Men and the Language of Emotions

by D. Galasinski

Men and the Language of Emotions challenges the commonly held association of rationality with masculinity, involving distancing from the language of emotions. Drawing on a study of heterosexual men talking about their life and relationships, he demonstrates that men are capable of speaking of emotions, and in direct and uninhibited ways.

181 pages, Paperback

First published November 10, 2004

Reviews

[Raoul W · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book written to counter the arguments encountered sometimes in academia and public discourse that men do not have emotions, are not capable of having emotions, and don't construct their identities in relation to emotions. The author instead argues that men use emotional language in different contexts, and talk about emotions, often strategically. Masculinity as an ideology providing various forms of constructing one's identity at a local level, influences how men express their emotional lives. For instance, men may adopt distancing strategies when talking about emotions in a context where a more stoic, self-sufficient, rational masculinity is expected... they may, for instance, state that the situation was annoying or sad, as opposed to, I was feeling sad. Useful take-away: men, in negotiating their identity at a local level, having emotions, may relate to them and express them differently, depending on the strength of the particular masculine ideology at work at that time. Emotional discourse is then a communicative strategy related to comfort, safety, etc...