From the time we’re little, we’re taught that big boys don’t cry and told that when times get tough, we just need to “man up.” The message is so strong that even a baby could figure it out (and plenty do): boys shouldn’t cry. Put a different way, boys–and later, men–need to be tough. “Real” men disregard pain, discomfort, and even common sense. Here are a few examples of how that pressure to be a real man may very well be killing us.
Our Jobs Are Killing Us
More than 90 percent of people killed in a workplace are male. And more than 90 percent of those who work in the most dangerous jobs are male. These include military service, roofing, logging, mining, firefighting, garbage collecting, working on an oil rig, and driving a truck.
Our Social Life Is Killing Us
On average, men have fewer friends and we’re less emotionally open with them than women are. A number of studies have found that loneliness is one of the biggest predictors of functional decline and death in older adults….
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