Men are Believed to be Bold in Difficulties Compared to Women

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Men are Believed to be Bold in Difficulties Compared to Women

Since back in the medieval period, men are believed to be capable handling difficult and stressing situations in life.  In the past, men were primarily involved in war and hunting in dangerous places. The community tends to believe that men are powerful and less affected emotionally. As a result of misconceptions, numerous men have perished from depression due to cases such as post-traumatic disorders. The society discourages men from expressing their emotions publicly. The paper discusses the issue of gender over-expectations regarding men and ways of enabling men to express their emotions in the community without the fear of being disgraced.

As discussed by Joan Morgan, hip-hop music is one way in which women and men relieve their stress, especially the African Americas (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle P. 535).  As indicated by the following statement, “much content in the hip-hip music is about chemical dependence, substance abuse, and alcoholism," shows that singers composed their songs to console themselves out of depression. As exhibited by Morgan, hip-hop singers who are especially men tend to utilize words such as “hos and bitches” which is a sign of low self-esteem. For instances, the Africans Americans have experienced discrimination and grueling situations such as unjust killings and long jail terms (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle p. 534).  Due to the limited advocacy to counsel and help men heal their current and past wounds, a majority have shifted to hip-hop songs, not to educate the mass, but to entertain and drive away their thoughts.  According to the views of Morgan, due to the choice of words used in hip-hop music, many men who are African American rarely attain the maturity level (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle p. 534).  Her statement is showed by the sentence that men’s expression in the music makes them appear less powerful, instead of confronting the evils affecting their community directly. The book shows that the community encourages men to utilize harsh methods including bloodshed to solve key issues. Moreover, the author exposes some of the regrets uttered by the black individuals who have been jailed for involving in violent activities.  “Although I admit that the charges leveled against me are unfair, I believe I should not have paid with my life" statement shows that confrontation is a dangerous way of solving key problems in the society (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle P. 538). 

As discussed by Michael Kimmel there are specific codes that govern men’s behavior (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle P. 540).  The society has conditioned men to believe that men should never cry, not show bitterness, to be aggressive in the accumulation of wealthy, to be muscular and not to be polite in order to establish themselves easily.  The discussed men's codes by Kimmel showed how the society encourages men to deny their weaknesses as well as feign their emotion. Men are expected to pretend and be tough upon discovery. The discussed codes increase competition among men, and after continuous failures without success, most men turn to options such as committing suicide (Colombo, Cullen and Lisle P.541).  Men are advised not to consult or to be a deep relationship with the opposite sex but to stand on their own.  It is considered unmanly for one to stay with his mother for an extended period.  The discussion by Kimmel is similar to the thesis statement in the paper. 

Due to gender classification, men are expected to watch particular programs, which is prevalent in the current culture. For instance, men are expected to watch action movie the display violence and recklessness. On the other hand, women watch movies such as Soap Operas the shown the values of showing one's emotions while solving family issues.  Consequently, men learn to converse their bitter emotions, making them uncontrollable in future. 

Robin William who despite being a comedian committed suicide amazed Jessica.  In her statement, "individuals who spent their lives cracking hilarious jokes should make themselves happy, " but William's suicide confirmed her perception to be false (Deevoy Para. 4).  Jessica was disturbed on how a seasoned comedian became desperate to the point of preferring death. The statement by Jessica expresses how the society less expects men to be overwhelmed by emotions. Men in most instances tend to feign emotions in order to appear bold and reliable. Thoughts if not managed properly are detrimental.  All human beings are relatively the same and require counseling during difficult times to express their fears.  The society has neglected the emotional concerns of men, which jeopardizes their lives leading to cases such as drug overdose, murders, fights, and even suicide as committed by Robin.  Consequently, during difficulties men can turn out to be less overbearing compared to men. Statistics exhibit that more men commit suicide compared to men. As described in the article by Jessica, "people expect me to show a high degree of aggression," which mean the women display their pressing issues to the public easily (Deevoy Para. 22). As a result, they are able to obtain assistance to eliminate negative thinking.

As discussed by Reiner, men have to be honest with their emotions order to succeed in life (Reiner Para.3). In addition, they should be open concerning their challenging experiences to obtain help. Reiner witnessed that the number of school dropouts among men is increasing compared to women. Research by Harvard University indicated that boys who are about 4 years of age tend to be more emotive compared to girls, a trend that declines significantly due to the societal influence (Reiner Para.3).  Consequently, the society should encourage men to avoid feigning their emotions. 

In conclusion, men tend to be affected extensively by emotions compared to women. Most women are able to discuss depression issues, which make them relieved. The belief that men are bold and should never show their emotions is damaging and likely to claim lives of individuals. 

Works Cited

Deevoy Andrian. I can be a bad girl but I'm not going to punch you. Sunday Post, 2014.

Gary Colombo, Cullen Robert and Lisle Bonnie. Rereading America: Cultural contexts for critical thinking and writing. Bedford (688), 2016.

Reiner Andrew. Teaching man to be emotionally honest. Education life. The New York Times, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/education/edlife/teaching-men-to-be-emotionally-honest.html?_r=0