The whole "men face societal pressure from other men to not cry or show emotion" thing is highly exaggerated, amirite?

My only memory of one grandfather was when I was about 8 and tried to give him a hug. He told me that men don't hug, men shake hands. That's a microcosm of my relationships with men in my family. Sounds like you were lucky

by Anonymous 3 hours ago

For me, it's my mother telling me "boys don't cry"… and then asking me why am I so cold 25 years later.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

My Grandad was the warmest person and one of my memories of him is still that when it was time to go he'd hug my sister and my Mum and then shake my and my Dad's hand. It's weird looking back because at the time it made me feel ten feet tall that for all the fun we had my Grandad treated me as a man, And now I look back and it's tinged with that sadness that I know it's because he was of a certain age and background where hugging a male child wasn't the done thing. It wasn't for lack of care, it was just a part of him that was suppressed.

by Puzzled-Baker 2 hours ago

My only memory of one grandfather was when I was about 8 and tried to give him a hug. He told me that men don't hug, men shake hands. Okay, and my most vivid memories of my mother was of her sexually abusing me. How dumb would I sound if I projected my own experiences onto all women? Sounds like you were lucky See above. I grew up in the hood and it was rough but I NEVER saw men afraid of hugging or kissing. Heck, gangsta guys in hip hop videos hug one another.

by Anonymous 2 hours ago

Honestly it drives me crazy. I quit trying to offer an unpopular opinion here.

by OkInvestigator 1 hour ago

Hey now, that sounds like an unpopular opinion. 😉

by luzfeeney 1 hour ago

I actually see it more from women than other guys. Not overtly, but quietly, women lose respect for men who show sadness. Obviously not "all women", but anecdotally, I'm more hesitant to show weakness to a wife or girlfriend then I am one of the boys.

by Anonymous 1 hour ago

Why is it once men bring up their own experiences we are forced to provide evidence of it occurring?

by Anonymous 1 hour ago

Because some men just regurgitate this "women lose respect for you as soon you show emotion" from manosphere talking points without actual lived experience that supports that. Do you have an issue with being asked to provide examples of the experience you report having?

by domenicrenner 1 hour ago

Can you give an example of a situation?

by Anonymous 57 minutes ago

I'm not really keen on sharing intimate personal details, but I've been in relationships where I made the mistake of expressing sadness and respect/internet/attraction, what have you was lost. Obviously, you can't really judge the scenario off that since I'm purposely keeping it vague, but that's been my experience and an experience I've heard echoed by other men.

by Anonymous 41 minutes ago

...so that when you finally do and crack, she's confronted with the fact that you've been lying to her to keep up appearances, which leads her to lose respect for you. Congrats, you played yourself!

by Anonymous 13 minutes ago

If you didn't lie to her you never would've gotten in with her in the first place. The choice men are given is to pretend to be something they're not or die alone. The expectations don't match up with any natural man, so literally every man needs to perform them. And no performance is sincere.

by Anonymous 9 minutes ago