LET’S CHANGE THIS “MEN DON’T CRY STIGMA”
Patriarchy has somehow had its effects on society and its standards put on men and women many years ago and still does today. How so you may ask?
Women’s societal standards:
- Women are expected to be housewives. Cook and clean
- Take care of children
- Bare children
- Be the more emotional beings while being the so called “Mbokodo’s”.
These are only a few of a thousand more standards put on women influenced by patriarchy.
Men societal standards:
- Withhold the dominance in the household.
- Be the providers
- Men aren’t given the chance to show their emotions
- Men are expected to toughen up in every circumstance
There is quite a few that would be mentioned but in this case what is important is speaking about the mental issues specifically men go through on a daily basis. This is one of those uncomfortable topics because it isn’t spoken about often. In the past years we’ve seen so many male celebrities taking their lives due to mental issues that they never shared. This is the time we start normalizing having such topics because this is our reality.
Studies have shown that men make up about 49% of the population but almost 80% of all suicide cases are males. In addition to this, men are unlikely to get help because they are scared to speak up.
According to statistics that was gathered in 2018 it showed that “over a third of men (35%) think they’ve had a diagnosable mental health condition at some point in their life. Men are three times more likely to take their own lives than women”. Statistics also showed that depression and anxiety are part of the leading factors for males committing suicide but this does not apply in all cases.
Instead of restricting men from expressing their emotions and crying, be supportive. Let us change this narrative for the better.
