Don’t Cry in Front of Her

To continue a point I briefly touched on in my last post, contrary to the touchy-feely “wisdom” of our culture there are very few situations where it’s actually OK for a man to cry in front of his woman. It’s not that men can’t be emotional, but as Simon Grey commented in that post, part of the manly role is to be the rock in the relationship. Crying in front of her blows that role. You should avoid it – especially if it has to do with your relationship. Find a hetero male life friend or cry it out alone. It sucks, I know. It’s one of the double standards of biology. The thing feminists don’t get with all their cries of double standards is that not all of them favor men. A lot of them really, really suck for us. This can be one of them. We’re people too, and we have feelings. But, ahem, be a man about it. Not because you should for any moral reason, but because the people around you (especially your woman) really will think less of you, even if they try not to.

As with any rule, there are a few exceptions. There are times when it’s OK to cry.

• When a family member or close friend dies.
• When witnessing acts of supreme courage and/or heroism.
• When your car dies, but only if it’s a classic, your first car, or a car you’ve strongly bonded with.
• When your dog dies, but not for any other kind of pet. Sorry cat lovers. Nothing against them, but they’re not manly.
• In a select few manly moments of movies: the opening scenes of Up, when Arnold gives the thumbs as he goes into the lava pit in Terminator 2, the “Freedom!” moment in Braveheart, and when the Giant goes to save the day in The Iron Giant. Oh, and when they shoot Old Yeller (see the previous note). There are a handful of others, but not many

Remember, though, that all of these moments except for the first still call for manly tears (and maybe that bit in The Iron Giant, it’s killer), not crying like a little bitch.

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