There’s No Crying in Baseball, or Is There? Male Athletes, Tears, and Masculinity in North America

MacArthur, Heather J.; Shields, Stephanie A.

doi:10.1177/1754073914544476

Cited by 97 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Overall, findings of Study 2 are consistent with research cited previously showing that male athletes in stereotypically masculine sports seem to have increased freedom to display emotions that might be seen as "unmasculine" in other settings (Wong et al, 2011;MacArthur and Shields, 2015). No research to my knowledge has investigated expressions of emotion, or attitudes toward it, in sports considered less stereotypically masculine (e.g., swimming, figure skating, badminton).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…In addition, Study 2 revealed that men may be aware of the advantages of crying in a stereotypially masculine setting, in reporting that they would be more likely to cry in a stereotypically masculine versus feminine setting; no difference emerged for female targets. Overall, the results shed light on why men's crying may be particularly prominent in settings that are perceived to be highly masculine, such as men's competitive sports (MacArthur and Shields, 2015). Results also highlight that beliefs about emotion are fundamentally tied to beliefs about gender, both in our perceptions of others' displays of emotion and in judgments about our own.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Drawing from theory in feminist masculinity studies, however, I suggest here (as elsewhere, see MacArthur and Shields, 2015;MacArthur and Shields, in press), that men's crying may be particularly prominent and public in competitive sports precisely because sports are perceived as highly masculine. More specifically, Connell (1995) argues that relationships among men are ordered hierarchically, with those who represent hegemonic forms of masculinity (e.g., those espousing current cultural ideals) maintaining power and dominance over men who represent subordinate forms of masculinity (e.g., those seen to be aligned with women and femininity).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 56%

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Beliefs About Emotion Are Tied to Beliefs About Gender: The Case of Men’s Crying in Competitive Sports

MacArthur

2019

Front. Psychol.

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Gender and emotion stereotypes suggest that men do not and should not cry, yet men's crying seems to be particularly prominent in contexts such as competitive sports. In two studies, I investigated the possibility that men's crying is more frequent and seen as more acceptable in these settings because such contexts are perceived to be highly masculine, and can buffer men from the negative consequences associated with violating gender stereotypes. Specifically, I tested the hypotheses that (a) observers would perceive men's crying more positively in a masculine-stereotyped than a femininestereotyped setting, and following from this, (b) men would report being more likely to shed tears in a stereotypically masculine than a stereotypically feminine setting. To test these predictions, I conducted two between-subjects experiments in which participants (N = 250; N = 192), read a vignette about a man or a woman crying in either a stereotypically masculine (firefighting, weightlifting) or stereotypically feminine (nursing, figure skating) setting, and then rated the target on several emotion-related dependent variables. In line with predictions, results of Study 1 indicated that participants rated crying male firefighters as more emotionally appropriate, emotionally strong, and as higher in workplace status than crying male nurses, and that these effects were mediated by perceptions of the target's masculinity and femininity. Study 2 replicated these effects using sports-related vignettes, and showed that male participants reported being more likely to shed tears after losing a competition in weightlifting than in figureskating. Taken together, these findings suggest that men who are perceived to embody cultural ideals of masculinity may be given more room to cry than those who are perceived as less stereotypically masculine.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 56%

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Beliefs About Emotion Are Tied to Beliefs About Gender: The Case of Men’s Crying in Competitive Sports

MacArthur

2019

Front. Psychol.

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“…Much of the work on crying has dealt with gender issues, with crying by males seen as more inappropriate than crying by females, especially in the eyes of other males (Cretser et al, 1982). Studies in sports contexts have found that male players who display low-intensity, moderate crying (e.g., "tearing up") are perceived as having higher self-esteem compared with players who cry more intensely (Wong et al, 2011;MacArthur and Shields, 2014). Warner and Shields (2009b) examined how the intensity of tears (as opposed to merely their presence or absence) affected evaluations of men and women.…”

Section: Intensitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Non-normative Displays of Emotion in the Workplace: How Inappropriateness Shapes the Interpersonal Outcomes of Emotional Displays

Cheshin

2020

Front. Psychol.

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When it comes to evaluating emotions as either "good" or "bad," everyday beliefs regarding emotions rely mostly on their hedonic features-does the emotion feel good to the person experiencing the emotion? However, emotions are not only felt inwardly; they are also displayed outwardly, and others' responses to an emotional display can produce asymmetric outcomes (i.e., even emotions that feel good to the displayer can lead to negative outcomes for the displayer and others). Focusing on organizational settings, this manuscript reviews the literature on the outcomes of emotional expressions and argues that the evidence points to perceived (in)appropriateness of emotional displays as key to their consequences: emotional displays that are deemed inappropriate generate disadvantageous outcomes for the displayer, and at times also the organization. Drawing on relevant theoretical models [Emotions as Social Information (EASI) theory, the Dual Threshold Model of Anger, and Asymmetrical Outcomes of Emotions], the paper highlights three broad and interrelated reasons why emotion displays could be deemed unfitting and inappropriate: (1) characteristics of the displayer (e.g., status, gender); (2) characteristics of the display (e.g., intensity, mode); and (3) characteristics of the context (e.g., national or organizational culture, topic of interaction). The review focuses on three different emotions-anger, sadness, and happinesswhich differ in their valence based on how they feel to the displayer, but can yield different interpersonal outcomes. In conclusion, the paper argues that inappropriateness must be judged separately from whether an emotional display is civil (i.e., polite and courteous) or uncivil (i.e., rude, discourteous, and offensive). Testable propositions are presented, as well as suggested future research directions.

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“…However, both an extravagantly expressive and a restrained emotional ex-pressive style are expected of both genders to some degree and depending on the context. Thus, MacArthur and Shields (2015) underlined that passionate restraint represents a relevant norm for women as well, especially in contexts that demand "good judgment. "…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotional restraint is good for men only: The influence of emotional restraint on perceptions of competence.

Heß

David

Hareli

2016

Emotion

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The present research investigated the notion that passionate restraint or "manly emotion" is a relevant emotion norm not only for men but also for women in modern Western society (MacArthur & Shields, 2015). For this, 2 studies were conducted to assess whether restraint in emotional reactivity is perceived as a sign of both emotional and general competence. Restraint was induced by delaying the onset of the emotional reaction to a purported emotion elicitor. The results show that men were indeed rated as both more emotionally competent and more intelligent in general when they showed restraint, confirming the notion that such restraint fits a positively valued Western ideal of emotional reactivity. For women, however, the opposite pattern emerged in that they were perceived as more emotionally competent and intelligent when they reacted immediately than when restraint was induced. Thus, manly emotions were good for men only.

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There’s No Crying in Baseball, or Is There? Male Athletes, Tears, and Masculinity in North America

Cited by 97 publications

References 37 publications

Beliefs About Emotion Are Tied to Beliefs About Gender: The Case of Men’s Crying in Competitive Sports

Beliefs About Emotion Are Tied to Beliefs About Gender: The Case of Men’s Crying in Competitive Sports

The Impact of Non-normative Displays of Emotion in the Workplace: How Inappropriateness Shapes the Interpersonal Outcomes of Emotional Displays

Emotional restraint is good for men only: The influence of emotional restraint on perceptions of competence.

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