Just as well modern men aren’t so macho as in Tudor times... I’d lose my head if they were
Iwas fascinated by a recent report into modern men.
It seems times are a-changing. The research found modern men welcome openness when talking about their emotions.
Far from revelling in playing the field, younger men are keen to settle down and be in a satisfying relationship.
If men are starting to feel able to talk about their emotions and not keep everything bottled up, we should be doing all we can to encourage it.
All our hard-wiring is done from a young age.
Good, bad or indifferent, we are products of our environment.
So we have to convince parents and get them to buy into the fact they don’t have to raise completely traditional “macho” men.
Parents have a big responsibility here if they are to avoid stereotyping from an early age.
What boys are taught – along with the behaviour they see at home – can make a huge difference to the way they deal with difficult situations.
Both Andy and Jamie are sensitive. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and they fight for what needs to be fought for.
That’s true whether it’s on court or off. And neither is afraid of showing emotion.
You could see that very clearly when Andy cried during his post match interview after he lost the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer in 2012.
There was a huge change in attitude towards him from so many people after that.
Wimbledon is the biggest prize in tennis and it was the thing he’d worked towards for most of his life. He’d got so close and hadn’t quite made it. We can all identify with that.
In a strange way, his tears worked in his favour.
Many who had been indifferent or even against him changed their opinion because he showed emotion.
None of us, men included, should be embarrassed about showing emotion.
We shouldn’t be afraid to cry at tough times and happy times, too.
I’ve been watching a boxset of TV series The Tudors and you can see where the macho culture has come from. History is steeped in it.
Men were totally dominant and women had to be incredibly subservient.
I watch it and thank goodness that I didn’t live in that era – I’d have struggled to keep quiet and would probably have got myself beheaded!
The man was always boss. If you’re the big, tough guy you’re not going to show fear or emotion to anyone.
I do think it’s changing, though and we need to accept that and encourage it. We don’t always do that. It will benefit all of us if we encourage the men in our lives to feel able to express themselves.
‘ If men are starting to feel able to talk about their emotions, we should encourage it