Reflecting Upon Vulnerability
Men who are my age and brought up during the Gen X era and earlier, were raised to believe that any outward display of emotions, especially emotions considered week like sadness, embarrassment, fear, grief, anxiety and even love was not manly. This wasn’t something that was taught or that we learned because of some indoctrination. It was simply the way it was growing up in a hyper masculine environment where any show of weakness or femininity by a man was frowned upon, ridiculed, and often considered gay.