"See these boys? These are our boys," Jen Hamilton begins in her viral TikTok, showing a picture of her children. "And we have decided not to raise tough boys." Hamilton articulates the importance of allowing boys to express a range of emotions rather than enforcing a rigid standard of toughness that leads to suppression of feelings. This cultural shift is crucial for the emotional wellbeing of future generations.
"I might sound crazy, but when you raise your kids to be tough, or you tell them to toughen up, what you're teaching them is how to mask true emotions that they're feeling to appear strong." This powerful statement highlights the detrimental effects of promoting toughness in boys, as it teaches them to hide their vulnerabilities and ultimately leads to emotional repression that can manifest as anger.
"And what happens is these tough little boys grow up to be men who are only capable of expressing one emotion. And that emotion is anger from pushing down their feeling so much like a beach ball underwater that when that boundary finally breaks, it comes out as temper - throwing things, yelling." Jen Hamilton brings awareness to the cycle of toxic masculinity, explaining how the suppression of emotions can lead to violent or destructive behavior in adulthood.
"...what we're teaching our boys is to feel deeply and to allow yourself to feel those feelings and that even the negative emotions that we experience as human beings are there to protect us." Through this insightful perspective, Hamilton emphasizes that all emotional experiences, including negative ones, are valid and important to acknowledge in the journey of emotional development.
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