Men don’t know how to talk about their feelings.

There’s a counterpoint to this that I imagine will be familiar to a lot of you - men often do know how to talk about their feelings, but people don’t want to actually hear men’s feelings when they’re expressed. Certain male emotions (loneliness, rejection, purposelessness, existential frustration) make people uncomfortable, and when men voice them, they’re often met with discomfort, dismissal, or even pathologized as toxic or entitled. The problem isn’t a man’s inability to express his feelings, it’s the world’s inability to make space for, and sit with men’s feelings.

What I’d like to know:

How do you feel about this counterpoint? Does it resonate with you?

Have you ever brought this up in conversation when someone says, “men don’t know how to talk about their feelings”? How did that go?

Have you ever tried to bring this up with a therapist, partner, or friend? What was the response?

Do you know of any writers, thinkers, or academics who are talking about this dynamic directly?