Question

There have been a number of studies that have focused on emotions and gender. Cummins (2014) discussed a number of them. One that she reviewed showed there was a large difference in empathic reactions to pictures between males and females; however she felt the study was flawed because it relied upon self-report (Cummins, 2014). This could have led the males to play down any empathy because they have been socialized to do so (2014). When studies have been conducted that utilize mRIs and other functional brain tests, the differences are diminished, and it is clearly seen that men and women process emotional content in different areas of the brain (Cummins, 2014). If this is biological in nature, how do we address the socialization concerns in order to bring more alignment to both men and women in regards to emotional reactions?

Answer 1

• Socialization also has influence on how males and females express their emotions. We all live in cultures that stressed upon socializing men to be masculine and hide their feelings, while women are encouraged to express themselves and be the nurturing, care-takers. Gender socialization begins at a young age and affects physical health for men and women.
• Parents ans society play a major influence in this,where they stress upon that boy should not cry and girls are ok to be sensitive.Men are also taught to hide their emotions, which can lead to elevated levels of stress and can result in a weakened immune system, weight loss or weight gain, depression, sleeping disorders, drinking and strenuous exercises.
• As for women, they are socialized to be the responsible ones, the nurturers, and the caretakers. This can affect their physical health in many ways as well. It has been found that being a care-taker of someone with a chronic condition can cause high levels of stress and cortisol within the body, also known as care-taker syndrome. This can affect a women’s physical health because it can lead to weight loss or gain, depression, sleep deprivation, sleeping disorders, drinking or exercising.
• It all comes down to how parents and society bring their children up.In order,to align these differences between males and females to express their emotions,its important for parents to bring up their children equally.To make their son's understand like their daughters,that its ok to be sensitive and express your feelings and not be ashamed about it.They need to understand that in long term it could create physical and mental effects on the child and therefore,making them understand their own emotional expression is important.