Male vs. Female Criticism

It’s not completely clear which gender berates themselves more, especially keeping in mind that in most cultures, men and women have been taught to express emotions differently, since they were children.

Criticism in Men

In many cultures, the predominant part of men choose not to talk about what they are thinking or feeling. They have been trained since childhood not to own up to any qualms or emotional turbulence, lest they be looked upon as weak or girly. They are taught to keep emotions inside and be strong.

However, the absence of acknowledgement of self-criticism, does not mean men don’t indulge in it.

Achievement

For men, the need for achievement is usually seen to be higher than for women. They work hard in order to succeed so when failure hits, they are caught off-guard and it may be frightening. Especially those who have climbed the career ladder quickly, may be afraid that others will see them as failures and would not respect them.

Criticism in Women

Women often verbalize the content of their minds, they share and discuss with others. Thus, even if both men and women indulge in a similar amount of self-criticism, it would have a larger effect on men, unless they ventilate.

The reason is that when we discuss our emotions and experiences, we cope with them in a healthy way and have an easier time letting go.

Although this is equally applicable to both genders, in many cultures men are less likely to ventilate than women and are therefore more heavily impacted by self-criticism.

Key Points

• Men are more often inclined to keep their thoughts to themselves for the most part, and they are therefore more easily impacted by negative self-assessment.

• Women tend to have an easier time verbalizing and sharing with others.

• People of both genders who talk about their inner world are able to relieve some of the adverse effects of self-criticism.