I maintain that there is a definitive sex gap when it comes to our emotions. If you prefer, a testosterone and estrogen gap. There exists a gender gap in the way emotions are experienced, but also in the internal feeling reactions to an emotion and the manner in which emotions are expressed. A difference exists how the sexes “feel” an emotion. Males and females feel emotions differently. As a whole, females are more empathetic and are faster to express compassion and sympathy. And, for the most part males are less empathetic, compassionate, and are more unsympathetic.
I propose that the male-female experience, reaction, and expression of emotions can be reviewed from a he-emotions and she-emotions perspective: 1.) fear is processed differently for females when compared to males. For females, fear/anxiety is more related to safety/security of the family and the home. For males, a lot of fear and anxiety revolves around safety/security issues concerning their job and finances, 2.) anger appears to be more of a he-emotion with males being more prone towards anger than females. Anger can be a dangerous emotion that can lead to physical harm. Females certainly have their anger moments and issues, but feelings related to anger for females are usually expressed in words. 3.) sadness is more of a she-emotion with females reporting higher rates of depression. Maybe these elevated rates are associated and related to females being better at expressing feelings of grief and loss, 4.) jealousy can be seen in both sexes. It is related to the feelings of envy and greed. Males are more competitive than most females and jealousy is often related to winning, or not winning in competitive situations. For females, jealousy often comes out in what others have —> physical appearance, clothes, house, jewelry, etc., and 5.) happiness is a more of a he-emotion. Males are more pleasure oriented than most females —> sensorial and bodily oriented. Males are more egocentric when it comes to happiness. For females happiness is more driven by relatedness, relationships, and sharing. Females appear to be more alterocentric when it comes to happiness.