Women and tears

Little is known about the function of weeping related to emotions. However, the results of a recent study from the German Society of Ophthalmology show that men cry less often than women and for different reasons.

Up until adolescence, there is no difference. After around the age of 13, women shed tears on average between 30 and 64 times a year (for some, that’s as often as once every five days!) and men 6 to 17 times. On average, men tend to cry for between two and four minutes, but for females sessions last around six minutes. “Women cry for longer, in a more dramatic fashion and their tears are more heart-wrenching,” according to Elizabeth Messmer, professor at the University Eye Hospital at the Ludwig-Maximilians University, in Munich.

As for the reasons for weeping, the paper found that women cry when they feel inadequate, when they are confronted by situations that are difficult to resolve or when they remember past events. Men, meanwhile, tend to cry from empathy or when a relationship fails.

Source:
AFP