Being human means living with hormones and all kinds of brain chemicals that affect how we feel. We are the most intelligent and highly intelligent animals, and scientists have tied our success to another planet sometimes capable of our brain and emotional abilities. In fact, those of us who are emotionally wise are very successful. It is this emotional intelligence that allows us to work so well together in groups, enabling us to use our ingenuity in integrated ways that benefit many. No man, no matter how intelligent, could build a rocket ship to the moon or a democratic government system alone.
Emotions are not just used to understand others and convince others to work with us. They are associated with being human as they are the unmistakable foundation of all the most important social movements, art, and sporting victories. But despite the personality of all emotions and the fact that they motivate both our efforts and our evils, emotions are still considered a field of only one sex – women.
And while a recent study by Microsoft Research found that both men and women express feelings almost equally, they expressed the opposite. Men were more likely to express their anger and women were more likely to express joy and sadness. But a survey of 2,000 people found that at least some of the emotional expressions were culturally correct; French and Chinese women were smiling more than men. So we can probably say that everyone has feelings, but any that we are allowed or expected to express may be culturally appropriate.
Men and women can express the same feelings, but they will be described differently, whereas women’s feelings are overly defined. This is the difference in who should express which feelings are problematic when women violate the rules of what they are not “allowed” to show and are punished for showing emotions. Men are also allowed in public to express anger, but for women it is verboten. While Michelle Obama recalls the run-up to the 2008 election, she was hailed as one of the most talked-about and most influential people in the history of politics. Criticizing women for expressing their feelings is not just a social issue: “‘Emotional’ is a term used to label women who do not want to have their say in the situation. It’s an insult instead of a listener; the words’ crazy ‘really mean’ I shouldn’t pay attention to you, ” The idea that women are “crazy” by expressing emotions in the same way that men are obviously doubled. So let’s stop calling women out to express the feelings of people we all share. Women are angry, and they are angry enough to cry – and so are men.
Another solution would be for women to adopt some of these labels – so if some people call women “crazy” or “angry” or “too crazy” for acting like men, let’s go with it, which can change the meaning of the word over time. There is the first example of some groups retrieving words that were once used to look down on them. The other can be true, accustomed to the fact that we all hear things, and it is okay to express them, no matter who we are.