# Is it OK for men to cry in public? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 29, 2003, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398 "2003-09-29T00:58:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/221 "2003-10-08T12:55:19Z")
And really, the whole fucking point is not that men should be crying here and there all over the place for no reason. I don’t think men, or women, _would_ be crying here and there all over the place for no reason, all things being equal. The point is that it’s loopy and backwards to decree that men shouldn’t cry or should restrict their crying _because of their gender._ What does gender have to do with whether someone should cry or not?! ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/222 "2003-10-08T12:56:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\* > > Let’s see one of you guys give birth and not cry. \*\* I’m more than willing to admit that I couldn’t even _watch_ childbirth, let alone go through it… ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/223 "2003-10-08T12:58:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JuanitaTech \* > \*\*OK, so on a scale of 1 - 10 (ten being super-dooper evil) how evil am I for following this thread for its comedic value? > \*\* If you are evil then I’m guilty, too. When Scumpup came out with his pimp-slap/fly right bit, I immediately pictured Red from that 70’s Show saying the line. I have to admit I was crying from laughing so hard. Is that acceptable? To laugh so hard you cry? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/224 "2003-10-08T13:09:09Z")
No. Please turn in your testicles at the local Male Station. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/225 "2003-10-08T13:10:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*I’m just saying the the conventional tough guy posturing really counts for very little compared to the strength required to live a difficult life. \*\* I agree. BTW, I wasn’t one of those guys. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/226 "2003-10-08T13:49:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tdn \* > Oh, and as to your bragging about how many people you’ve hit – That doesn’t make you a man. It makes you a violent thug. You should be locked up. \*\* Hey now we don’t know the whole story. There are a lot of people out there who _deserve_ to be hit. Actually. It’s ok to cry if you get hit in the nuts. Did anyone mention that yet? > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by gobear_ > There’s a reason that women prefer to hang with gay men; we have defined our masculinity for ourselves instead of letting others do it for us. No. It’s because you don’t roll your eyes when they start talking about shoes, clothes and Prada bags. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by gobear_ > Building an endtable or kiling bugs is small potatoes to that. In all fairness, it was a really big bug. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/227 "2003-10-08T14:05:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by matt\_mcl \* > \*\*No. Please turn in your testicles at the local Male Station. \*\* Geez, tough crowd. Guess I had better not mention what happens when I watch ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, or see the little robot in the last scene of ‘Silent Running’ then. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/228 "2003-10-08T14:16:15Z")
To be fair, _Silent Running_ is such a bad movie that I could understand anybody crying at being forced to sit through it. I even like Bruce Dern and I still can’t bear that movie. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/229 "2003-10-08T14:19:19Z")
> [@](#): > > No. It’s because you don’t roll your eyes when they start talking about shoes, clothes and Prada bags. It has been my experience that straight guys don’t do this either if the gal talking has a low cut shirt and a nice rack. ---
**Author:** ![Uzi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/91b2a8/32.png) [@Uzi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uzi)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/230 "2003-10-08T14:29:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scumpup \* > **To be fair, _Silent Running_ is such a bad movie that I could understand anybody crying at being forced to sit through it.** Oh, yeah. I saw it when I was a teenager. Still, I don’t remember feeling so cheated of time on this earth as after seeing that ubercrap, Matrix-reloaded. That was enough to make me want to cry. JuanitaTech, you are a keen observer of human nature. My girlfriend, once she got her _ahem_ nice rack installed, found that her sales went up at the store she works at. As she is the top seller in any store she works in, I think it is an interesting item probably deserving of its own thread. Great investment…(for her of course. I don’t get much work done when I’m around her, so you could say my productivity is down. But when I’m home I’m on vacation anyway and play is the order of the day!) ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/231 "2003-10-08T15:39:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JuanitaTech \* > \*\*It has been my experience that straight guys don’t do this either if the gal talking has a low cut shirt and a nice rack. \*\* No, we pimp-slap her, throw her over our shoulder and take her to the nearest changing room for summary ravishing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/232 "2003-10-08T15:51:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spooje \* > \*\*I’m more than willing to admit that I couldn’t even _watch_ childbirth, let alone go through it… \*\* I am tempted to mock you for your admission, but I’m afraid I haven’t beaten up enough people to make my opinion worthwhile. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/233 "2003-10-08T15:56:18Z")
**Ellis Dee** said: > [@](#): > > I also find it endlessly informative that one of the sensitive types in this thread admits to only crying twice in eight years. I believe that this comment refers to me and I would like to be shown where and when I ever claimed to be sensitive. All I ever claimed was that is was okay for men to cry in public when under the influence of profound depression. I would also like to know what you find so “endlessly” informative about the fact that I’ve cried twice in the last eight years. Are you a mental health professional that you are able to glean some insight into my character, based on a few words on a message board? If so, please share that insight so that I might learn something valuable about myself. Otherwise, do your enigmatic posturing elsewhere. Of course, if you were referring to another poster, never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/234 "2003-10-08T16:00:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Great Unwashed \* > \*\*I am tempted to mock you for your admission, but I’m afraid I haven’t beaten up enough people to make my opinion worthwhile. \*\* It’s OK, provided you have killed a few bugs and built an endtable. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_great_unwashed/32/4791_2.png) [@The\_Great\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Great_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/235 "2003-10-08T16:07:04Z")
Woohoo! I have, I have, I’ve killed bugs and built an endtable [thinks: what’s an endtable?], you great wussy. Now get your ass down to the nearest maternity ward and give birth like a man. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/236 "2003-10-08T20:23:35Z")
…effminate… …like a girl… …real man… …girlish… …manly… …estrogen-seeping… …nancy… Boils down to “if you cry, you are as bad as a woman”? Lovely, I am surprised you will sink so low as to fuck us. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/237 "2003-10-08T21:39:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Great Unwashed \* > Woohoo! I have, I have, I’ve killed bugs and built an endtable [thinks: what’s an endtable?], you great wussy. Now get your ass down to the nearest maternity ward and give birth like a man. \*\* It’s a small table that goes at the ‘end’ of the couch. It think. I don’t know, it’s my girlfriend’s job to pick out the furniture, I just put it together. And it can be very disruptive when there’s a bug buzzing around the appartment landing on stuff and what not. That’s why a man-sized _swat_ with a magazine is required (as long as it’s not one of her InStyles…whoo boy.) How am I supposed to take care of that shit with tears all up in my eyes? ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/238 "2003-10-08T22:20:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\*It’s a small table that goes at the ‘end’ of the couch. It think. I don’t know, it’s my girlfriend’s job to pick out the furniture, I just put it together. > \*\* That is NOT building an endtable. That is assmbling an endtable from a kit. Truly building an endtable would working from lumber and a set of plans. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/239 "2003-10-08T22:43:18Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Iteki** _ > > …effminate… > …like a girl… > …real man… > …girlish… > …manly… > …estrogen-seeping… > …nancy… > > Boils down to “if you cry, you are as bad as a woman”? > Lovely, I am surprised you will sink so low as to fuck us. I was thinking the same thing. And **gobear** , I may be the Gay Guy, but that’s only 'cause I masterminded the threads. I don’t speak for anyone but me. I am, however, happy to give my opinion, even when not wanted and/or asked for. 😃 Esprix ---
**Author:** ![vanilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f19dbf/32.png) [@vanilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2003, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398/240 "2003-10-08T22:44:19Z")
Esprix, please go to MPSIMS for your yearly birthday thread. Forgive me if its the wrong day. you da best! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-ok-for-men-to-cry-in-public/204398.md?page=13)