If men cannot cry, I am absolutely suspicious of what issues they must have.
If someone cant show a true and natural emotion…theres a problem.
Same applies to women who dont want to show themselves getting angry.
Means theres some sort of deep issue with trying to fill a sort of stereotype…men dont cry…women are ladylike and dont have tempers.
argh.
I cry when I’m emotional (upset or really frustrated), but not when I’m hurt.
I think everyone reacts to situations in different ways, and crying is a legit reaction. I’m not going to think any less of anyone for crying, regardless of their gender.
Why just males? I’m female but my Dad would never allow me to cry.
If I cried when I was little he told me to quit acting like a baby.
So I didn’t cry.
We buried my Dad a year ago today, we all done exactly as Mom told us to do to honor our Dad, you don’t get in the funeral home crying. We all stood up straight and made our Dad proud. We didn’t cry because we didn’t love him, we didn’t cry because we had been conditioned not to .
hmm, IIRC the OP was talking about her husband cutting his finger off.
IMHO crying over that is a bit different than, say, crying over a loss of a loved one.
IOW I really dont think I’d cry if I cut my finger off,IMHO thats wimpy(hey, she asked) and If that means I have issues so be it…
But if my doggy died I’d bawl…
The last time I cried at physical pain was when my sister accidentally crushed my middle finger in a deadbolt. It was the first and hopefully last time I’ve ever seen one of my own bones. Plus I was 13.
However earlier this week when I found out that my puppy has a heart murmor and possible hole in her heart I had a good bawl… after I made sure there was no one else around of course :).
The only time I can remember crying over an injury was with a deep cut to the tip of one of my middle fingers… I didn’t start crying until my mother was looking at it. It was almost as if once the situation was out of my hands I could relax and cry over it. All other times so far (though there haven’t been many) I have been too busy figuring out what needed to be done to stop and cry.
Of emotional tears, I have had more than my share. Of tears of depression, I’ve had plenty. Also, I would ask some of you to remember that children can also experience depression and emotional difficulties - when I was a small child I would cry at the drop of a hat, as hard as I tried not to. It never went away - it ‘developed’ into depression as I aged. Try not to be too critical, please.
dg, your husband’s reaction was normal. I would have him wait until one of the asshole s injures themselves seriously and see what they do 
there are a very large number of nerves in the fingers and the pain was likely disproportionate to the injury (WAG), that’s disregarding the shock of ‘holy crap my finger is no longer attached’.
I cry when I drink very hot soup or peel onions ;D…
I’m not gonna read the laundry list of injuries, other than to say that they include a cut off toe (reattached), a crushed hand, two blown-out knees, a chainsaw mishap and more stiches than I could possibly count… I, personally, have never cried from pain (not saying I am better or worse than anyone else), but I cry like a leaky bucket during sad movies… or when the underdog wins… or when listening to a particularly moving piece of music…
But then… I think I am just screwed up.
The guys who were riding your hubbie for crying over losing a finger were being assholes. Loss of a finger gives a pass on crying, no problem.
That said, I personally don’t like crying. It means bad things are happening. When this question first came up in the 70s, my thought was, “I don’t really WANT to cry. How about giving men the freedom to have multiple orgasms? I could go for that. Crying sucks.”
I’m going to take a big chance here and explain something that at least half of the population does not know. Several posters have already alluded to it or kind of talked around it in their explanations, but no one has really been explicit about it yet in this thread. Because this is the Straight Dope, I’m going to pull back the curtain and let everyone in on the secret, so that we won’t have to dance around it any longer and everyone can know the truth.
In about fifth grade, all boys are taken into the locker room and the appropriate dominant male (usually the gym teacher or football coach) reveals to them the Male Code. It’s pretty simple and straightforward to explain, and once you hear it, you are bound by it for life and sworn to uphold the Code, no matter what.
Here it is:
a. Guys may never cry due to physical pain; a loud yell and a couple of ‘oh, shits’ and squinching up your face are ok, and it’s acceptable if a tear kind of wells up briefly in the eye, but it may not fall out, under any circumstances.
b. No whining or repeated bitter complaints about the extent of the pain is allowed. Just keep your worries to yourself and let the blood pouring out of the injury do the communicating.
a. Crying is ok for expressing powerful emotions, positive or negative ones. But no crying jags or boo-hoo whiney stuff. Examples may help clear things up:
Tears in movie theatres, cheesy commercials, or upon hearing sad news are ok.
Girlfriend dumps you–go ahead and cry.
Dog gets hit by the car–crying about it that evening is ok.
Your team wins the big game with a last second field goal–go ahead and let some tears of happiness fall and you can even hug your buddy (briefly).
Your wife gets pregnant/gives birth/has a miscarriage–you’d better cry, and more than once, too.
b. Exceptions–guys may never let the crying and emotions get in the way of what needs to be done. If you and your wife are held up at gunpoint, for example, she can cry, but you may not. You have to stay ready to kick some ass if the opportunity arises.
Code Analysis: Now, in looking at the specifics of your husband’s injury, it’s clear that he was crying not from the pain [see rule 1) a. ], but because he was upset about the loss of his favorite finger [rule 2) a. ]. So–he’s ok, he hasn’t broken the code, and those guys were assholes.
Now, if he had experienced the loss of the finger while being shot at by a crazed sniper or knife wielding madman, crying would not be ok.
Get it?
That is exactly why I almost never cry in public. It upset my dad that I cried a lot after my grandmother died when I was 7, and he apparently said not to (I don’t really remember him saying so, since there’s a lot I don’t remember from when I was depressed, but my mother has mentioned that she was pissed about it; I don’t know if it’s because I was a little girl, or just little in general.) do it anymore. So I don’t. I have cried in public - public being in front of anyone(including friends) other than my parents or brother- about six times since then, and I’ve always felt weak and humiliated by my failure to keep myself from crying in those cases. You do not cry in public, no matter which gender you are; you go somewhere to cry by yourself. That’s the rule, though not for everyone since I don’t usually begrudge others their tears, but it’s the rule for me.
Crying from physical pain? I won’t fault you if its something serious, but that’s not a reaction that comes to me with pain. I just scream the F-word a lot and hop around. 
The times I’ve cried in the past few years:
I just wanted to quote this out of context.
That is all.
I think it is okay for anyone to cry?
I also choose to not cry in front of people so I cry in the shower. I like the human in us as male or female so we should be allowed to cry but cry with taste please!! 0887:)
Well, then screw the “Male Code.” As far as I know, there’s no equivalent female code. Though if there was, I’m sure I’m just the person to not know about it…
Seriously, I don’t see why some arbitrary code needs to dictate how people act. A guy can’t cry because he needs to be strong and “male” in case he’s held up at gunpoint? Why doesn’t that apply to women? I guess this is just one of these “gender” things I’m just never going to understand…
Code or no code, I see a guy start blubbering at the sight of a gun(especially if he’s with his wife) instead of trying to keep cool. I’d definitly think he’s a wuss in need of a good smack…
IMHO The male victim crying in that situation could make it more volatile…
So why is it okay if the female one cries? I mean, for all you know, she could be much more cool and competent than the guy. I just don’t see why people need to do what “society” tells them to do. I’d just follow my own instincts.
I have no problem whatsoever with crying, but there is a time and a place for it. I have cried at work a couple of times, in a locked room where no one could see me. As a general rule, no one who I don’t consider a friend should ever see my tears (unless it’s at the movies, which doesn’t count).
The last time I cried in public was when I was holding my cat in the waiting room of the vet before I had him put to sleep. I was one of the most harrowing things I have ever had to do, and I had to do it alone, so I didn’t give a damn who saw me. If that makes me a wuss, so be it.
Beats me, were talking: “Is it OK for a man to cry”
IMHO not in that situation
I’d shake her hand…
Maybe it has more to do with your basic male animalistic instincts than what “society” says i.e. Male “protector” shrinks in the face of danger, rather than protect his SO…
Just an under-educated guess…
hey gorgon heap, don’t be a dick…he cut his finger off…he didn’t cut his finger, break a hand or get a shot…he lost his finger…geez…come over to my house and allow me to cut your finger off and i’'ll eat a shit sandwich if you don’t cry, eh…