Who ever said it’s not okay for men to ask for help!? I’m pretty sure that’s a personal pride thing more than a societal norm, or is at least a societal norm because so many men let pride get in the way. Small men tend to be embarrassed if they don’t know how to do something that’s perceived as simple, and don’t know how to handle that emotion so it is either dismissed or becomes a point of frustration.
Why do you think those men make it a point of pride not to ask for help? It’s because they’ve internalized the subtle (and not-so-subtle) messaging that they’ve received since childhood that asking for help is weakness, and weakness is bad, because you’re a man so you’re supposed to be strong and know how to do everything by yourself.
Social norms and individual behaviors are a chicken and the egg situation. Yes, societal norms are made up of individual behaviors. However, those behaviors are also influenced by societal norms. And often, society punishes any deviation from those norms.
It’s literally the same process that teaches women to do the things that basically all of the feminist literature ascribes to societal norms and internalized messaging. It’s the same process. So why do people always try to invalidate it whenever someone brings up the male side of that coin?
Who ever said it’s not okay for men to ask for help!? I’m pretty sure that’s a personal pride thing more than a societal norm, or is at least a societal norm because so many men let pride get in the way. Small men tend to be embarrassed if they don’t know how to do something that’s perceived as simple, and don’t know how to handle that emotion so it is either dismissed or becomes a point of frustration.
Why do you think those men make it a point of pride not to ask for help? It’s because they’ve internalized the subtle (and not-so-subtle) messaging that they’ve received since childhood that asking for help is weakness, and weakness is bad, because you’re a man so you’re supposed to be strong and know how to do everything by yourself.
Social norms and individual behaviors are a chicken and the egg situation. Yes, societal norms are made up of individual behaviors. However, those behaviors are also influenced by societal norms. And often, society punishes any deviation from those norms.
It’s literally the same process that teaches women to do the things that basically all of the feminist literature ascribes to societal norms and internalized messaging. It’s the same process. So why do people always try to invalidate it whenever someone brings up the male side of that coin?