feel. Ultimately, to leave inside what should be expressed outside.
Normalize the expression of emotions beyond gender
Neither emotional stability is a characteristic of men, nor are mood swings of the female gender. We are all emotional beings with their occasional ups and downs.
We are people who process reality through the emotional filter and who react to stimuli through this channel. Some better and some worse.
Neither sex is more emotional than the other. The problem lies in repression, dysfunctional education and gender stereotypes that continue to shape us. It is time to dismantle many of these outdated ideas to gain a better understanding of the subject. Because whoever is skilled in the art of emotions is skilled in the journey of life.
