Firstly, less emotional doesn't mean that they should be told that showing any emotion is a sign of weakness. Secondly, if men are not supposed to be emotional why in the year 2014, were there 2,421 suicides in our community 80% (1,946) of those suicides were BLACK MEN.
Depression in African American Men: A Review of What We Know and Where We Need to Go From Here
"Two studies were located that examined the role of African American men’s values and belief systems and the impact on their psychological help-seeking behaviors. Sanders Thompson, Bazile, and Akbar (
2004) utilized a qualitative approach and conducted focus groups to elicit an in-depth understanding of the attitudes, values, and beliefs of African Americans regarding topics such as psychotherapy and barriers to treatment. Mixed-sex focus groups were conducted (May to November 2000) in an urban, midwestern city, with a total of 201 African Americans, of whom 66 were men. Results showed that a cultural barrier to seeking psychotherapy involved the perception that seeking psychotherapy was associated with weakness and diminished pride. One participant in this study illustrated this perception by stating, “Mental illness is considered a weakness and we wouldn’t recognize it in the first place, because strong families just don’t do that.”"
Depression in African American Men: A Review of What We Know and Where We Need to Go From Here