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The fact that, in the UK, the male suicide rate is three times that of women's suggests that telling boys to bottle up their tears in those extra-large male tear ducts might not be working for anyone.Biological explanations are inconclusive. A Dutch study comparing the crying frequency of menstruating and non-menstruating girls failed to demonstrate expected differences in crying, suggesting the hormone prolactin isn't so important.Neuroscience is often used as evidence for the biological basis of gender difference in emotions. In their book, Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps, Allan and Barbara Pease suggest that, whereas men's emotions are compartmentalized, women's are splashed all over the place, appearing in MRI imaging as messy splodges scattered across both hemispheres of the brain. Women's emotions "switch on simultaneously with other brain functions," say the authors. In other words, women's tears will totally get in the way of their mathematical decision-making.READ ON MOTHERBOARD: Webcam Tears Is the Internet's Weird Heart-Wrenching Exhibitionist Support Group
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