At her age, I kept my emotions to myself. Growing up, expressing my emotions was often thought to be a show of weakness or rebellion, and calling out my mother on something certainly wasn't an option I ever considered.
Emotional tears have been considered honest and sincere signals, most likely because they are difficult to shed on demand. At the same time, people acknowledge that tears can be strategically used to manipulate others - so-called crocodile tears.
Falon Stutzman develops a language of flattened perspective, bruised color, and big-eyed emotional states, congealing around a cartoonish archetype of personhood that's both absurd and uncomfortably familiar.
"Yearning is a little bit different from love in that it's more intense. It feels like you're constantly reaching for more. Like, you deeply care about a person and want them to know how much you care about them."
EMO+ started as a tool for adults on the autism spectrum, helping them interpret and express emotions together without the pressure of finding the 'right' words.
Athletes like Justin Rose and Harriet Dart showcase the extremes of emotional response in sports, raising the question of whether showing emotion enhances or hinders performance.