LogFAQs > #876840309

Gamer99z posted...

Nobody is forcing men to internalize anything.

in a sense, that's actually not true

"force" may be a gray word for it, but it's definitely "encouraged" with social conditioning
young boys are still often told by adults to stop crying, to "man up", instead of letting it out
the opposite of what many girls are told...

and society still CHOOSES to perpetuate this because of the perceived benefits and the "unattractiveness" of the alternative
in many ways society demands strong men and the common belief is that means being stoic, not "weak"
many women expect such emotionally repressed men and find the more sensitive males repulsive, defective
they want to be the ones who shed tears while a man "should" be their rock
parents, fathers and mothers, tend to more often shame a son for not striving for sooner independence and success
while letting the daughter live at their nest for as long as she "needs"
all of this due to expectations that shape gender norms, not vice versa

in my country, men have benefits for being male
but, even as a woman, i can see all the obstacles and suffering they still endure too
suffering that's partially exclusive and some that are a worse degree than what women typically experience in those situations
just like how women face certain things worse than men

even with privilege, males have a lot to feel depressed about and afraid
i can't justify telling them to bottle up how they're feeling when i'm told never to

maybe it's easier for me as a lesbian to value an emotionally free man than a stoic one since i'm never looking for a potential husband, not waiting for a Superman to rescue me, not disgusted when a timid man offers me help or needs mine

when you're someone who strives to understand the problems girls and women face, it shouldn't be difficult to see a similar number of issues tormenting boys and men too, dismiss either and i question just how humane you really are...
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le Moo