Introduction
Crying in public, especially for men, has been a taboo for generations. Men expressing their emotions through anger and being aggressive has long been viewed a masculine, whereas crying has been associated with weakness. However, in the past year there has been a shift brought on largely by professional football players and brothers Jason and Travis Kelce who on many occasions openly display their emotions by shedding tears. This goes against the norms of what society associates with tough football players whose sport is viewed as violent. The Kelce brothers’ openness display of emotion has started a long overdue conversation.
Dr. Fredric Rabinowitz, a University of Redlands professor of psychology, in an interview with Scott Cacciola assets, “You can be a tough, strong guy, and you can also be emotional and connecting.” Additionally, Dr. Rabinowitz believes, “there’s a growing acceptance that our human emotions are natural, rather than something that we need to dam up or that we need to push down.”
In preparation for this essay, please read the New York Times article by Scott Cacciola “There Was Always Crying in Sports. The Kelces Made It Cool.(https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/06/style/jason-kelce-crying.html) “ If you find yourself behind a paywall, please search for the article in CSUDH’s Library(https://csu-dh.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/npsearch?vid=01CALS_UDH:01CALS_UDH).
Prompt
Do you believe there is still a stigma against showing certain emotions by men and boys? Or do you believe that the Kelce brothers are normalizing men showing emotions by crying? Your response must be research based and clearly state your point of view.
Sources
A minimum of three sources are required for this essay:
- minimum of two articles from CSUDH’s library databases
- the remaining article can be from a credible online source which includes an author
Essay Grading Criteria
- MLA format
- Minimum length: 4 full pages – maximum 5 pages – excluding Works Cited page.
- All elements of essay writing:
- Engaging introduction with a thesis statement
- Balanced paragraphs that don’t exceed half a page in length
- Transition words and sentences
- Organized thoughts and clear examples
- Attention to sentence structure, form, and punctuation
- In-texting for credit purposes
- Pay attention to the number of quotes used –meaning use wisely and sparingly!
- Works Cited page
- Written in third person (avoid “I,” “you,” “your,” “we,” “us,” “myself,” “yourself” etc..)
- Plagiarized papers will receive an automatic failing grade. This includes essays generated by AI and/or writing generators.