It's orchestrated and edited for drama.

I think a lot of people would feel emotional, particularly in the later stages.

Not sure how crying and gender is connected though?

So those are the only choices then. Who knew? Which category are you?

Definitely. I haven't got time for wimps.

Strong and rough is what I find appealing.

I don't actually mind seeing men/boys sheading couple of tears...however Giles blubbering like a 4 year old was embarrasing

A man can be sensitive and caring but still be manly and strong as well without any need for waterworks.

I didnt know there was a rule about guys crying.

Whether they're male or female, I want to see them put the emotion into their performance, and I'm not interested in seeing them crying afterwards. Pointless.

Thank you Eurostar!

Perfect response

Well obviously, these particular individuals felt like crying.

Yes, but I think it's because it has become fashionable for young men to cry on TV. Not sure how this has come about but it is unwelcome....nobody wants to see repressed emotions but males sobbing their eyes out over something as trivial as a reality TV show is unmanly behaviour.

It's a silly thing to cry over either for either gender.

Very disappointed with this sort of attitude. I thought this is the 21st century? Men have just as much right as women do to express their emotions.

Fat lot of good these blubbering bufoons would be in a crisis : I bet Douglas Bader wasn't dabbing his eyes with a tissue when he was taking on the might of the Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain

I was just about to post the very same thread. All this sobbing and wailing is just embarrassing.

Well, ignoring the unmanly comment (LOL), the X Factor has been increasingly going for sob stories and drama in recent years.

I still don't have a problem with men crying though.

Men who cry have less strokes

It was that they all burst into tears after their performances except Paul, before they even went to see Louis.

Seriously guys.... that was pathetic.

Yes they do, but they have to put up with derogatory comments from real men, and also from the type of woman who cheers her man on in a street brawl at the weekend.

Unmanly is exactly the right word. I don't know when it became fashionable for men to sob their eyes out at the drop of a hat, but it's far from alpha male behaviour (and is sending out all the wrong signals to the next generation of boys coming up). By all means men should be open about discussing their emotions, but the blubbering and behaving like a wimp is nothing to be admired.

ah but would you use the word wimp to describe a crying female? Or do you like the damsel in distress who manipulates men to feel sorry for her

So at what age should mothers tell their sons to stop crying and man up ?

I probably would if she was crying her eyes out over something as trivial as a reality TV show.

I'm not sure how or why this blurring of the sexes has taken place, but it's bad news for men in particular and is not doing them any favours.

Ideally it's their fathers that should be doing it.....boys have a strong need for male role models.

Well, by definition, an Alpha male is the leader of the pack, and, as such, there can, as in the case of Highlander (to appeal to the machismo-loving side of you that is clearly so important), be only one!

If men all behaved in the way that you appear to desire, there would be wars all the time!

Oh wait a second....!

Let's not be naive; the show drinks these tears like the elixir of life. It needs these contestants to feel they have nothing other than the show. "Make or break" as Zoe said. They want the audience's hearts to break at the same moment as the contestants'. That's why the crying doesn't really come across as very genuine in this context, from any of them, because we see it so often along with the usual cliches.

When it comes to men crying in general, it's a fairly ridiculous taboo. It's dangerous to send the signal that there's only one correct way for anyone to behave.

The whole bunch of them needed a mega size snickers bar !. I swear if they ball their eyes out like that in the lives along with Hannah B, I sure as hell hope that the studio is waterproof & that the wiring is well covered.