Uncle's Boy Loses Wallet - Is "Boys Don't Cry" True?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the phrase "Boys don't cry" and its implications regarding emotional expression in boys and men. Participants explore the cultural, psychological, and social dimensions of this saying, examining whether it holds true in light of personal experiences and societal expectations. The conversation touches on themes of emotional health, gender norms, and the appropriateness of crying in various contexts.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants argue that boys do cry and that emotional expression is a natural human response, regardless of gender.
  • Others suggest that societal conditioning may lead boys to suppress their emotions, viewing crying as a sign of weakness.
  • A few participants reflect on personal experiences with crying and emotional expression, noting that it can be healthy to release emotions rather than suppress them.
  • There are discussions about the appropriateness of crying in different situations, such as public versus private settings.
  • Some participants humorously engage with the topic, suggesting that the discussion is serious yet also light-hearted.
  • References to psychological theories, such as Rational Emotive Therapy and Jungian psychotherapy, are made in relation to understanding emotional responses.
  • Concerns are raised about the implications of emotional suppression, particularly in relation to mental health outcomes for men.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the topic, with no clear consensus reached. Some agree that emotional expression is important, while others uphold traditional views that discourage crying in boys. The discussion remains unresolved with multiple competing perspectives.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference cultural norms and personal anecdotes, indicating that their views may be influenced by individual backgrounds and experiences. The discussion also touches on broader societal issues related to gender and emotional health.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be of interest to those exploring gender studies, psychology, and emotional health, as well as individuals curious about societal norms regarding emotional expression.

Deniel
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I am a 1st year high school student.
My uncle's boy is 3 years older than me. He once told me that "Boys don't cry". But yesterday, I saw him cry because he lost his wallet. He went here and there to look for it, and even in the kitchen, toilet but found nothing...
He told me that he got his papers, and $840 in it and he intended to deposit that sum into his saving account in the bank. He earned it from his part-time job, a waiter.
Is "Boys don't cry" as he once said true ? He just wanted to be like that before me, correct ? I just think if he lost them, he can call the bank and other places to stop some services..like credit cards and go make other ID cards, right ?
 
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There is only one explanation. He obviously isn't a boy! :wink:
 
Entropy said:
There is only one explanation. He obviously isn't a boy! :wink:
I think it is human emotions, how can we say it can or it can't ?
Are you a man ? or a woman ?
 
Anyway, I think you might have misunderstood or you might not be able to give me the correct answer because I have tried to search on the topic in the internet for many times before posting this question.
But can you tell me why you don't cry ?
 
Of course boys cry. All humans do. He might have really been trying to express "Boys are not supposed to cry, or to demonstrate that kind of emotion in public." This may have been something he learned in his own cultural conditioning.
 
Deniel said:
I am a 1st year high school student.
My uncle's boy is 3 years older than me. He once told me that "Boys don't cry". But yesterday, I saw him cry because he lost his wallet. He went here and there to look for it, and even in the kitchen, toilet but found nothing...
He told me that he got his papers, and $840 in it and he intended to deposit that sum into his saving account in the bank. He earned it from his part-time job, a waiter.
Is "Boys don't cry" as he once said true ? He just wanted to be like that before me, correct ? I just think if he lost them, he can call the bank and other places to stop some services..like credit cards and go make other ID cards, right ?

Sometimes older or more powerful people tell younger or weaker people what they hope is true rather than what really is true. This is just one thread in the tapestry of why the human race is as messed up as it is.
 
If you accept that releasing emotions rather than suppressing them is healthy, then we would have to accept that boys who don't cry are storing up trouble.

Women tend to be better at expressing distress - it is more socially acceptable in the West for them to do so - which is probably something to do with why rates of depression are much higher in women than men, and men have far higher suicide and violent crime rates than women.

'Boys don't cry' is just another brick in the wall, like 'women can't do maths' etc. However, its only polite to pick the time and place to release emotions, rather than dumping your feelings on others inappropriately. Me, I like to cry whilst curled up under my car in the driveway. Anyone else have a favourite way to release emotions?

Note: Come on! I was kidding about the car in driveway bit. Jeez...
 
Why is this in skepticism & debunking?

Anyway, variances of the saying men/boys don't cry have been around for ages. Supposedly if a man shows emotions like crying, he is considered to be weak. I think that it is ridiculous. I personally have more respect for a person that can show their emotions rather than hide them.
 
I think it is human emotions, how can we say it can or it can't ?
Are you a man ? or a woman ?

I'm a robot! :biggrin:

No, no... A pirate robot! :approve:

Anyways I was just kidding. It is appropate for anyone to cry given extreme emotional stress. But it terms of physical pain I think men need to be tough and hold back to some extent. Atleast if they want any respect from me.
 
  • #10
LOL@at all the people actually taking this seriously
 
  • #11
Overdose said:
LOL@at all the people actually taking this seriously
It's an age old topic Overdose and one that bears discussing. But this isn't the proper forum, it should be moved to social sciences perhaps.
 
  • #12
Evo, I am sorry I didn't know this should be there,
I wrote in my first post my suggestions only which I didn't know wether they would be correct or not. I told him already, and he called them yesterday.

Entropy, what will you do if you don't respect them ? if you don't respect them, will they respect you ? You guys won't talk to each other right ? Are you from Canada ?
 
  • #13
If I'm in a foxhole and the guy next to me is crying, that is not a good thing.
 
  • #14
JohnDubYa said:
If I'm in a foxhole and the guy next to me is crying, that is not a good thing.

Dubya, it probably just means you were telling him your political views :cry:

Hey! Calm down! Just kidding again. Jeez, lighten up everyone... :biggrin:
 
  • #15
Overdose said:
LOL@at all the people actually taking this seriously

Its a valid question, especially from a 1st year high school student. I never even questioned that stuff when I was Daniel's age, and lots of people go through their entire life without questioning it.

So stop being such a big meany, Overdose. I'm telling my mummy :cry:
 
  • #16
Humans suck, we cry for emotional reasons. No other animals do. Well maybe fish, but who would notice.

OK new theory to debunk...FISH TEARS. :biggrin:
 
  • #17
i have cried my share when i was younger...
now, I'm more aware of my own psychology, and i respond rationally to it as much as i can, so i very, very rarely feel the need to cry...
i think it's about balance... if you try to suppress something instead of relieving it in some way (no jokes :wink: ), it will eventually come out as tears or violence...
 
  • #18
balkan said:
i have cried my share when i was younger...
now, I'm more aware of my own psychology, and i respond rationally to it as much as i can, so i very, very rarely feel the need to cry...

Are you familiar with Rational Emotive Therapy? It provides an excellent approach to life, IMHO.
 
  • #19
jimmy p said:
Humans suck, we cry for emotional reasons. No other animals do. Well maybe fish, but who would notice.

OK new theory to debunk...FISH TEARS. :biggrin:

What's to debunk ? Have you never tasted sea-water ?
 
  • #20
the number 42 said:
Are you familiar with Rational Emotive Therapy? It provides an excellent approach to life, IMHO.
no... i use my knowledge on jung psychotherapy and psychotherapy in general to analyse my behaviour and my patterns and respond rationally to them... it's working quite well...
i supspect RET is somewhat similar?
 
  • #21
balkan said:
no... i use my knowledge on jung psychotherapy and psychotherapy in general to analyse my behaviour and my patterns and respond rationally to them... it's working quite well...
i supspect RET is somewhat similar?

I have respect for Jung and Freud, but RET is a somewhat different approach. It is often described as a humanistic, but I think of it as more a cognitive approach. Its very much logic-based, the idea being to make a realistic assess of events (rational), and getting into the habit of having your feelings (emotive) being in proportion to the magnitude of events. Thus not getting too down about things that are not that serious. It takes a bit of getting used to but its well worth the effort. I am now considered sane in most parts of the visible universe :redface:
 
  • #22
Trust me on this guys, very little impresses a girl more than seeing you cry at a sappy movie:
Evo said:
I personally have more respect for a person that can show their emotions rather than hide them.
 
  • #23
I cried throughout the last half-hour of Lord of the Rings part 3, but this was because I was starting to hate life itself.
Does this count? :smile: Ladies? :smile:
 
  • #24
the number 42 said:
I cried throughout the last half-hour of Lord of the Rings part 3, but this was because I was starting to hate life itself.
Does this count? :smile: Ladies? :smile:

hahahaaa! :biggrin: yea... that last half really sucked ass...

1) "oh, no we're all going to die..." ...
2) "wait! look!"
..."pheew, someone came in the nick of time to save us"
3) walk/ride half a mile, rinse and repeat from 1)...
and then that goodie, goodie happyness ending was just about 10 times too much... i seriously considered walking out on that part of the movie...

about the RET, i think I've managed to learn this on my own, side by side with the regular phychoanalysis... i used to have quite a temper, so i simply had to learn it or i would get in trouble all the time... though, i still cannot control my emotions when people annoy me, for some reason... they can talk **** and provoke me all they want, but if they annoy me, i flip...
 
Last edited:
  • #25
the number 42 said:
I cried throughout the last half-hour of Lord of the Rings part 3, but this was because I was starting to hate life itself.
Does this count? :smile: Ladies? :smile:

LOL! I didn't cry...I got annoyed, then irritated, then just plain bored. How many endings does one movie need? I was just praying it would all end soon!

As for the myth that boys don't cry, actually, the way I've always heard it is that men don't cry. But, either way, it's bunk. I mean, I don't want to be around anyone, male or female, who bursts into tears over every stupid thing, but when something really bad happens, and losing $800 along with all your IDs probably counts (at least until you gather your senses back together and realize most of it is replaceable despite the hassle), then of course you can't really help crying, especially if you really needed that money for something important, like tuition or rent.

I actually don't like when men try to hide that they are crying...you know, they'll act like they got something in their eye, or act all grumpy and storm off so you can't see them. It's human, just admit it.
 
  • #26
I actually cried a lot, though i don't really like to cry but i can't control myself sometimes. Sometimes, I even cry in my sleep...you believe in this ?
I think of some of the people I know of and their stories-especially the last duration before i wake up. True! when I walk out of my bedroom to wash my face, my teardrops are still on my cheeks and my eyes are all red, which is what i see in the mirror...I know I am so sensitive, and this might be the main reason for such strange psychology, do you also think so, Moonbear?
 
  • #27
Haven't seen Lord of The Rings but I remember in year 4 (erm... when I was about 9) I was watching a film called 'Monkey Trouble' or something and it was about a girl who owns a monkey and they get separated and in the end they get back together. I was fine until they got back together. Then I just cried. Dunno why I just did. No one else did. Only me. None of the girls. Fortunately at the time I wasn't a main target of bullying so it was not mentioned again. Ever. :biggrin:

The Bob (2004 ©)
 
  • #28
The Bob said:
I remember in year 4 (erm... when I was about 9) I was watching a film called 'Monkey Trouble'

Monkey trouble? I think we need to start a Men's Health thread if we are going to discuss this. :biggrin:
 
  • #29
balkan said:
i used to have quite a temper, so i simply had to learn it or i would get in trouble all the time... though, i still cannot control my emotions when people annoy me, for some reason... they can talk **** and provoke me all they want, but if they annoy me, i flip...

I get annoyed by selfishness (except my own - that doesn't count) e.g. pushing passed everyone else to get to the front of the queue. What do people do that annoys you?
 
  • #30
Moonbear said:
...when something really bad happens, and losing $800 along with all your IDs probably counts (at least until you gather your senses back together and realize most of it is replaceable despite the hassle), then of course you can't really help crying...

What RET does is put these events on a scale of 'awfulness'. Usually people put something like 'death of a loved one' at 100%. Once you put something like 'losing $800 + other replaceables' on the scale, it doesn't seem so bad. Of course you may want to cry or shout etc, but you probably won't do so for as long when you see that its probably not that bad, relatively.

It sounds a bit 'logical', but with practice it is very useful in a practical way.
 

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