This is a piece that I had made for the school newspaper, and one I hold dear. I highly suggest listening to this while reading (https://youtu.be/1stxUqNJINE)
In the field of social relationships and emotional management, stoicism and strict emotional control is the general consensus. This is most apparent for men, where the cult of machismo fervently promotes the repressive control of emotional expression. For indeed, emotional expression is seen as weak, the domain of women (forgive the sexist undertones), against the masculine ideal. However I would like to argue that this logic is flawed, even actively detrimental to the people who are subject to it.
Emotional expression is something that is very inherent in man, for indeed even the mightiest dam must release some water, lest they crack and violently break. In the same way man must let loose some emotion from time to time, there is no inherent harm in doing so. There is also no harm in letting your emotional state bend from time to time. For example, glass is a hard material that never bends nor yields, but enough force will shatter it to a million irrecoverable pieces. Rubber on the other hand, is something that bends with the slightest of force, yet apply a great force to it and it will maintain its integrity. However it does not mean that one is allowed to be too emotional. Going back to the dam example, a dam who releases too much water is useless as a dam. A rubber that bends too much will eventually break. It is simply a matter of balance between emotional control and expression.
Simply put, it is okay, even healthy to express sadness, happiness, anger and the like. This does not mean however that one has the authority to overdo it. Emotional control and emotional expression must work hand in hand to make one a balanced, holistic person.