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Between Cultural Norms and Gender Stereotypes: Do Egyptian Men Hide Their Emotions?

August 7, 2022
Photo via Middle East Monitor

“Estargel.” (Man up.) “Enshaf.” (Be tough.) “Mat’ayatsh.” (Don’t cry.) These are all expressions that most men in Egypt grow up hearing. Imposing a sense of emotional paralysis, men are expected to be tough, dependable, emotionless, and strong. A tweet asking “why do men have a hard time expressing their emotions?” was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The tweet received a flood of answers agreeing to the concept and gladly willing to protest about the unfairness of society’s expectations towards them. Between cultural norms and gender stereotypes, many Egyptian men criticized how society labels men who express any kind of emotion as childish or feminine. Others highlighted that, in Egyptian culture, vulnerability and sensitivity are traits mainly associated with women, and women are often associated with weakness. Childhood: between upbringing and schooling Discipline begins at home, and follows in school. In Egypt, upbringing is sometimes the root of the problem. When boys are young, many of them look up to their fathers as ideal male figures. “I grew up in a home with no emotions. It was impacting my whole life,” says 30-year-old Assistant Producer and Project Manager Mohannad…


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