When was the last time you cried? And I don’t mean shed a single tear—I mean had a full out tears streaming down your face cry. I’d guess you either can’t remember, or it was someone very close to you who had passed.
Crying in our industry just isn’t a thing. It’s too fruity to show emotions. It’s too girly to let someone know you’re upset. Being emotional isn’t cool—it’s the least manly thing you can do.
When we make fun of each other for acting “gay”, crying is like a top-tier gay thing to do. It immediately pegs you as a feminine man.
And let’s not even talk about how much you wanted to cry during the last chick flick you watched with your girlfriend.
But isn’t this idea that “men can’t show emotions” a bit outdated?
Yeah, it is. That shit was from 20 years ago. Construction is one of the last places mental health awareness and acceptance creep into. But listen up—our jobs are fucking hard. They’re physically intense, we see our teammates struggle, or God forbid there’s an accident. We work long hours that stress us the hell out.
And then when we go home, we don’t stop—we have kids, dogs, wives, house duties, family duties… you name it, and we keep chugging along without complaining.
We’re just expected to stifle our emotions, frustration, and stress because that’s completely normal for a man to do. Our wives are the ones who cry, and we are the ones who comfort them.
Why can’t we get the same release everyone else does? Why are we expected to be emotionally stunted?
If you ask me, using all of the available resources to get a job done is the manly way to do things. It’s smart, it’s protocol, and it makes you savvy.
The same goes for a healthy brain. Allowing yourself to use all of your emotions and express fully yourself is the only way to maintain your mental health—and, let’s face it, your sanity.
If we don’t, then what? Will it bottle up inside, becoming an even bigger problem, one that could potentially become fatal for someone? Yeah, I don’t think so. That’s not a sacrifice we want to make.
So, whether you want to shed a few tears in front of your closest bro or sit in solitude in your room, let it out, man. We’re all human, and we all have a range of emotions that are healthy and completely normal to express.
If you’re under the impression that a man crying is gay, then head back to the 1900s because it’s time for a reality check.
The only gay thing to do is bottle up your emotions until you explode like a shaken bottle of Diet Coke.
