Big Boys Don’t Cry: Navigating Masculinity in Therapy
I remember being in grade school and hearing the age-old cliché “Big boys don’t cry” whenever a male peer began to show he was upset about something.
At the time, I didn’t think twice about it, and I’m sure there were moments when I repeated those very words, not realizing the harm I was doing. Regardless of intention, I now see that these types of subtle messages convey a normative stance of stoicism, invulnerability, and detachment that contribute to toxic ideals of masculinity.
