Do guys cut, or is it only girls who cut?

[drahcir]

In all the forums I have read (admitly I haven't read them all) I have found that all the people who say they cut are female. Are there any male cutters out there? Are people who cut more likely to be female? WHy?

[blah2oo4]

ur on about self harming, females do it more, as they get more problems than males. thats my reason any way

[avman]

Check around the self-injury forum. There are also many guys who cut. I think it is a bit more common with females but there are plenty of men too.

[sisterlynch]

It could be that the guys are just better at hiding their emotions and the girls are more willing to ask for help with their problems. That might be the reason that we see more girls that are willing to talk about cutting.

 

Guys can also fight and throw punches or insults, girls are often the ones that are being asked to hold on to their emotios more completely. I think that guys are more forgiven when they make mistakes as in errors in judgement, girls' mistakes are more blamed on her and she takes the pressure from many people.

[PunkPyro912]

yeah guys prolly dont show people they cut like females might...i mean i hide it and no one in my life around me knows about it. its just one of those guy things i guess

[From_Now_On]

My personal ideas on the matter are this (and I mean not to offend anyone):

 

Well, first off, guys do cut also. It's not just a "female" thing. However, it's true that the statistics lean in favor of the ladies...or I suppose to word it more accurately, not in the favor of the ladies. Anyway, yes, it is more common to find a female cutter than a male cutter. This has at least somewhat to do with the general characteristics of girls. They do tend to be more emotional. Also, they are more likely to let out that they cut, whether to get the attention or to get help or whatever other reason. On top of that, adolecent girls can be far more impressionable at times to trends like that. Girls have more 'drama' going on betwixt thier more closer peer cliques as well. When it comes to guys they don't as often talk about their more personal issues. Guys have this more private inclination due to the expectation that they are 'stronger'. One thing I truly believe that some people may disagree with is this (and I think it lends a lot more insight to why females are more likely to cut than males):

 

Females generally are more open than males. With all these other girls around them talking about their problems, I think it becomes easier for a girl to slip into that depressed frame of mind. With it constantly around you, you can't help but dwell. Of course, these are all just generalizations. Guys do cut and girls cut for other reasons and this is only a small glimpse at a huge and complex picture. I would never claim to be able to explain it all away. Cutting is different for every individual really. It's a highly personal disorder.

 

Anyway, I hope at least some of that helped? Or at least, made some sense?

 

And there's my two cents.

[Finchabald]

im male and i cut. It is more common with females but males still cut frequently. I think it could be because men are more physically aggressive and tend to take it out on each other more that themselves.

[lostlove]

I know a guy who used to cut. I think that it is mostly girls who cut, but perhaps guys are also more afraid to admit to it, for fear that they may be labled or called pathetic. From my experience, I have noticed that guys seem to be more afraid of this than girls are.

[cujo]

One of my best friends is a male and he used to cut himself, it isn't odd to find a guy doing it but normally theydeal with their emotions differently than females. Girls like me do it because we think about everything at once and guys tend to catergorize problems into little groups. Hope that helps.

 

P.S. Also if you cut do try to stop.

 

Shoot for the moon, even if you fall short you will fall amoung the stars.

[Mintyfresh]

its socially acceptable for men to be aggressive and outlet thier negative feelings through violence, hitting things, maybe lifting weights... what have you. I honestly think this is the reason is it more common for females to cut.

 

I've (although very seldomly) cut myself and im male. Just today i had a really depressive episode involving a girl im in love with and my own self doubt and worth issues and it was just so much easier to slice my arm up then continue to feel the unphysical mental anguish. Cutting simplifys pain.

 

Then again ive never been a very violent person maybe thats why i cut sometimes.

[thisisnotanexit]

its socially acceptable for men to be aggressive and outlet thier negative feelings through violence, hitting things, maybe lifting weights... what have you. I honestly think this is the reason is it more common for females to cut.

 

I've (although very seldomly) cut myself and im male. Just today i had a really depressive episode involving a girl im in love with and my own self doubt and worth issues and it was just so much easier to slice my arm up then continue to feel the unphysical mental anguish. Cutting simplifys pain.

 

Then again ive never been a very violent person maybe thats why i cut sometimes.

 

please be careful if you do happen to cut. believe me i learned the hard way. stay away from writs and don't cut deep. we're here for you, take care

[Mintyfresh]

er i was appreciative of how "thisisnotanexit" took the time to respond to an inhuman amount of threads, but then i saw they were all the same basic generic responses and thereforeeee rather meaningless ...

 

Why not deal with people on a more personal level instead of cut and pasting a fortune cookie reponse and linking them to a website? If your intentions truly are to help, you'd help a lot more by dealing with the indivuals ....

 

This is as good of a place as any to address it i guess.

[thisisnotanexit]

er i was appreciative of how "thisisnotanexit" took the time to respond to an inhuman amount of threads, but then i saw they were all the same basic generic responses and thereforeeee rather meaningless ...

 

Why not deal with people on a more personal level instead of cut and pasting a fortune cookie reponse and linking them to a website? If your intentions truly are to help, you'd help a lot more by dealing with the indivuals ....

 

This is as good of a place as any to address it i guess.

 

i'm glad you used inhuman

 

do you know how difficult and time consuming it is to check and respond on this board? but i do it because i care. i'm sorry if i'm not always super personal, but i'm only "human." i want to do too much i guess, and am not being realistic. but i truly hope to reach everyone i can, because i honestly do care. i've been suicidal, i've cut, i've seen dark days. but i want to show people that the clouds can lift and i'm proof. so sorry my responses aren't satisfactory, but i'm doing the best i can. i'm in college, i mean you do what you can on an "inhuman" amount of sleep. and also, you don't see what i do on aim, yahoo and msn.

[Desired1]

Most people who cut are females and tend to be teenagers as well. But sometimes there are exceptions to the rule. Like when guys cut or people who aren't teenagers cut.

Hope I helped.

---Desi

[gunblade]

I agree with most of the comments, that women are more likely to either cut, and tell others that they do. Some of it is because men hide their emotions in an attempt to seem stronger, some of it because girls are just generally open. There also seems to be a whole area that girls are more accepted for doing stranger things, when they are in trouble or doing something they shouldnt, they seem to receive more help than when a man calls for help (not talking about on this forum, just in the life around me), (i dont want to offend anyone with that comment, im pretty sure that its not true, its just either something which happens in my area, or i have a biased view of the situation), and that again, could also be because if a woman is comfronted about a problem they have, they are again more likely to talk about it.. if someone somehow found out about the things i do, self harming, suicidal thoughts, then i wouldnt open up to them, even if it was my best friend, id rather not open up to them, as i believe it would just cause them a burden more than it'll help me. I dont want to hurt other people, especially not my friends.

women in general seem more opened about feelings and emotions than men, some men hide their emotions because they dont want to hurt their image, some because they dont want to hurt others.. It's impossible to simply group people, everyone is different, but that does seem to be the general feeling.

[SilverManic]

Hm I think most women in general are more open. But not all the time. I mean if I self harm I'm hardly going to say so to someone I see every day. Yeah there are some people I can talk to about it, thats people that either have self harmed or do self harm.

 

I don't want to talk about it to anyone other than those that do because they look down on me, treat me like crap. Pity me? I don't want their pity, I just want them to stop causing the problems that make me feel like I have to self harm. I know I'm not blaming them.

 

It's not their fault I do what I do, but it's their actions that make me want too. I know more guys that cut then girls. But most of my friends are males...

~S.