I grew up in a house where my little brother and I were both taught as children to keep our emotions locked up. Neither my brother nor I were allowed to show any emotion when we felt it.
I can see gender differences in how this has affected my brother and I. My brother and I both went through a period of time where we would have outburst (during our teen years) of emotion because we could only hold them in for so long.
I believe I had an easier time getting back in touch with my emotions so that I could show them when they came up because unlike my brother I was not plagued by the gender stereotype that most of world holds that men have to hold their emotions in and be strong. I believe this stereotype is making it a struggle for my brother to break the chain of what we were taught as children.
I hope that I have been a positive influence on my little brother by encouraging him that showing his emotion does not mean that he is a sissy or less of a man, but that it actually makes him more of a man!
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I can sorta sympathize with you not being able to show your emotions as a male.
I can be a "bitch" and I had a boyfriend who I didn't think showed enough emotion for me so I would say or do hurtful things so I could get a reaction from him one way or the other.
Well it worked too well one day and he started crying!!! I froze and felt horrible and started to comfort him but deep down I was sorta glad I got to him in that way in my own mind it was like "yes he really cares about me"
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