The flawed concept of Manning Up

I had a cousin who was younger to me but a very talented guy. He used to love cooking and writing poetry but then a single phrase changed his entire outlook towards life.

“Man up buddy”

All his friends used to tease him for his hobbies which were turning into his passion. They called him names like “the housewife”, “girlie lad” and what not. Leave aside his friends my own relatives asked him to steer away from hobbies that are considered feminine. He reasoned them, showed them cookery shows where all these young handsome males cooked delicacies. He wanted to be one of them. But alas our society expects men to behave like men!!

Men don’t cry.

Men don’t feel pain.

Men don’t cook .

Men are always in control.

Why? I guess they have been bestowed with equal tear glands as females. Their nervous system has equal sensory nerves. And probably they have the right to choose what they want to do. I mean why do men have to behave in a particular manner to be called as men!! What would I do if I told you wear only dresses, or skirts or else you are not a female, don’t speak loudly lest  you should be called a tomboy or a manly girl. Such irrelevant prejudices have led to a basic definition and  a certain mannerism in which boys and girls have to behave in order to be a part of the gender they belong to.

Still whenever we see a man cry instead of letting them be, we’ll go and give them a short lecture on how to man up. Why? Men feel hurt equally and they have every right to show it and feel it. They have tear glands that work as well.  They also have heartbreaks and heartaches that make them vulnerable. It is okay for them to shed a few tears. But no according to the society men don’t cry. So they suppress their feelings. Maybe due to bottling up of emotions leads to more heart attacks in males than females.

If I prick you with a pin on your finger, a drop of blood will ooze out irrespective of the fact that you are a male or female. Am I right? So that means we can feel equally? Then why is that men cannot register their pain?

This entire concept is so flawed that it has given rise to robots in form of men who work , smile , laugh and do everything as programmed. Being a girl if I am told not to do certain things because that is not how girls are expected to behave then I might simply ask where is it written?

For all those men out there

There are no issues if you cry, or tears well up in your eyes when you are watching an emotional movie. You can shout a loud ouch if someone steps on your shoes and you can say awwww if you find something cute. There is no concept called manning up.

It is Be Human guys !!!!