The video I have selected is:
Is Having a Stiff Upper Lip Outdated? | Good Morning Britain
Very short summary: Piers Morgan and Toby Young change the "Stiff Upper Lip" debate into a question of Freedom, Anti Masculinity and Political Correctness. But yes, if you have mental issues you can talk about your emotions. Exit, pursued by a bear.
Longer summary:
As hard as it is to watch any video with Piers Morgan in it, I chose this one because it talks about a cultural trait that many Britons are really proud of. The infamous Stiff Upper Lip. Traditionally viewed as a a display of fortitude and stoicism, it is now seen as an inability to display emotions and possibly the root for the rise in mental health issues.
In this video we see the presenters of Good Morning Britain (ITV), Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid asking questions and participating in a debate with Toby Young and Peter Bleksley about the British Stiff Upper Lip.
Piers gets us started by mentioning Prince William and some comments he made and claiming that he has just joined the bandwagon of suggesting that everything about the Stiff Upper Lip is wrong and harmful and it should not be encouraged, and that the responsible thing to do is to emote and to open up. He obviously does not agree and sits firmly in the opposite camp.
Then Toby Young declares that he is also in that opposite side of the debate. He mentions some research evidence stating that 'men who exercise emotional regulation' actually have much better mental health, likely to do better at school, have more successful relationships, and less likely to suffer from depression. He claims that generally speaking all the psychological evidence tells us that the Stiff Upper Lip is actually better for mental health.
Susanna Reid then says that it is obvious that at time resilience is needed and necessary, but it is when it becomes a prison that it becomes dangerous to mental health. She thinks that Prince Williams comments were just trying to highlight the need to also be weak and vulnerable when necessary.
Peter Bleksley says that he would not use the word 'weak' to define someone being able to express feelings and emotions. It is a sign of strength. He speaks as a person with a history of mental health issues, and he says that he believes that part of the problem he had with his own mental health issues was that he bottled up everything inside, he did not lay bare his worries and feelings. He claims that we now live in an age where male suicide rates are at an all time high, particularly in the under 40s. Shocking.
Piers Morgan has no problem with being more open to display emotion at times, but his biggest issue is that the 'pendulum has swung so far to the other side' that it seems that having a Stiff Upper Lip is seen as a negative trait, a stick to beat you up with and that people like him are a problem. To him that is the key problem. Some people, some old people, actually take pride in being tough and stoic and don't want to be forced into being too emotive. (Makes the debate into a question of freedom to have a Stiff Upper Lip).
Toby Young says that Peter is obviously right, if you are suffering from any mental health issue then it is right and appropriate to talk about your feelings and get the help you need. He does not argue about that. But he thinks that the encouragement of children to constantly be emotive and talk about their feelings is part of a larger demonisation of masculinity. (Makes the debate into something else completely).
Susanna Reid comes in with a point about social media and the bad effects it has on young people. Maybe sharing all that on social media can have a negative effect on your mental health. There is a fine line between a good and a bad thing.
Peter Bleksley thinks that anything that would encourage a teenager to put down social media and talk to other people about their thoughts, feelings and emotions can only be a good thing. He believes that kids spend too much time on their screens. Talk and share your issues more.
Piers Morgan once again changes the interview, to talk about the excess of political correctness in today's society at large, where people cannot just be offended but have to destroy anyone that they feel 'disagrees' with them.
Toby Young (who himself has had issues over sexism in his Twitter feed, about 10 years ago, aged 46) thinks that all that vitriol that goes on in social media is symptomatic of a lack of self control, a lack of emotional relation, with people constantly venting their anger.
Piers Morgan thinks that all fun is being sucked out of our lives by all this political correctness.
Peter Bleksley is thankful for having plenty of fun in his life, but that does not mean that he wants to poke fun at something that it is offensive and if the goal posts have been moved so be it.
Piers has a problem with that and it is that there is someone out there willing to be offended by absolutely everything and now everyone just needs to scream and hound and silence the person that has offended them. And they will use something said 10 or 15 years ago as a stick to silence anyone.
Peter says that is a good thing that the language used 30, 40 or 50 years ago is outdated and that it is frowned upon nowadays.
Toby comes back with a police argument, saying that the force is now going after people that they deem to be offensive, even without complaints. Surely you think that the police should be focusing on real crimes and not policing social media, he asks.
Anyway, the debate ends there, and as usual anything with Piers Morgan in it is pretty much a waste of time. In this case exacerbated by the presence of Toby Young.
But what do you think? Should we toughen up and bottle up feeling or is the Stiff Upper Lip totally outdated?
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