“The Strong, Silent Type”: Analyzing the Portrayal of the Cost of Masculine Gender Performances in The Sopranos

Abstract

Media portrayals of the “strong, silent type” reinforce the expectation that men should not demonstrate or even acknowledge their emotions. This trope, however, reflects more significant societal norms around masculine practices that can have profoundly negative impacts on individual men as well as those around them. Emotional compression (or modern stoicism) is fundamentally different from emotional repression. Emotional compression practices can allow men to process their feelings privately and then communicate their feelings clearly without the distortion of uncontrolled bursts of emotion. The treatment of mental health and masculinity in Season 5 of The Sopranos “holds up a mirror” to the costs of emotional repression for men as part of masculine gender performances. The show highlights, sometimes quite brutally, the costs of emotional repression to men and the people around them. In doing so, the content of the show implies that therapy could help men learn to face their feelings and alleviate their suffering as well as that of their families, though only if men are willing to face the feelings of vulnerability that come with having emotions. KEYWORDS: Stoicism; Alexithymia; Hegemonic masculinity; Emotional repression; Mental health; Gender performances