Fact or Fiction: Exploring a mythbuster

 Many people around the world have this preconceived idea in there mind that real men don't cry. This idea portrays that showing emotion ( or crying ) is a clear sign of weakness. People would think if they showed any emotion they would be called a "wuss" or a "wimp". However I believe this is far from the case and instead showing emotion is a display of courage and shows you are human.

The whole belief that "real men don't cry" comes from ideas of the past where men were expected not to show any emotion and be tough. It was a common theme in the media during the last 1990's and early 2000's through movies such as Gladiator, where the main character Maximus hides his emotions of his whole family dying and simply fighting them off. While this movie is a cinematic masterpiece, it reinforces that common belief in the past that real men should not show emotion. 

As more and more research is emerging we can see that this is far from the case. A study done by Ronald F Levant of the APA shows that men who don't express their emotion are more likely to deal with mental health issues such as anxiety and stress. Now that we now this and that is was very common for men do exactly that ( hold in their emotions ) it makes more sense why Men in the US die by suicide 3.6 times more often than do women. 

This goes to show how sometimes simply crying and letting your emotion show is good for your overall health but it really just shows you are human, as that is what makes us human and not robots. We as a society need to start changing our way of thinking to save more lives and overall make this world a more comfortable place to live in.