AltanativeFTW:
I'm sure many boys thought they would be tough and brave only for the reality to turn out differently once they got the cane or strap. Was it only other boys who engaged in this cruel mockery of criers, or did girls also view crying boys as emasculated and bully them, even while crying was permitted for their gender? And did any girls pride themselves on being able to take corporal punishment well?
I honestly don't think there was any one answer to your questions. Different people react differently and teenagers and adult would probably react differently too. I can recall friends showing there injured hands with pride after a caning while I also remember not wanting to admit to a (female) cousin that I had just been slapped in school when I met her at lunch time. And the difference applied across the gender divide, girls who would complain about the pain and others who would try , like myself, to hide it. It would also depend on the relationship. Close friends might share more and of course and a close friend, male or female, would be more sympathetic than just the average acquaintance. In a school setting, sharing with class mates was almost forced on you when the punishment was in public in the classroom and like wise, in the home sharing with siblings.
But after a certain age, boys were expected to accept their pain in silence while crying by girls was more tolerated. At that time , we lived in a very distinct male/female role model society with little idea of gender equality.