Male Normative Alexithymia: A Definition (Under the Juniper Tree S16E4)

October 27, 2022

Host: Andrew Crowe | Released Thursday, October 27, 2022

There is a joke which explains a difference between men and women like this: o Two women sit next to one another in the park, chatting. o The first woman turns to the other and asks, “Does your husband talk to you?” o And the other woman replies, “All the time! He asks me what’s for dinner, he asks me if he has clean socks. Once he asked me how the microwave worked.” · Define o Male – men. o Normative – refers to something becoming the norm or normal. This is often a standard in reference to behavior. o Alexithymia – This refers to difficulty identifying and expressing one’s emotions. · We take those three items together and come to this definition. Many men have become unable to identify and express the emotions they are feeling. This has become a behavioral norm. · Why? o There are two thoughts: o One is that some males are not given the opportunity in youth to spend proper time with their mothers (Exodus 2:1-10; 1 Sam. 1:21-24). o Some sort of trauma causes the child to shut down. o There is even indication this may be cultural as research shows males to be more expressive than girls at the beginning stages of life but by age 4, the expressiveness in voice and face lessens a bit. Further research shows both parents may be involved in this. · How does this affect us? o Relationship with wife. o Societal norms.