Big Boys Don’t Cry: Time to Break Down the Stigma

Crying is a sign of strength- not a sign of weakness.

Judith Uusi-Hakimo
3 min readDec 2, 2022
A young man, upset and crying being consoled by another man sitting beside him. Both are wearing long sleeve shirts.
Photo by Yan Krukov: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-man-in-white-dress-shirt-consoling-a-man-crying-7640795/

The notion that “big boys don’t cry” is a sexist and outdated stereotype. Our society sees men as stoic and strong, and many still believe that crying is a weakness. As a result, boys learn from a very young age to suppress their emotions.

Society often assumes that big boys don’t cry, which is a load of rubbish. The pressure to suppress their feelings often leads to boys secretly hiding their emotions and not crying.

This is damaging not only to the boys themselves but also to the people around them. The stigma against big boys crying needs to be addressed.

It is time for boys and men to break down the barriers and allow themselves to cry freely when they feel sad, angry, frustrated, broken-hearted, disappointed, and so on.

It is a healthy way to release negative emotions and can be very therapeutic. All humans, regardless of gender, need to express their emotions. Suppressed emotions can lead to many problems, including anxiety, depression, aggression, and physical illness.

Boys and men need to cry — it’s mentally and physically healthy for them. Crying allows them to release their emotions and express what they’re feeling in a healthy way. It…

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Judith Uusi-Hakimo

A Nurse by profession. A mother of three and a wife of one. A storyteller and an aspiring writer.