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Post by SharksFan99 on Mar 18, 2018 22:35:47 GMT 10
I managed to catch the end of a reality-TV dating show a few hours ago. It showed a couple who had to choose whether to continue their relationship. The woman in the relationship didn't like the fact that her partner was sensitive and emotional. Anyway, it got me thinking about this topic and how sensitivity is generally discouraged, as it's viewed as a sign of weakness. We've seen progress in breaking down gender stereotypes, yet the stigma associated with sensitivity remains.
Do you believe the stigma associated with sensitivity will ever go away, or do you think it will always be perceived as being some sort of weakness and a hindrance? Also, would you consider yourself to be sensitive?
Personally, I don't think the stigma associated with sensitivity will ever truly go away, due to people naturally having varying sets of values and opinions. Steps may be taken to improve the overall image of being sensitive/emotional, but there will still a significant faction of the community who would continue to hold on to the belief that it's a hindrance.
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Post by grimmy on Mar 19, 2018 1:22:31 GMT 10
The thing with men being sensitive or emotional, comes down to toxic masculinity. And it's something that society is guilty for. There's this pre established notion, that if a man is too emotional, then they're sissies, gay or simply not manly enough. Which is pretty much a winning combination of homophobia and misogyny.
The fact that a man can't express any emotion or interest in anything relatively or traditionally "feminine" is so problematic and toxic, that it prevents men from letting out their feelings, and instead forces them to suppress it all. Which in turn makes them more aggressive, more prone to abuse, and so on.
It's really upsetting, because I know so many guys who grew up in toxic masculinity, and were forced to stray away from things that they enjoyed, simply because it wasn't "manly" enough. For example, I have a friend who LOVES cute stuff, but was always terrified to admit it, due to the humiliation.
People were worried that if he would be allowed to like "girly" things, that he'd end up being queer. Which demonizes the LGBT+ community. Going so far as to prevent their child from playing with a doll, because they're worried he might be gay or trans.
I could honestly go on and on about toxic masculinity, but the bottom line is, I don't think the stigma with sensitivity will ever stop, unless society itself stops being homophobic and misogynistic and instead lets people explore and experiment, and let everyone express themselves freely.
SharksFan99 likes this
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Post by SharksFan99 on Mar 20, 2018 0:06:47 GMT 10
The thing with men being sensitive or emotional, comes down to toxic masculinity. And it's something that society is guilty for. There's this pre established notion, that if a man is too emotional, then they're sissies, gay or simply not manly enough. Which is pretty much a winning combination of homophobia and misogyny. The fact that a man can't express any emotion or interest in anything relatively or traditionally "feminine" is so problematic and toxic, that it prevents men from letting out their feelings, and instead forces them to suppress it all. Which in turn makes them more aggressive, more prone to abuse, and so on. It's really upsetting, because I know so many guys who grew up in toxic masculinity, and were forced to stray away from things that they enjoyed, simply because it wasn't "manly" enough. For example, I have a friend who LOVES cute stuff, but was always terrified to admit it, due to the humiliation. People were worried that if he would be allowed to like "girly" things, that he'd end up being queer. Which demonizes the LGBT+ community. Going so far as to prevent their child from playing with a doll, because they're worried he might be gay or trans. I could honestly go on and on about toxic masculinity, but the bottom line is, I don't think the stigma with sensitivity will ever stop, unless society itself stops being homophobic and misogynistic and instead lets people explore and experiment, and let everyone express themselves freely. Well said and I completely agree with the points you raised. It's unfair that society still dictates that males can't be emotional, but the general mindset is likely never going to go away, unfortunately.
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