Are Women too Emotional?

By Audrey Hwang

One large misconception is the thought that women are more emotional than men are. People throw that term around to make them seem superior to women, saying that females are irrational in their thoughts and have no control over their decisions because personal beliefs get in the way.

It's human nature to express yourself. When a man does it, and he yells out in emotion watching a sports game, he's just passionate. But when a woman's emotions change slightly in any situation, it's considered irrational. Holding double standards against genders only creates room for misogyny and sexism to grow.

Even if you look at the science behind it, there is no supported evidence that shows any gender differences in the way that emotions are expressed or experienced. In fact, there is an 88% overlap in how males and females feel their emotions. 

But if you really want an answer, it's because of society. The society that we live in makes it socially acceptable for women to display emotion to a certain extent, whereas men are told to hide it. So whenever a female displays “too much emotion”, all of a sudden they are weak and hysteric. The simple answer is that they aren’t too emotional. They’re human.

While it may be “funny” to call a woman emotional on her period or saying she’s too emotional for reacting a certain way, it’s not a joke. It’s plain and simple misogyny.

This saying has been thrown around quite a bit recently, especially in the world of politics. With Kamala Harris being declared as the Democratic candidate for the upcoming election, certain opinions of whether or not females can mentally handle the political field have been voiced.

One of the most recent cases is from Donald Trump himself, saying, “You can tell a lot by a laugh, she’s crazy, she’s nuts.” in reference to Kamala Harris. Apparently, public displays of joy are symptoms of being crazy. When a woman displays joy, she’s only met with mockery and belittlement.

Even in the past, during a Republican debate in August of 2015, Trump said that the Fox News host had, “blood coming out of her wherever”, after being pressed about previous sexist comments he had made. Inappropriate comments like these only make it seem like women can't do their jobs correctly because they are too hormonal. Saying this with no evidence of the reporter menstruating only proves how men will jump to the point and say that women are being too emotional and publicly discredit them as a defensive maneuver.

It’s not hard to be respectful to others, it’s something you’re taught from a young age. Especially in politics where words are one of the most powerful tools, spreading false information that women don’t have what it takes, simply because “they will let their emotions get in the way” is an outdated way of thinking. 

Respect is a two way street. Male politicians can’t expect respect if they aren't giving it. But to the public, a man being disrespectful to a woman is socially acceptable whereas the opposite is shamed upon.