Throughout the lives of many adolescent boys, we have commonly heard this phrase “toughen up”. When you’re learning to ride a bike for the first time and you fall off and scrape your knee then start to cry, the first thing a father says to his son is to “toughen up”. When it’s your first time playing little league football, and you get knocked down onto your butt the only words that your coach mutters to you are “toughen up”. Brushing it off is sometimes necessary, but it becomes a problem when men feel as though they can’t show any emotion when they have reason to. Men will get broken up with by their long-term partners and other men shame them if they express their grief and vulnerability. As a result, there is a societal stigma that men shouldn’t cry. It’s this way of thinking that has been passed down from generation to generation, that men are meant to tough, emotionless creatures. These bottled-up and suppressed emotions are what cause insecurity, depression, and a higher suicide rate.
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the suicide rate among men in 2022 was exactly four times higher than the rate among women. I believe that if with get rid of this horrible stigma about men and normalize being vulnerable with one another then the suicide rate among men would steadily decrease. We need to share with our future generations that no matter what gender you are, you’re allowed to be vulnerable and sensitive. We need to take time with them to be sure they know that their feelings matter and should be heard. The second that men stop tearing other men down for being vulnerable, is the second that the suicide rate decreases. So, what will it be men? Be different than the rest of the generations that came before us? Or only add to the problem.
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