Mona, thank you for your column today....I appreciate your taking time to tell your story in such a clear and vulnerable way. For a man; it's a cautionary tale that provides insight that I feel should have been part of what I learned at a much younger age. Praying to embody the lessons in each day now with deep respect.
Fantastic article, Mona. You are an excellent writer and made many thought-provoking points that helped me reexamine these topics in a new light. Women whose attraction includes men are often in positions where we are meant to be in close, intimate connection with someone who systemically has power over us based on gender. Even in the form of microaggressions, that power differential seems to permeate our every interaction and it takes a lot of conscious effort to work together to resist and dismantle it. Additionally, women are often pitted against each other under patriarchy and taught to compete for men and to fear “the other woman” when really “the other woman” is a potential ally/friend and it’s men who often cause more reason for fear. And patriarchy perpetuates toxic masculinity that encourages men to suppress vulnerable emotions like sadness or fear, which in turn dehumanizes men and produces a lot of the dangerous behavior that is then enacted against women. We’ve got a lot of work to do as a society at changing this, but I am confident that working together women and men can dismantle patriarchy and other forms of oppression and create the kind of egalitarian, emotionally-literate world we all deserve!
Mona, thank you for your column today....I appreciate your taking time to tell your story in such a clear and vulnerable way. For a man; it's a cautionary tale that provides insight that I feel should have been part of what I learned at a much younger age. Praying to embody the lessons in each day now with deep respect.
Fantastic article, Mona. You are an excellent writer and made many thought-provoking points that helped me reexamine these topics in a new light. Women whose attraction includes men are often in positions where we are meant to be in close, intimate connection with someone who systemically has power over us based on gender. Even in the form of microaggressions, that power differential seems to permeate our every interaction and it takes a lot of conscious effort to work together to resist and dismantle it. Additionally, women are often pitted against each other under patriarchy and taught to compete for men and to fear “the other woman” when really “the other woman” is a potential ally/friend and it’s men who often cause more reason for fear. And patriarchy perpetuates toxic masculinity that encourages men to suppress vulnerable emotions like sadness or fear, which in turn dehumanizes men and produces a lot of the dangerous behavior that is then enacted against women. We’ve got a lot of work to do as a society at changing this, but I am confident that working together women and men can dismantle patriarchy and other forms of oppression and create the kind of egalitarian, emotionally-literate world we all deserve!