2021/10/18 week 06 Differences in Emotional Expressivity.

 Differences in Emotional Expressivity.

    Emotions have always fascinated me, for the most part it is something we all do naturally and in our private lives we all do it similarly too. Emotional Expressivity on the other hand is even more fascinating. It revolves around how we express our emotions when we are out in public. Do we keep it bottled up till we are alone or are we willing to let it all out then and there, no matter what! Maybe we take more of a middle ground approach and don't under or over show any feelings.

    Growing up I have always felt that it is ok for me to express some positive emotions in public and some degree of affection for my loved ones, but nothing over the top. On the other hand, if I am feeling anything negative then I must suck it up and just be neutral. We are not supposed to feel sad, disappointed or hurt. although, anger was acceptable for some weird reason. On the other hand the woman in my culture were free to show and express any emotion they wished. I feel this was more to do with the stupid idea of masculinity and how men are supposed to be "tough" though. All this leads to is a bunch of grown men who do not know how to express themselves and get into way more fights than they should as it seems like anger is the only way they can express that they are hurting. It would make life so much easier if we were taught that it was ok to be sad, feel down, or disappointed and how to handle it properly instead of just bottling it all up inside.

    In South Africa we have a group of people called coloureds (I know most other countries would call them mixed race, but in South Africa they are proudly coloured and will be highly offended if you call them mixed race. Just another example of different cultures). They are some of the happiest people I know, they are also friendly and extremely passionate about everything. The men and woman freely express themselves, vocally and through gestures. They are confident in who they are and in how they feel, they are also not shy in letting the rest of the world know! I feel that the men of South Africa could learn a lot from them. In many ways it will make us better and more emotionally stable, instead of these unfeeling robots that many of us have become.

    Throughout the world many cultures have different levels of expressivity. These traditions have resulted from different cultural experiences. At the end of the day, we are all free to choose how we will react and how we will show that reaction. However, we need to be sure that by being more conservative, or withdrawn, with our emotions does not impact on our personal lives, and how we show emotions at home. By being too withdrawn we can do a lot of damage to ourselves, and make our loved ones feel like we are not letting them in.

    Showing emotion is an important part of being human. So let us not be afraid of showing the world what we are feeling if the need arises. As we do so we can truly connect with those around us and deepen our bonds with them.