Chick-flicks make men cry

Melbourne -  It’s ok for a man to cry beer-infused tears when his team loses in football, or perhaps when he is hideously hurt or someone has died.

But a new survey has found that Australian men cry while watching chick-flicks.

Traditionally it’s only acceptable in such extenuating circumstances and if a man really must blub, it is still “something [he] should ... do in private, like passing gas or masturbating,” Salon’s Man Talk Now blog suggests.

Although 19th-century psychiatrist Henry Maudsley cautioned that, “the sorrow which has no vent in tears may make the other organs weep,” men have stayed largely stoic in modern times.

“Boys are taught over and over again not to cry: to scrunch their faces ... [or] to distract themselves,” the Age quoted neuropsychiatrist Louann Brizendine, as telling The Wall Street  Journal.

It seems however, that times they are a changing. A survey last year found that 80 per cent of British men feel comfortable showing their emotions.

They display affection to their partners in public and are relaxed if other people see them cry.

It has also been found that men are just as emotional about movies as women, they have just been less likely to express it.

A new survey, of over 600 Australian women, by Kleenex, reveals 100 percent of respondents had seen their man shed a tear during a film.

Two thirds of the partners became misty-eyed during a romantic chick-flick, with ‘The Notebook,’ ‘Titanic’ and ‘Love Actually’ - all making it in to the top 10 films to make men cry.

But, the top tear-jerkers were tales about man’s best friend. ‘Marley and Me’ and ‘Red Dog’ were found to be the most likely films to make men reach for the tissues.

True to other teary-eyed traditions, one in ten women in the survey revealed their man has wept over the results of their favourite sports team.

Australian men will also cry at the birth of their child (40 percent), on their wedding day (25 percent) and when fighting with a friend or loved one (20 per cent).

The Kleenex top 10 movies to make men weep:
1. Marley and Me
2. Red Dog
3. Life is Beautiful
4. Shawshank Redemption
5. The Notebook
6. Forrest Gump
7. Love Actually
8. Titanic
9. My Sister’s Keeper
10. Toy Story 3