Men Just As Emotional As Women - If Only They'd Show It

[Atlantic Islander]

Men and women experience the same level of sadness while watching tearjerkers like Titanic - but women are more likely to reach for a box of tissues. That is the conclusion of Vanderbilt University psychologist Ann Kring, whose findings on sex differences in emotion have appeared in the American Psychological Association's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

"It is incorrect to make a blanket statement that women are more emotional than men," she says. "It is correct to say that women show their emotions more than men."

Kring conducted two studies - one to determine whether women are "more emotional" or just "more expressive", and the other to explore whether gender roles account for expressive differences between women and men. In both, women were shown to be more facially expressive of both positive and negative emotions.

In both studies, university students were brought individually into a laboratory setting and told that they were participating in a study of the psychology of movies and what aspect of a movie draws people into the plot (to prevent them from modifying their behaviour).

Subjects were then secretly videotaped. In addition, electrodes were attached to their hands to monitor palm-sweating - a measure of emotion. They were later given a self-report survey on expressivity.

"We decided to see if maybe sex isn't the important variable in emotional expressiveness since there are such predominant stereotypes about sex and emotion," says Kring. "Maybe it's not sex that contributes to these emotion differences, but something called gender role."

Feminine gender roles traditionally include such attributes as being nurturing, affectionate, warm and caring, while masculine characteristics are generally the opposite: aggressive, powerful and assertive.

Significantly, both male and female participants endorsing a high number of characteristics traditionally associated with both masculinity and femininity were more facially expressive. They also reported having a more expressive disposition than participants reporting only a high number of either masculine or feminine characteristics.

source (http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/19980520132438data_trunc_sys.shtml)

[Neanderthal]

Nope.

[Neanderthal]

I remember when I was a kid when watching Disney movies with heavy friendship bonds like Toy Story I used to feel very uncomfortable, like watching a gay film or something. As a kid I got scolded many times by my parents for being insensitive. My brother is like this too. So either we both are weird or very sensitive guys are.

[Atlantic Islander]

I remember when I was a kid when watching Disney movies with heavy friendship bonds like Toy Story I used to feel very uncomfortable, like watching a gay film or something. As a kid I got scolded many times by my parents for being insensitive. My brother is like this too. So either we both are weird or very sensitive guys are.

You're the weird ones. :p

[CordedWhelp]

I dunno man. I feel ye, Neanderthal.

Now, women being more emotional in general doesn't mean they're always in hysterics or anything...but the emotional programming is so evidently a bit different...

[Unome]

Males are supposed to suppress our emotions; otherwise everybody (society) will attack men for being feminine & faggish.

Gay males are even beaten to death as the extreme example of males acting feminine/faggish.

In my experience women reinforce much harder than men. In other words males will forgive each-other for a little bit of femininity. But females will not. Females are more judgmental and will never forgive a feminine acting man. The only exception is if the male & female are in a sexual relationship. But even then a woman will lose respect for a feminine man if "certain lines" are crossed.

On the alternative end, a man too callous is seen as socially awkward, insensitive, not smooth, aspbergers/autism, etc.

So males have this hard in life. Women have it easy. And women who claim that "men should show emotions more" are hypocrites. Because women automatically lose respect to males who act this way. It is a simple lie. Women say "Oh you can show your true feelings to me" but then instantly lose respect when men do. So men should never fall for this lie.

Again, from my experience, males (friends) are more forgiving than females, when it comes to emotional men.

[Prisoner Of Ice]

I remember when I was a kid when watching Disney movies with heavy friendship bonds like Toy Story I used to feel very uncomfortable, like watching a gay film or something. As a kid I got scolded many times by my parents for being insensitive. My brother is like this too. So either we both are weird or very sensitive guys are.

That's more neanderthal thing, and I think it's more that you are cerebral and more intellectually engaged/interested by things. I can't go into details but I can remember this time a grown man I worked with just cried like a baby, and so I did something he was supposed to have done and it shocked the shit out of everyone that it was no big deal to me. But intellectually I knew that nothing could happen so why on earth would I be worried? Like when you know there is no boogeyman, how can you be scared?

Anyway, that's what I think. Maybe I am the minority.

[Methmatician]

Now, women being more emotional in general doesn't mean they're always in hysterics or anything...but the emotional programming is so evidently a bit different...
Did you read the OP? Men and women feel the same emotions just women express them more.

[Neanderthal]

That's more neanderthal thing, and I think it's more that you are cerebral and more intellectually engaged/interested by things. I can't go into details but I can remember this time a grown man I worked with just cried like a baby, and so I did something he was supposed to have done and it shocked the shit out of everyone that it was no big deal to me. But intellectually I knew that nothing could happen so why on earth would I be worried? Like when you know there is no boogeyman, how can you be scared?

Anyway, that's what I think. Maybe I am the minority.

I feel very uncomfortable when people cry in my presence. I do weird things because I don't know how to react, sometimes I even do stupid things like smile, smirk or something and that get's me in huge trouble. That's why I avoid heavily emotional charged events or places, because it's 100% guarantee I gonna fuck things up one way or another. :lol:

[Oneeye]

Titanic bored the shit out of me.

[rhiannon]

Males are supposed to suppress our emotions; otherwise everybody (society) will attack men for being feminine & faggish.

Gay males are even beaten to death as the extreme example of males acting feminine/faggish.

In my experience women reinforce much harder than men. In other words males will forgive each-other for a little bit of femininity. But females will not. Females are more judgmental and will never forgive a feminine acting man. The only exception is if the male & female are in a sexual relationship. But even then a woman will lose respect for a feminine man if "certain lines" are crossed.

On the alternative end, a man too callous is seen as socially awkward, insensitive, not smooth, aspbergers/autism, etc.

So males have this hard in life. Women have it easy. And women who claim that "men should show emotions more" are hypocrites. Because women automatically lose respect to males who act this way. It is a simple lie. Women say "Oh you can show your true feelings to me" but then instantly lose respect when men do. So men should never fall for this lie.

Again, from my experience, males (friends) are more forgiving than females, when it comes to emotional men.

My hubs cries along with me when we are watching something worth crying over. He is no fag or girly guy. He is a deeply sensitive and caring man. You really don't know all us females at all :)

[Unome]

My hubs cries along with me when we are watching something worth crying over. He is no fag or girly guy. He is a deeply sensitive and caring man. You really don't know all us females at all :)
You skipped this part:

The only exception is if the male & female are in a sexual relationship. But even then a woman will lose respect for a feminine man if "certain lines" are crossed.

[rhiannon]

You skipped this part:
Okay you got me lol. Sometimes I just do a quick scan of the post. Which lines are you referring to?

[Atlantic Islander]

Males are supposed to suppress our emotions; otherwise everybody (society) will attack men for being feminine & faggish.

Gay males are even beaten to death as the extreme example of males acting feminine/faggish.

In my experience women reinforce much harder than men. In other words males will forgive each-other for a little bit of femininity. But females will not. Females are more judgmental and will never forgive a feminine acting man. The only exception is if the male & female are in a sexual relationship. But even then a woman will lose respect for a feminine man if "certain lines" are crossed.

On the alternative end, a man too callous is seen as socially awkward, insensitive, not smooth, aspbergers/autism, etc.

So males have this hard in life. Women have it easy. And women who claim that "men should show emotions more" are hypocrites. Because women automatically lose respect to males who act this way. It is a simple lie. Women say "Oh you can show your true feelings to me" but then instantly lose respect when men do. So men should never fall for this lie.

Again, from my experience, males (friends) are more forgiving than females, when it comes to emotional men.

Wow, this comment was all sorts of ridiculous.

[Atlantic Islander]

I feel very uncomfortable when people cry in my presence. I do weird things because I don't know how to react, sometimes I even do stupid things like smile, smirk or something and that get's me in huge trouble. That's why I avoid heavily emotional charged events or places, because it's 100% guarantee I gonna fuck things up one way or another. :lol:

Maybe you should be tested for autism?

[StonyArabia]

This is well known, but in some cultures expressing your emotions is not seen as something feminine or unworthy. In Bedouin culture Men are allowed to express their emotions and hence even would cry and it's seen as normal nor would it take their status away from being Men, generally speaking.

[CordedWhelp]

Guess you were right!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vexxzdu6zPA

[Unome]

Okay you got me lol. Sometimes I just do a quick scan of the post. Which lines are you referring to?
Hysteria, whining & complaining, panicking during emergencies, etc.

I've never even heard of gender role reversals when it comes to emotional suppression. Males are supposed to suppress our emotions, especially in publik, and this gender role is most reinforced by women.

[Neanderthal]

Maybe you should be tested for autism?

I'm apparently autistic but I don't believe in the diagnosis. I mean, an autist that was vocalist for a Heavy Metal band and a amateur boxer? Sounds far-fetched, probably just high Neanderthal genes.

[Unome]

I know, I had a hard time listening to this little tart for 3 minutes, but daaaaamn is she fine:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zudJaBhq6Us

[Atlantic Islander]

I'm apparently autistic but I don't believe in the diagnosis. I mean, an autist that was vocalist for a Heavy Metal band and a amateur boxer? Sounds far-fetched, probably just high Neanderthal genes.

High-functioning autism.

[CordedWhelp]

I know, I had a hard time listening to this little tart for 3 minutes, but daaaaamn is she fine

Tits over here makes a decent point.

[Neanderthal]

High-functioning autism.

Like superpowers of some sort?

[Kalimtari]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iZ5YLR-qvQ

[Kalimtari]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydl3VaaqMsY

Scores of neuroscientific studies have focused on gender differences in the male and female brain - from aggression centres to emotion processing to systematizing and verbal abilities. Neuroscientist Melissa Hines, Director of the Hormones and Behaviour Research Lab at the University of Cambridge, studies how differences in sex hormones in male and female fetuses set the stage for gendered psychological development. Here she introduces her current filmed work on gender and development and discusses gender difference with leading ASD researcher, Simon Baron-Cohen, who has suggested that autism is an extreme form of the "male brain," and described sex differences grounded in the capacity for empathy. Novelist and poet Michèle Roberts posits different ways of thinking gender. Lara Feigel of the King's Centre for Humanities and Health chairs.

[Kalimtari]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk0M154oM4c

Everyone knows and agrees that men and women are different, they look different, dress different, behave different and often seem to think different. What is not agreed upon is why this is so. Is it societal expectations, parental guidance, biological determinism, genetics or some combination thereof? And the answer to the question is not important for mere curiosity, it is fundamental to major issues such as educational policies, health care, job equity and more. Parsing out the contributing role of each variable is exceedingly difficult in humans where we cannot conduct experiments or control for experience and environment. However, in animals we can do exactly that, and we can thereby determine how much nature versus nurture influences the establishment, maintenance and functional significance of sex differences in the brain. The next great challenge is to then determine how what we find in animals applies to humans, and perhaps more importantly, how it doesn't. Sex differences in the brain come in many sizes, shapes and forms. The most robust differences between males and females are not surprisingly those directly relevant to reproduction. The neural underpinnings controlling sex behavior and control of gonadal function are establishing during a developmental sensitive period by the differential hormonal milieu found in males versus females. Considerable advances have been made in identifying the cellular mechanisms of early organizational effects of testosterone and its metabolite estradiol, which then determine adult physiology and behavior. These mechanisms are highly brain region specific and impact on cell death, axonal projections and synaptogenesis, resulting in a brain that combines varying degrees of maleness and femaleness. The study of reproductive endpoints is valid in its own right but also provides insight into the more subtle sex differences associated with cognition, emotionality, social behavior and relative risk of neurological disorders and diseases of mental health.

0:26 Sex differences in brain and behavior are determined by:
0:38 In humans, environment and experience are probably dominant
1:00 To understand the cultural ...
1:12 To understand the cultural
1:57 Laboratory Rat
2:08 Sex differences in brain and ...
2:25 Type One: Sex Dimorphism
3:00 Type Two: Sex Difference
3:22 Type Three: Sex Convergence
4:00 Sex differences in the brain (1)
4:56 Sex differences in the brain (2)
5:51 Sex differences in brain and behavior are determined by: Hormones
6:19 Genetic sex determines gonadal sex which determines phenotypic sex
7:40 Brain sexual differentiation occurs early
9:38 How do we connect brain sex differences to sex differences in behavior?
10:35 Type One: Sex Dimorphism
10:54 Thesis research of Stuart Amateau and Christopher Wright
11:45 Steroids change the number of synapses
12:21 Is there a sex difference in dendritic spines in the newborn brain?

[Caismeachd]

I think being a male you build up a deep comprehension of emotions but a callousness of expressing them because society shuns men expressing emotions as it's seen as being out of control. As a male, you may understand the emotions deeply and perhaps even feel them deeply but because you understand them in such a deep way you do not express them in a limbic responsive primal way because it's seen as not befitting a strong male character.

[Zerberg]

I think being a male you build up a deep comprehension of emotions but a callousness of expressing them because society shuns men expressing emotions as it's seen as being out of control. As a male, you may understand the emotions deeply and perhaps even feel them deeply but because you understand them in such a deep way you do not express them in a limbic responsive primal way because it's seen as not befitting a strong male character.

However, I'm sure you've heard someone say, "man, girls only like assholes." I believe this is true to a degree. I believe this happens because when a guy acts too friendly, nice, and emotional, psychologically a woman's feelings toward this person become guarded similar to how you would feel towards a sibling. Most woman do not want to sleep with their "siblings," thus the friend-zone is born. Sleeping with someone at it's core is a primal and intimate experience and it is easier to let your guard down to an 'asshole.'

[Caismeachd]

lol of course. If you connect too much with a woman or open up too much she will be immediately repulsed by you. That's why women cheat on their long term partners.

[Atlantic Islander]

You guys are fucking ridiculous.

[Svipdag]

".......if only they'd show it" ? We're not expected to show it. We're supposed, ideally, to be the "strong silent type." Society's norms and mores require us to suppress expression of our emotions. We in the West may not wail, gnash our teeth, rend our garments or throw ashes on our heads.

This can be a major problem for those of us who "suffer" from Asperger's Syndrome: trying to decide what would be an appropriate emotional response to a situation and trying to fake it. The "Aspie's" spontaneous emotional response can often be highly INappropriate
.
Rather than risk being perceived as weird, some, I think many, "Aspies" would rather been seen as cold and distant. There is less stigma to that than to, for example, grinning like the Cheshire Cat at a funeral. Sometimes, the lack of any emotional response at all comes easily to the person with Asperger's Syndrome.

That is not being "strong and silent" but rather being unable to FEEL the appropriate emotion. It makes for awkward personal relationships.

[Kalimtari]

You guys are fucking ridiculous.

me included? :D

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cibbxuTLWZU/TnjzKdcqmEI/AAAAAAAAAY0/X8K1by7ijX0/s400/por-que.jpg

:D

[Manifest Destiny]

I think the average man is more emotional than he let's on, but I don't think I could shed a tear over some craptacular movie like Titanic.

I was bummed out when Rocco died in The Boondock Saints, though. He was The Funny Man.

[Svipdag]

I think the average man is more emotional than he let's on, but I don't think I could shed a tear over some craptacular movie like Titanic.

I was bummed out when Rocco died in The Boondock Saints, though. He was The Funny Man.

Hey, how about real life SITUATIONS instead of the phony emotionalism of movies ?

[Atlantic Islander]

me included? :D

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cibbxuTLWZU/TnjzKdcqmEI/AAAAAAAAAY0/X8K1by7ijX0/s400/por-que.jpg

:D

Nope, you're okay. :D

It's to the guys that think women like douche-bags.

[Manifest Destiny]

Hey, how about real life SITUATIONS instead of the phony emotionalism of movies ?

Is emotionalism in movies phony, though? I've seen my wife cry plenty of times when she watches something sad on TV. :dunno:

[Kalimtari]

Nope, you're okay. :D

It's to the guys that think women like douche-bags.

thank you :)


btw, me when I'm around lovely ladies:

http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/003/c/8/Wolf_love_by_svarci.jpg (fact about me: I WORSHIP wolves, they're larger than life)

:D