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In honour of international men's day and because I'm extremely passionate about men's mental health and wellbeing, here are some PSAs that I'd love to share around~!
While there are some biological reasons why boys and girls differ emotionally in childhood, gender difference in emotional expression is largely sociocultural. Boys are taught to suppress certain emotional responses (sadness, tenderness), or expected to express others (anger)
As boys grow, they are exposed to gender schemas, or networks of expected behaviour and thinking in order to live up to being a "boy". These become more important and more rigid as boys enter adolescence
Expressions of stereotypically "feminine" emotions, such as fear, sadness or vulnerability, are important for the development of close, healthy relationships. Raising boys to overemphasize stoicism or self-reliance can damage their social functioning
In the West particularly, endorsement of hegemonic masculinity - or an overemphasis of emotional stoicism, physical strength, sexual prowess and social power - is shown to have negative outcomes for the men who feel they must live up to rigid gender standards.
While men are afforded many privileges over women in a patriarchal society, it's not to say that the patriarchy is designed to benefit all men in all aspects. Under rigid gender expectations, many men who do not "fit the bill" in some way suffer.
And while men are historically overrepresented in psychological research, they are less likely to receive mental healthcare, less likely to seek out or receive physical healthcare, and at an increased risk of psychopathology, addiction, and suicide.
