Men and Crying: Social Stigma vs. Emotional Benefits of Tears

If you believe that men who cry are sissies or weaklings, you need to put down your caveman club and join the world. Real men need to cry, are healthier when they shed tears and are more manly for having done so. We brag about being so technologically advanced. But in the realm of emotion and psychology, we are paleolithic. And paleolithic is a good metaphor for the misnomers about men, emotions and crying. 'Lithic' refers to stone; humans are not made of stone. We are vulnerable to pain and suffering. As the Merchant of Venice, Shylock says, 'if you cut us, do we not bleed?'

If I hear one more person refer to emotions or psychology as gushy woman's stuff, that men are more 'physical', I'm going to start breaking a few skulls myself. Where does this notion come from that the mind and the body are separate entities? Do humans carry emotions in a detachable carrying case that we can pick up or put down at will? Of course not. Not only are the mind and body connected, but the mind and emotions control the body. They mind or brain, through the hypothalamus regulates the complicated endocrine system (aka hormones) which direct our entire system. That's why steroids are so dangerous. They screw up the delicate balance of the hormonal system. And lest anyone think that women are the only hormonal gender, it may be a good idea to remove head from sand and wake up to the fact that the human species is ruled by hormones, not just the female gender.