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Emma Tyger

Mrs. Cramer

Composition Pd. 4

14 April 2022

Emotions: Equality or Opposition?

A stigma heard round the world is the comparison of men and women’s emotions, often

debated yet never settled. The argument has been carried on for centuries, pounding the idea that

“men cannot show emotion” at a young age into boys. The topic branches a connection into

sexism as well, for it brings beliefs that women are not strong enough regarding difficult tasks, as

they are “too emotional” to do so. If one were to ask the general public which gender they felt

were more emotional, the answer considering society’s viewpoint shall be obvious. It is agreed

that although men may appear less emotional, they are equally emotional to women because they

mask their emotions, feel intensely according to studies, and are overwhelmed by society’s

pressure to appear “tough”.

“A common stereotype in both Western and Eastern cultures suggests that women are

more emotional than men, particularly when responding to negative emotions.” (Introduction,

Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency between Experience and Expressivity)

Growing up as a child in this world, it was easy to identify when the young boys appeared

insecure about their emotions. They often jeered at the girls if they expressed them, and if their

same-gendered friends cried, they were dubbed as a “cry-baby”, told to be a “man”, and thought

to be weak. Despite my non-judgmental feeling towards male emotion, I still remember every

boy that I watched cry as I grew up, for it felt like a crime at the time to see. It was not younger I
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or any young boy’s fault, as it has been societally correct for years for a male to mask his

emotions. “Cultural arguments regarding gender and emotion suggest that women and men are

socialized to experience particular emotions, and at the same time, avoid the experience of

others.” (par. 2, Emotional segues and the management of emotion by women and men)

Emotional experience is not reflected accurately by emotional expressivity, hence the belief that

the gender emotion war should be tabled. “Compared to women, men often show their emotions

to less people, and often only to their nearest and dearest.” (par. 2, Emotions-Differences

Between Men and Women) Men can feel a congruent amount, if not more, of emotions that

women do, and simply only show those they feel comfort around and trust. It has always been

thought to be culturally correct to assume that men simply do not feel emotion, while

realistically, men bottle them up, and in turn cannot express them in a mature way.

With that being said, do men truly feel the same emotions as women do? “Numerous

studies have shown that, compared with men, women usually experience more frequent and

stronger negative emotions.” (par. 2, Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency

between Experience and Expressivity) Oftentimes, it is more so women that will express their

emotion to the general public over men. That may be evidence that women actually feel more

than men overall, because if men truly experienced those emotions, they would express them as

well. Men, who have the advantage in society and are known to be bold label themselves as

superior, and are more prone to speaking their minds. If they could, they would.

Despite the ideology that men may not feel as often as women, they can feel more

intensely, and more so of the “negative” emotions. “-an increasing number of studies have shown

that men exhibit more intense emotional reactions, particularly to stimuli that are perceived to be

threatening or erotic.” (par. 2, Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency

between Experience and Expressivity) Men are typically given the green light in regards to

expressing emotions that can allow them to appear stronger, such as anger. That can lead to the

incapability to determine which emotion they are feeling, and how to handle it. In addition, as

men withhold their emotions for a long period of time, their chance of mental breakdown or

burnout increases. Women expressing emotion more frequently at smaller levels, versus men

having an extreme meltdown once in a great while, allows the comparison of emotional levels

between the genders to remain equal.

As mentioned before, there is a well-known stereotype that men should not show their

emotions, for it paints them as weak. Most men are notorious for downplaying their emotions

when asked. They do so due to their incapability to accurately relay how they feel. “Many men

will often express emotions such as rage or frustrations-“ “-This is thought to be because these

emotions are considered by most to be ‘male emotions’”. (par. 3, Emotions-Differences between

Men and Women) The societal pressure upon men to only feel their “specified” emotion creates

mental turmoil and dismisses the possibility of garnering healthy coping methods. Even the

closest acquaintances in a male’s life may never truly know their output. Sharing may make the

male uncomfortable, because in turn, it places him in a position of vulnerability. Years of

pressure and appearing “tough” have ruined numerous viewpoints as to what is acceptable to

express, and what is not.

As the future progresses and the Internet becomes more open, the ability that men can

express how they truly feel without society’s input grows. Their range of acceptable emotions

broadens. They are listened to, defended, and validated. Despite the typical response from older

generations on how expression may be unacceptable, change is evident. With that being said, my

point is proven that men will still always face the pressure of being “strong”, even if “strong”
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destroys them. Disregarding gender-based opinions will show that men and women experience

the same emotions, even if male emotions are expressed differently due to pressure.
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Works Cited

Bradley, Margrit. "Emotions - Differences between Men and Women." Healthguidance.org, 6

Jan. 2020, www.healthguidance.org/entry/13971/1/emotions-differences-between-men-

and-women.html. Accessed 23 Mar. 2022.

Deng, Yaling, et al. "Gender Differences in Emotional Response: Inconsistency between

Experience and Expressivity." PloS ONE, vol. 11, no. 6, 30 June 2016. Gale in Context:

Opposing Viewpoints,

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10&userGroupName=pl1949&inPS=true. Accessed 23 Mar. 2022.

Lively, Kathryn. "Emotional segues and the management of emotion by women and men." Social

Forces, vol. 86, no. 2, 4 Dec. 2008. Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

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