Don't Be a Pussy

By: Tuesday Hanson on 2:19 PM

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In my previous post, I very briefly scraped the surface of society's pressure on women when it comes to the way we look. Just that brief thought about the 

pressures on women reminded me of another video I saw recently that touched on the pressures that society has on men. This is such an important video for people to see. A lot of focus is put on the negative impact that society has on how young girls and women view themselves, which is good, HOWEVER we tend to forget what society is doing to young boys and men. Men are often blamed for how they impact women, but we can't turn a blind eye to the other side of the story.

If you are a man, think about the countless number of times in your life that you have been told, or have told another man, "Don't be a pussy", "Man up", "Grow some balls", "Be a man", "Real men ______", etc. I'm sure you can't even begin to count the number of times because you have literally been fed these ridiculous statements since you could walk. And if you are a woman, also think about all the times you have heard these statements or said them to a man. Think about all the times you've talked to your girlfriends about mistakes your partner has made and have said things like, "Real men would do this or that", or "Real men DON'T do this", or "He needs to man up".

From the time boys are probably three years old 'til the day they die, they are constantly having society or the people around them define what a "man" is. A man has to be the money maker, a man has to get into fights and use violence to get respect, a man has to fight in wars to validate his manhood, a man has to sleep around, a man has to disrespect women to "put them in their place", a man has to know how to work on cars and like sports...the list is endless.

Take a few minutes out of your day to watch this and to think about ways we can bring awareness to men's side of the story and to help them as well. If you have a son, don't tell him to "Man up" when he's sad, don't tell him that "Men don't cry". If you're a guy and you're hanging out with your friends and one of them is emotional about something or doesn't want to do something, don't call him a "pussy" or tell him to "Grow some balls". If you're a woman who is in a relationship don't EVER question your boyfriend or husband's "manhood", don't make him feel like he has to meet certain standards or do certain things to "be a man". That is, unless you want him to define what makes a damn woman. I found this pretty eye-opening and maybe you will too.