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I think most people understand this.
Most people reading your comment, sure.
Most people in my general area, in the US, in a red district inside a swing state? Ehhh I hope they are much more emotionally mature in private than in public. Unfortunately in many cases though, that is where the even worse stuff comes out.
I mean, I get how an environment can shape certain types of people, for sure.
In the country where I live, most men would see the clip of that astronaut and say that it’s touching.
I don’t think you would be correct. It is very much still upheld that men should be stoic, macho, not crying, etc
On certain subject like grief, they are usually allowed a few tears.
Sure, but I think most people would look at that moment and find it to be a touching gesture. There are exceptions where even macho men accept emotional moments. Stuff like this and war related stuff is what, in my experience, many men shed secret tears to.
There’s a reason that for example, Band of Brothers is still regarded as one of the best TV series about war ever. There are plenty of men crying in that show and every fan community I have visited, men are getting very emotional about that show and things like it.
I think we are doing all men a disservice if we just assume that the majority of them never allow themselves or other men to show emotions, because that is not true. It just tends to happen in a bit of a different way than the way women express emotions.
And their definitely are people out there who would look at that moment with the astronauts and go “GAAAYYY” but I don’t think they are in the majority at all.
In my experience both on and offline, men get emotional and show a lot of empathy for situations like this one. Maybe they don’t cry themselves, but they respect another man honoring his wife’s memory and will defend his right to that moment.
I stand tall, but my presence is not measured in height.
I have a wife of 18 years who I love more each day, not through words alone, but through consistency, attention, and choice.
When I speak, people listen. Not because I am the loudest, but because I am clear, deliberate, and accountable for what I say. I guide and teach with patience, empathy, and structure. I do not elevate myself by diminishing others.
I do not demand respect. I behave in a way that makes respect the natural response.
I am disciplined in what I do, and honest in how I do it. I take responsibility without excuses and correct myself without defensiveness.
I am dependable under pressure and measured in conflict. I do not escalate to prove strength. I de-escalate because I have it.
I protect what matters. Not through control, but through presence, awareness, and action when necessary. I am capable of harm, and because of that, I choose restraint. My strength is not in what I can do, but in what I choose not to do.
I allow myself to feel. I cry, I hug, I tell my friends I love them. I do not outsource connection to others or hide behind detachment. My emotional range is not a liability. It is part of my stability.
I do not chase validation. I build value. I do not perform for approval. I act in alignment with my principles whether I am seen or not.
I lead by example. I listen as much as I speak. I admit when I am wrong and adjust without ego. I do not need to win every moment to remain grounded in who I am.
I am not perfect. I am accountable.
I am not dominant. I am grounded.
I am not defined by others’ expectations. I am defined by the standards I uphold.
This is what strength looks like. Not loud. Not fragile. Not performative.
Consistent. Controlled. Chosen.
Do you read as well?
Okay, ChatGPT
I don’t want to come off as rude, because this is awesome and should be shared more. However, I know this is a community for women, and men technically aren’t allowed to post. Is that waived for this thread?
I think this should have been posted to a different community probably, so men are open to discuss it. That’s the point of it, isn’t it? It sucks that the first time I’m seeing it on All is a community that is explicitly not who this is helpful to.
Anyway, I love this post! I hope it’s shown everywhere.
No.
Seriously? Of all posts this is the one you want to “um acktually”?
That’s not my intent. This community specifically has a rule banning men from commenting. (This is not a criticism of this rule either.) I was curious if that’s waived for this post. It’s specifically a post about and for men, but men aren’t supposed to be allowed to comment here.
they didnt do that.
they asked if they (men) could dicuss this post here since its not posted anywhere else.
can we do that? post it elsewhere too, so men can? I love this post too
I think what the manosphere misses completely is that we’re all human before we’re man or woman. Yes, im a man, but first and foremost Im a human, and humans cry, take care of babies, cook, clean and everything else that some might see as “feminine.”
I am completely devoid of any experience of this manosphere. When I grew up, I’d ask for help from girls because I was crying all the time and I didn’t want to be crying all the time. Later learned it was from trauma. But most of the girls and women I talked to would say some variation of “why are men so afraid to cry?” like lady I’m not afraid, I just don’t want to, because being sad sucks. I want to stop being sad.
Or the doing the dishes, or taking care of babies, that was something that all the men did in my family, equally, going back to 1940’s Detroit.
And this kind of culture was the only one I ever experienced in school, partly because almost all of my teachers were women.
So to me, these memes about men being afraid to cry or do things seen as “feminine” are not just frustrating, they’re downright upsetting.
I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, but are you sure it exists to the degree you think it does? Like have you taken a survey and checked the numbers, and if you did, are you sure you’re not confusing somewhere like NYC with somewhere like Birmingham, Alabama?
My experience is totally different. Growing up in Australia in a single-sex school, men cooking or cleaning were laughed at by teenagers, unless it was the barbeque since it’s manly. “Get back in the kitchen” jokes and “make me a sandwich” jokes were everywhere and amplified once our classes became co-ed.
The invisibility of toxic masculinity at that age was the most damaging thing. Nobody wanted to be seen as weak, so there was never a chance to understand what being strong truly meant. I think single-sex schools are unfortunately breeding grounds for the manosphere.
I always hated crying , hated feeling emotions, never wanted to be seen as weak emotionally. I’m still suffering the consequences of that environment, as suppressing sadness impacted everything else.
Edit: apologies, did not realise what community this post was in. Did not mean to ignore the rules.
That was a powerful sentence. Too busy not to look weak, so you can’t understand what being strong truly means.
Well put!
Grew up in South America. Crying was treated with violence in many occasions. But it was more systematic and dependant on context… Like if the male kid having the tears was a popular one or after a lost football match, then was okay-ish or met with some surprise. If it was any other kid with “lower maleness” (e.g. other sport than football, or a kid that also happened to be sigma, or beta) then there was a high correlation of violence. This was excercised by other males, as part of a ritual to their own maleness. Yeah. Crazy stupid.
The terms sigma and beta are just made up bullshit. Even the original wolf study was about captive wolves and was subsequently disproven by studies of wild wolves.
Human relationships and hierarchies are far too complex to be explained this way.
First, the “alpha male” in a wolf pack is a myth. Not entirely the same thing you just said. Also, I’m not writing a sociological study. I am just saying “alpha”, and “sigma/ beta” to make a distinction among kids, with a term that people use. So, even if the basis was wrong, the terms are used and we can’t deny their existence. The guy that wants to be “alpha male” may be very well pursuing a myth. sure. unfortunately, he’s still behaving like that: punching the other kids (to whom he may be categorizing as “sigma/ beta male” even if it were not using the words) for not being male enough. Exercising their desire for a hierarchy. Based on a myth, yes.
There’s a quote about Bell Hooks that says… something something. I won’t use it. Maybe the context is not entirely right.
No i haven’t studied it, but just from seeing random social media posts by people with millions of followers, it’s definitely a thing. Of course it’s probably a minority but even if it’s 1% of Americans that 4 million Americans bathing in this fucked up sexist ideology.
Hu… Oh… Oops.
Aragorn, son of Arathorn, cries. You tell me you’re more manly than Isildur’s heir then I call you a liar sir
My mom died from cancer 5 months ago and watching this live had me ugly crying on my partner’s shirt.
Kind of a high bar.
They said peak, not entry level. This is advanced masculinity.
A pro-masc move, if you will.
It’s a peak not a bar. Go hug your bros.
Start with just sharing your feelings with the bros and go from there
A bar so high it’s on the far side of the moon.
Real women hold me down by my weak little bee wings in order to repopulate the hive
Gas leak?
Cuz we lost everything…
We had to pay the priiiiiice…
I’ve got to be honest, I watched this live and it made me shed a sneaky tear… I’m 54 this year.
No need to be sneaky about it, be open with your emotions! You’ll be enjoying life a lot more friend!
American cringe at its best
I’m confused what is masculine about this. Did the man fix the moon crater while the other man played sports in it?
The masculine part is that a man saw a need that a member of his group had, a need for support and empathy, and he provided it despite the possible cost to his own ego.
A toxic male builds himself up, a real man builds up his community. A toxic male displays his strength for show, a real man uses his strength to protect those weaker than them.
Fixing isn’t masculine, women can fix things and not be manly. Sports aren’t masculine, women play sports for fun and competition
Thank you. Is real man the natural parallel with toxic male?
Ok, but you have to understand that being able to cry because you named a moon crater (after a loved one) while in space is… not really something everyone can do.
On a more serious note, yes, I agree. What many want to make us believe to be peak masculinity is actually peak fragility. You have to be a special kind of fragile man to believe that crying makes you less masculine.
Friendly reminder that this absolute fucking loser is what people are basing all the “sigma” bullshit on:
I’d be bawling like a baby
So any time I listen to music that’s honestly beautiful. I instantly get teary eyed. It’s from brain damage from concussions. But anymore when I get moved by music. I can’t control my emotions. It’s a curse.
I don’t think that’s from brain damage.
meh. I can’t even walk down to my kitchen and remember why I went down the stairs. I can’t remember people’s names seconds after we talk. I can’t keep up a conversation because I forget what we are talking about. It’s pretty bad plus ADHD on top of that. Probably on the spectrum but I’ve never been tested.
I just meant to say beautiful music making you tear up is a pretty normal thing. I do it all the time.
All the best to you, I hope your condition improves over time. :)
