When men cry

RECENTLY, President Obama addressed steps his administration is taking to reduce gun violence in the United States and cried openly on television while thousands of people around the world watched. While this was not the first time the president cried, some deemed it the most touching, as the tears fell at the mention of a series of gun attacks against children.

For centuries society has portrayed men as macho figures who were deemed weak if they expressed their emotions through tears. Now with Obama’s lead, is the way open for men to be emotional? We asked a few male readers whether or not it is now OK for men to let the tears flow.

Khalil:

It depends on the cause and in this situation he cried because children were killed. Death will make anyone cry — man or woman.

Evon:

It is not OK. The rhetoric for women is that real men cry, but women don’t want that and it is unfair for them to say that. All women want is security. Give them security and they remain faithful to you. No woman wants a crybaby. While men are real people with tears, in their role they allow for people (women) who look up to them to first grieve and then they will grieve. That’s what Obama did.

Thomas:

As a typical man in an emotional situation, yes, of course. Something about it humanises a man and his tendency to aggrandise himself through his ego — it levels him.

Winston:

It is always OK for men to cry. But Obama shouldn’t be the standard for determining that a man should now show his emotions. There shouldn’t have to be any justification for men being emotional either. It should be something that comes naturally.

Kenneth:

It is OK for men to cry. We live in a society where men are marginalised and are made to have a macho persona, but society should allow for males to embrace their emotional sides. It is very OK for them to cry.

Mark:

Nothing is wrong. A man who cries is said to be a weakling, but as people we must be logical more than emotional. A man shedding a tear over children dying or something that has touched his emotional being is completely OK and normal.

Akeem:

It is certainly OK. It’s only Jamaicans who believe that men are robots and don’t carry feelings.

–KH