HSP Archives - Expat In Bacolod

Sensitivity has been a theme running throughout all this week’s summaries. Under the spotlight today is the subject of male introverts.

Today’s Article – The Silence of Male Introverts & HSPs?

Today’s article The Silence of Male Introverts & HSPs? appeared first on Medium. If you need reminding, HSPs are highly sensitive persons or people.

Favorite Quote from the Author In the Article

Summary of the Article

In a nutshell and unsurprisingly the articles deals with male introspection. That and males who are a HSP. The author explores the online visibility of such males and queries why so few are seen in contrast to women. He believes the answer lies in men typically not wishing to be viewed as vulnerable.

Reading Time of the Article

6 minutes

About the Author and Lesson(s) Learned From The Article

David Johnson is a Mindfulness & Confidence Coach. His bio on Medium adds this – Introverts & HSPs. Informed by Buddhism, Ecopsychology, world travel & probably a few other things. You can find his website by clicking here.

The lesson I learned was that the author is displaying all the signs of being a highly sensitive male. Let me explain that. Johnson seems to take the stance that it is unusual for a male to display signs of introversion as it signals weakness.

Only fools or bullies would interpret male introversion or vulnerability as a weakness.

My Take

I couldn’t help myself! I have already given you a clue as to my take in the lesson learned above. Male introverts and sensitive males have existed since the beginning of time. I do believe Johnson is barking up the wrong tree at times.

I also have difficulty in following some of Johnson’s thought processes. I know what he is trying to say but the message isn’t made any clearer by prose such as this:

“With both introversion and sensitivity there can be the sense that they are personality traits and ways of being that we choose to adopt and live by. These are meanings and values that have been put on those words by society at large, I would say especially in the west.”

Sorry David, that is such a complex structure. I don’t understand it!

There are passages in the piece that I plain disagree with. Johnson writes:

“When the requirement of men is to be loud, demonstrative, physically strong — as that might be perceived as the only way of getting results, of winning — then any quieter way of being will not even be given a chance to shine and will possibly be ridiculed. And if introverted men believe that they have to act in a way contrary to what they are comfortable with, their health and well being will suffer — I write that based on experience.”

Clearly I respect his experiences. I cannot disagree with what he has personally experienced. But I disagree with his starting point – “… the requirement of men is to be loud, demonstrative, physically strong …” It’s a stereotype! Why reinforce it?

Men and loudness is not a prerequisite of maleness. This concept irks me!

Conclusion

It’s a messy article. That is a shame as the message is a worthwhile one. But it needs clarifying.

I do hope you find this series of self development articles useful. If so, then bookmark this page.

Tag: HSP

Male Introverts – Don’t Be Shy!