The Democratic National Convention recently wrapped up in Chicago, where Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz were officially nominated as the party’s ticket for the 2024 presidential election.
One event that garnered public attention was Walz’s speech. As Walz spoke, his 17-year-old son, Gus, was moved to tears, standing up during his father’s speech and proudly proclaiming, “That’s my dad!” Gus Walz’s raw emotion was both authentic and perhaps unexpected in our modern culture that portrays crying as something feminine that men just don’t do.
For many men and boys, the ability to be openly emotional and vulnerable, particularly in public spaces, has long been considered taboo, unmanly and a sign of weakness, not strength — not of authenticity, but rather, failure as a man.
