The stiff upper lip British men once had may have gone a little wobbly, with it being revealed this week that modern British males are more than twice as likely to cry in public than their fathers.
Outside the death of a loved one, distressing scenes in television and films are the reason most men are likely to weep (40%) found a study, which also claims that the average British adult cries for a total of 2 hours 41 minutes per year, adding up to more than 11 days total of our adult waking lives over the course of a lifetime.
Leading psychologist Donna Dawson comments: "The main reason that modern British man is more likely to cry in public than his father is due to TV dramas that are more realistic, gritty and hard-hitting, as well as the last two decades of confessional and counselling-type TV programmes. These fictional shows tap into modern dilemmas and pull more directly on our emotions than TV dramas in previous decades ever did.
"Fictional TV shows are more likely to elicit tears because they allow a more pure, universal expression of grief - an emotional 'unloading' - which is not tainted by the conflicting emotions of guilt, regret, confusion and anger that often accompany specific real-life situations. Conflicting emotions can stop or inhibit us from crying over a situation."
Though television tops the poll for men and is closely followed by seeing they've hurt someone they love (39%), the survey showed that a whopping 75% of women will cry when someone they love hurts them.
A huge majority of 86% of Brits in total have been brought to tears by television dramas, with a death on screen (61%) or emotional scenes reminding us of our own lives (48%) the most likely to make us cry. Seeing animals get hurt (39%) and happy endings (37%) can also get the tears flowing.
Despite so many of us crying, we still make up excuses, with 49% hoping to cover their tracks and the top reasons for blubbing as follows:
- Something in my eye (46%)
- Yawning (35%)
- Lack of sleep (20%)
- Allergies (9%)
- Thinking about something else (9%)
- Contact lens problems (8%)
- Reaction to dust (7%)
- Hungover (3%)
- Chilli on my hand and just touched my eye (3%)
Vice President of Programming for UK & Emerging Markets at NBCUniversal International Networks, Chrystele Fremaux comments: "It's fascinating to see how the reaction of men and women varies when it comes to revealing their emotions - and how these have changed over the years. Shows such as Chicago Med, along with Universal Channel's wealth of character-driven series, brilliantly draw on both the drama and grit of the real world, enabling viewers to experience the highs and lows that both emotional and dramatic scenes can bring."
The survey of 2,000 British adults was conducted to mark the launch of medical drama Chicago Med (Sundays, 9pm on Universal Channel from 20th March).