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blimixI think a recent, brief rant of mine had been stewing inside me for years, waiting for an opportunity to burst out. On Thursday, I was in a training seminar with about twenty other people. The subject of mental illness came up. A young woman said that it seemed like women had more mental health problems than men: So many more women had anxiety, for example.
I got, um, a little more passionate than is usually seen there. I said, "About ten years ago, I read a study that found that women suffered more anxiety than men. They said, 'Gee, we wonder whether this is something intrinsic to women, or something situational.' When I read this, I thought, Jews in 1932 Germany suffered more anxiety than Christians. Gee, I wonder whether that's something intrinsic to Jews! When we FIX sexism in America, THEN we can talk about anxiety as a..." I didn't get to finish the sentence because of the roaring cheers. (I was probably one of three men in the room.) [1]
I've just made a hell of an impression on a lot of my new coworkers. As the overstimulation subsided, I thought, I probably just got more goodwill than I really earned. It's just words of support from a male ally. [2] I then reconsidered, No, that was also working to counter societal gaslighting, which tells women that they're crazy for being upset with how badly they're treated. Whatever; I'll take the approbation, and I'll live up to it.
1. Perpetual footnote 1.
2. A male feminist walks into a bar, because it was set so low.
I got, um, a little more passionate than is usually seen there. I said, "About ten years ago, I read a study that found that women suffered more anxiety than men. They said, 'Gee, we wonder whether this is something intrinsic to women, or something situational.' When I read this, I thought, Jews in 1932 Germany suffered more anxiety than Christians. Gee, I wonder whether that's something intrinsic to Jews! When we FIX sexism in America, THEN we can talk about anxiety as a..." I didn't get to finish the sentence because of the roaring cheers. (I was probably one of three men in the room.) [1]
I've just made a hell of an impression on a lot of my new coworkers. As the overstimulation subsided, I thought, I probably just got more goodwill than I really earned. It's just words of support from a male ally. [2] I then reconsidered, No, that was also working to counter societal gaslighting, which tells women that they're crazy for being upset with how badly they're treated. Whatever; I'll take the approbation, and I'll live up to it.
1. Perpetual footnote 1.
2. A male feminist walks into a bar, because it was set so low.
