Earlier I today I posted a significant portion of an article written by Soraya Chemaly which begins with the bold statement “When men get angry, their power grows. When women do, it shrinks.” I have experienced this truth throughout my life both first-hand and also via observation of the powerful women around me from my mother, aunts, and teachers to employers and political figures.
Society diminishes women who express their anger out loud. They would much prefer we keep it to ourselves, stuffed into a box and sequestered in a closet within our psyche where nobody else has to contend with the “ugliness” of it.
But feminine anger is neither “ugly” or “unfounded.” We have a great deal to be angry about and I will save that topic for a post all its own. For now, I just want to make note of how quickly women have started responding to the writing of Chemaly. It’s certainly garnered more of a response than any other post I’ve written – ever.
It would seem I have struck a nerve.