Men Cry Too

The first thing that we do when we are born is cry, as that signifies that we are alive and breathing. Girls are conditioned to cry at the drop of a hat, especially when dealing with the opposite sex. But boys dare not shed a tear, even when subjected to the most severe and excruciating physical or emotional pain.

Even if that little boy falls down and bloodies his knee, he’s told not to cry, but take it like a man.

They say that mankind is the only species that cries due to emotion. Crocodiles have been purported to shed tears just before they eat, but that’s as a lubricant for their eyes. Perhaps it’s tears of joy as they’re so happy to be eating, hence the term ‘crocodile tears,’ crying without any real emotion. “Her abusive husband died and she’s crying, but that’s just crocodile tears, deep down she’s glad.”

Some women cry for various reasons, while some men find it extremely difficult.

In the case of women, some have mastered the art of crying in order to get what they want, and in fact, even boys at a certain age will cry to get what they want from their mothers. They dare not take that stunt to their fathers as they’ll be admonished and told to desist. “Stop the bawling, you want something to really cry about?!” And thus endeth the period of males being allowed to cry.

But society frowns on men crying, which is unfortunate, for all that bottled up emotion can only lead to an explosion.

Even in the Bible, the shortest verse is ‘Jesus wept,’ John 11:35. So if Jesus could weep, why aren’t mortal men not allowed to? It’s the macho, it’s the machismo, it’s the manliness that restricts men from crying. But guess what, men do cry.

One example is illness, for when a man sees that his woman is extremely ill and he feels powerless to alleviate her suffering, he may break down in tears

A man may also break down and cry when it comes to his children, for if his young child gets sick and is suffering, the biggest strongest man will break down and bawl like a baby.

A man will bawl his eyes out if he discovers that his woman is leaving him because of his cheating. The irony is, womanizing men will cry rivers of tears if their woman confesses to having an affair.

“He just broke down and wept when I told him that I cheated.”

Men do get emotional during some movies, and I must confess that heart rending movies have brought tears to my eyes. Even now I remember how this movie, Bryan’s Song brought me to tears many years ago. It was the true story of these two football players, teammates and lifelong friends, one white the other black, and one got stricken with a terminal disease. It was heartbreaking to watch.

But tears can be used as a weapon too, and also as a tool, for manipulation. Remember when as toddlers the girls would cry to get their own way and get what they wanted, but the boys couldn’t?

Well, the girls kept that ability and mastered it to perfection as they use it to get what they want. “When I saw her crying, my heart melted and I gave in.”

“After I tried everything else and it didn’t work, I just turned on the tears.” They have to be careful though, for after a while it becomes tedious and loses its effectiveness.

But women also cry for different reasons, and if they cry out of pity, then that’s demeaning to the man. That means that she’s sorry for the man, pities him, and no self respecting man wants that.

‘So take a good look at my face

You see my smile looks out of place

If you look closer, it’s easy to see

The tracks of my tears.’

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

So from birth we cry and at times during our lifetime. And yes, men cry too.

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