By Sam, blog ambassador of Youthoughtism
When expressing or processing emotions, men and women are told to have different reactions and society often has unrealistic expectations for all of us. While men are often told to ‘be manly’ or ‘toughen up’, women are viewed as sensitive. These standards that society and the older generations have told us are extremely toxic and can even cause people to have mental health problems. However, the truth is that: we are all humans and it's okay to show our emotions.
There’s no argument that women are likely to express their feelings more often than men. From an early time, men are always expected to keep their emotions inside, which helps them to maintain a ‘strong’ image. Men are told not to cry in front of other people because it is considered a sign of weakness. They are also taught to ‘man up’ which means to be brave and tough all the time. Nevertheless, we all have emotions and sometimes we have to express it and not bottle it up. These cultural norms and gender stereotypes are just not right. Suppressing emotions because you are ‘manly’ doesn’t make sense at all. Thus, no one should stop us from expressing our emotions.
‘Over dramatic’, 'sensitive’, 'emotional’, if you’re a woman, you’ve probably heard these words describing your behavior a lot of times. Women are often viewed as too sensitive and are prone to express their emotions. They are more controlled by emotions. The general stereotype in society is that men tend to be more logical, analytical, so women, in contrast, appear to be more emotion- driven. In fact, these opinions are all created by how majority of the people in society think, but not the naked truth.
The reality is, we are all equally emotional, regardless of gender and identity. Some just show it more, and others prefer not to. Thus, we should see emotions in an objective way, and not categorize our thoughts stereotypically.
We ought to accept how others choose to express themselves, in spite of their gender.