Why Women DO Cry More Than Men

As stereotypes go, it is one of the oldest. But women do shed a tear more often than men, a study shows.

The researchers said hormonal differences between the sexes could be to blame, but social conditioning plays a part too.

Women well up between 30 and 64 times a year, while men shed a tear between six and 17 times per year, the study found.
And when women cry, it is also for longer than men. Researchers found women’s tears last for six minutes on average, while for men, they last for between two and three minutes.

The study was carried out by Professor Ad Vingerhoets, a clinical psychologist at Tilburg University in the Netherlands and author of the book, Why Only Humans Weep:

Unravelling the Mysteries of Tears.

He spoke to more than 5,000 people in 37 countries and asked them questions about their emotional responses.


Among men, 66 per cent of participants cried for less than five minutes and 24 per cent cried for between six and 15 minutes.

With women, however, 43 per cent cried for less than five minutes but more cried for between six and 15 minutes – 38 per cent.



Also, more than twice as many women cry for between 16 and 30 minutes: 11 per cent versus 5 per cent of men.

The findings also showed women cried twice as often as men for between 31 minutes and an hour, as well as for 60 minutes-plus.

The findings suggest men should be more understanding next time they watch a romantic film with their partners. Professor Vingerhoets said at the sight of a woman crying, men ‘often feel irritation and tend to ignore the crier’.

However, it’s not just women that cry at the movies. According to Esquire magazine, the films that make men cry include The Shawshank Redemption, Saving Private Ryan and surprisingly Babe, a comedy drama about a talking pig.

Previous studies showed tears contain prolactin, a hormone produced by the pituitary gland associated with emotion.

Women have higher levels of this than men, which could explain why they cry more often.

And because men have bigger tear ducts in their eyes, it takes more for them to well up and for the tears to spill over.