There's a stigma in this world that men can't talk. But I had rather have my mate cry on my shoulders than go to his funeral the next week.
These were the words of a man who lost a close friend of his' not too long ago I presume. To suicide. I came across the video sometime within the previous week and you bet it was quite disheartening watching him express his utmost grief over the incident.
He loudly encouraged his fellow males to speak out in lieu of bottling all of their emotions and carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.
As a little girl, I vividly remember the times I tagged along with my mum to wake keeping services and I spotted just how different it always felt in the cases of a widow and that of a widower.
While I got to see a widow rolling on the ground, crying out her eyes and screaming out loud with the people present either trying to calm her down or even crying along with her, a widower's would be entirely different.
Not a single tear sliding down his cheeks but you could see how glossy the eyes would appear, frantically shaking his head violently as he wished it was only a dream.
And from the sympathizers? I only heard words along the lines of, be a man, keep your emotions in check, it's not the end of the world, God gave and has taken... and subtle actions as handshake and a pat in the back. Sighs.
Now don't get me wrong. Yet. Overtime I've come to understand that women are widely identified as delicate beings and given that we were made out of man, men are expected to be as strong as strength.
In that way serving as a shield and backbone to the females and in regards to that, a woman breaking down and crying out is perceived as normality.
It's also considered that when a woman pours out her heart to a certain someone, it depicts her level of trust and a clear sign of her letting one into her heart but when a man does the same, does it mean he's letting one out of his heart???
Make it make sense!
The fact that masculinity is expected to be strong at any given time while the females are free to go about their lives doesn't blur out the reality that we're all humans, created with emotions and our ability to express them is equally part of life.
The spice of life might I add and a natural phenomenon at that.
Crying out might not proffer a solution to the problem at hand but you would agree with me that the relief that comes with letting out emotions feels heavenly. So why then should males be denied of such a raw feeling?
I stand with the move towards an openness to masculinity and I believe it's a great initiative... Permit me to say, the very best thing since sliced bread.
And when I get to see a man crying out either to me or in my presence thanks to how overwhelmed he might be, I can tell you that at that moment, the last thought that would ever creep into my mind would be that I'm next to a weakling or crybaby.
Rather, I'll appreciate the fact that I'm staring right at a man who has been trying, striving, pushing, surviving. Cause beyond his tagged vulnerability lies a force of strength awaiting to be acknowledged like a stereogram.
Images were generated using Meta AI
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