Most people would probably agree that there’s a fine line between what’s appropriate to say and what isn’t. However, Reddit has some stories about people blurting out things that sometimes can be beyond our comprehension. For example, the crown jewel of today is this woman who apparently told her stepson that it’s inappropriate to cry at funerals and picked literally the worst timing to say “man up.” Luckily, he had a jaw-dropping comeback.

Someone on Reddit shared how their dad was told off from crying by his step-mom

It’s probably just something of human nature to sometimes wonder whether we’re enough. Pretty or handsome enough, smart enough, funny enough—you name it. But it’s one thing to question yourself and a completely different thing when someone else implies that you’re lacking something.

Only to her regret, since she received a major clap-back

Image credits: Umbrella Shot (not the actual photo)

Others seized the opportunity and jumped in with similar stories of their own

It seems that some people find it particularly hard to draw lines regarding what’s appropriate to say when it comes to gender norms. Award-winning author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie said: “By far the worst thing we do to males—by making them feel they have to be hard—is that we leave them with very fragile egos.”

And followed the theme of the saying “man up” being used in the worst ways possible

Image credits: astrid westvang (not the actual photo)

Turns out, some actually did “man up” but it didn’t bring much good

Only this time, it’s not the male ego that’s in question. Turns out, Redditor Vengenbuurg’s dad was once in a situation where his own stepmom told him to “man up” just because he was having a seemingly normal reaction to his beloved grandma dying.

Demonstrating toughness in a difficult situation didn’t help and caused permanent damage

Image credits: Rita Kravchuk (not the actual photo)

Some people expressed that masculinity is a weird thing to begin with

She seemed to believe that suppressing emotions and masking distress is what defines a person as masculine. Maintaining an appearance of hardness is often believed to be a masculine trait as well.

Thus, acting or looking tough doesn’t have much to do with actually being masculine

Image credits: veggiefrog (not the actual photo)

However, not being able to express emotions openly can turn out to be really damaging. Another Reddit user shared that he did “man up” at his dad’s funeral but had to fight depression for 4 years as a result and has struggled with expressing emotions ever since.

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