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The systemic gaslighting of women.
Why is it that women have to struggle so much to be heard? Whether it is in conversation, where men tend to feel we dominate the conversation whether the men are doing most of the talking or not:[pbs.org]
or in our Doctors offices where our pain and physical ailments are written off as hysteria: [health.harvard.edu]
or in social media, where every post about our own experiences is met with disbelief, not-all-men statements and outright gaslighting, sexual harrasment and threats?[google.com]
What exactly is it about womens voices that drives men to try to silence us in so many ways?

OpposingOpposum 9 Aug 10
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6 comments

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1

I have an idea. Let us see if it floats. Men hear a problem and either jump to fix it or become frustrated because they cannot. Women like to talk and be listened to. Women want to discuss and come up with an agreed upon line of action. The two are in conflict. Kate mentioned a problem and I get frustrated because we do not have the money to fix it. She know our financial situation, she does not want me to get frustrated, she wants to see if there is another way to solve the problem. Once I realized this I started to relax, as the statement of the problem is not because of me, she wants conversation. She wants to be part of the solution. Once i relax, solutions that have not been thought of come into view and we work together towards a solution. I do not know how to put this into general terms so i made it personal. Thoughts.

1

You guess is as good as mine

1

I think toxic masculinity is the root cause, but I'm not a fan of the phrase. Like all pop culture phrases, the more you hear it, the less it means.

That being said, can you even imagine living in a culture where men who are introspective, thoughtful, and self-aware? Able, allowed, even encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings? But where's the incentive? They've got the power, culturally speaking. Why would they want anything to change? (It's because they can't imagine what they have to gain, but don't try to tell them that, they won't believe you, they'll just gaslight you.)

Because, you know, bitches be crazy.

1

It's sexism, plain and simple.

Men are praised for acting strong and confident. Strong, confident women are belittled and dismissed, called:

"Bitch, witch, shrill, whining, nag, bossy, hysterical, on the rag, emotional, angry, feisty," etc.

3

I don't let a man do that to me anymore. If I disagree with a Doctor watch out-my voice will be loud and not so pleasant. I had a Resident Doctor who ripped a tube out of me without pain killer-and I screamed "You'll never do that to me Again " I will also fight back on social media when someone is misogynistic.

0

Maybe some women talk too much about things men aren't really interested in.

Maybe you need to learn spelling and grammar before commenting.

@OpposingOpposum that's a typo, also I didn't mean to offend, just pointing out a possibility

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