Most people would agree that men are strong while women are sensitive.
It's quite a stereotype, but a widely accepted one, nonetheless. So with this in mind, you'd expect our "better halves" to have a harder time dealing with rejection in relationships (and to be more specific: during a breakup).
A logical assumption? I'd say so... but experience has proven me otherwise... And I recently answered this question for a member of the Makeup Board (our men's only relationship repair community) as part of Q&A session we put together. What follows is a recap of my response...
It would be very politically correct of me to say that it depends on the particular person... and it does, however, if I had to stereotype (which I'm obviously going to) I would have to say that women definitely handle rejection better than men.
And here's why...
Men are too proud... We bottle up our emotions because it's not socially acceptable to let them out. And those of us that do are considering weak, or sissies, or what have you. In other words, society expects us to be "strong" which doesn't leave us with many options in the emotional support department.
So when a typical guy is going through a breakup he doesn't have the luxury of calling up his friends for a shoulder to cry on (a luxury that women clearly have). And if he does happen to take this issue to his buddies, most will tell him to suck it up, that there are plenty of fish in the sea, and then they'll take him out to get drunk.
And while boozing with the boys does take the edge off a bit - it's merely a band-aid to a serious situation. In most cases, a guy doesn't really have someone to share his feelings with. The result? They get bottled up until he starts to lose his mind (hence all the desperate things men do when their girlfriends break up with them).
In contrast, when a woman gets rejected during a breakup she calls up her girlfriends, and within the hour, they're at her side with a large tub of ice-cream and several boxes of Kleenex. This type of support goes a long way in helping someone handle this difficult situation.
And here's something else...
Women are constantly being hit on by men (even after they've been rejected) and what this does is boost their confidence to a tremendous degree. There's never a shortcoming of available men for women. And even though a girl might not be interested in dating any of these guys, the fact that she can get her ego stroked on a daily basis goes a long way in overcoming rejection.
As men... we don't have that "natural advantage". We have to work for it. And when our confidence is shattered from a brutal breakup... it becomes extremely difficult to get some approval from other women. It's one big catch-22... at least for some time until we get ourselves back together.
So if you take into account that women have a stronger support system to help them through this tough time PLUS a constant source of confidence I think the answer to this question is quite clear.
And while this issue is not as "cut and dry" as I've presented it... from a man's point of view, I'd say that women most definitely have it easier when it comes to dealing with a breakup.
About the Author: George Karanastasis is recognized as one of the leading experts on men's relationship repair and creator of Get Your Ex Girlfriend Back - a book dedicated to helping men with their relationship problems.
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