Hot Girls Cry

WHY TEARS ARE TABOO, AND THE 411 ON WHY WE SHOULD SQUASH THAT STEREOTYPE

As the next winter term comes and goes, many University of Oregon students suffer from the winter term blues. Whether it’s due to the gray skies, or lack of football Saturdays, students are feeling the ramifications of the Oregon winter months for their individual reasons. Let’s face it, winter term can suck sometimes. Whether it’s winter term, or just purely feelings that need to be let go, that weird feeling stuck in the throat and that pinch in the nose are indicators that feelings need to be RELEASED. Crying might just help with that release.

Have you ever had a really good cry and instantly felt better? Whether the waterworks were because Harry professed his love to Sally, or your upcoming midterm is seemingly impossible to pass, there are numerous benefits to crying that actually benefit your health.

So, even though Fergie’s ballad is an absolute go-to heartbreak tune, her lyrics don’t need to feel so relatable; big girls DO cry and SHOULD cry. PEOPLE CRY. Choosing to look at tears in a healthy way can present numerous benefits not only for the emotional well-being, but for physical ones too.

Here’s the science behind human tears: we have three kinds; reflex, basal, and emotional. The first two are merely protectors of the physical eye itself. They aid in lubrication, nourishment, and protection of the eye, so yes they’re pretty cool, but our main focus is on the third category. Emotional tears have been studied for centuries on their purpose in our society, both their indicators and benefits. Charles Darwin, as prominent as he is, was a theorist who really undermined the purpose of emotional tears, calling them “purposeless” (not really supportive…but okay). Since Darwin, numerous theories have attempted to squash that reality. Emotional tears are linked to many different benefits. Across multiple theories, crying stimulates the release of the chemical substance oxytocin, which is linked to having well-described mood-improving effects. The cathartic aftereffects explain the feeling of relief after a good cry. Therefore, keeping in pent up urges to cry may be detrimental to your physical well being (Vingerhoets & Bylsma, 2015 p.4). All these theorists are proving that my theory is correct: hot girls should cry.

So, what’s stopping us from embracing these theories and letting the tears flow? It’s not breaking news that sentimentalism is regarded in our society as having negative connotations of being “weak” or “vulnerable” (unpacking that requires another rant or two). Despite expelling emotions by crying having been proven numerous times as being healthy and purifying for the mind and body, preexisting dispositions are working against crying becoming the status quo. These stereotypes, particularly directed towards men, are stopping us from accepting and embracing our natural and primal abilities to cry.

I’ve always considered myself an emotional person, but have never been proud of that part of myself. Many people throughout my life have made me feel as though crying was childish or immature. It’s been a part of me that I have tried not to identify with. As I’ve struggled with that part of myself, I’ve found solace in researching all these benefits of showing emotions.

So, if it has proven difficult to embrace your recognition of needing a good cry, I would suggest looking at tears this way: crying makes us authentic. We are truly marvelous for having the ability to utilize tears in emotional contexts. In fact, we’re the only species on Planet Earth (as of now) that have been proven to cry as an emotional release. It shows that we have feelings, and that should be normalized and embraced.

Despite whatever life is throwing your way, cut yourself a little slack and ignore what society has taught us for generations. Crying is not just reserved for the darkness of a movie theater, or the solidarity of our bedrooms. It can be an excellent way to release all your pent up emotions… and you’ll look super hot too!