Nothing left to bear - or is it just the Tate effect making an affect?!
Like the story of the stupid millionaires who decided it was a good decision to head down to the darkest parts of the sea in a tin can; the current fad is the 'the bear or the man' question. Although the nature of the whole scenario could be deemed a fad by some of the male collective; for a lot of women are hoping it doesn't disappear as quickly as the submarine story or disappear as soon as the submarine itself did! I mean in regards to quickness - you couldn't get any more instantaneous than a tin can implode, now could you? You would blink and boom - it's happened, it's gone, and everyone appeared to have forgotten about it. Even if they were all so obsessed with it making an appearance.. (see what I did there..)
Now I know it sounds entirely far out man and a little hippy - but what about we try and understand why the majority of the female collective, the divine feminine, the entire womanhood, are resulting to such an extreme analogy? Trying to empathize with women everywhere to why so many believe in the worst-case scenario -being the best-case scenario?! Is the wild beast is still the better option for their survival? Could it be a mere conditioned response to the many fairy tales that were told to us as we fell asleep while growing up? Or could it be quite logical that being hurt by a wild animal is straight away believable, whereas being sexually assaulted by a man isn't always that obvious? We all know that if a man or a woman was laying there, semi-conscious - with half their leg chewed off and clear evidence of a bear being there - that, there would be zero doubt in anyone's mind. That the bear would probably be shot later or wouldn't turn up at the person's work or home or more likely, the individual attacked wouldn't wanna go anywhere near the woods again. The thing is, the woods are society, and there's no escaping it- not unless you actually move out into the woods; the absolute irony right?! All of the recent stuff that has been circling online lately would want you to believe that there is a gender war; men against women but the statistics back out in the real world are clear. Women are getting attacked now more than ever, and men are taking their own lives in droves; what is happening and why?
Is it about how animals were always our friends and never our foes (which is when our brain is at its most susceptible at learning stuff right?) Not only are we more likely to fold these views into the fabric of our beliefs, but as children, our identity is formed in real time too. So perceiving animals as these fury protectors is a natural psychological belief for women everywhere - worldwide. Although I know this is deeper than that; deeper than a fairy-tale belief system and even deeper than the millionaires that went boom at the bottom of the sea. Although similar to the non-existent sounds that take place at the bottom of the sea; men wanting to talk about what the bear in the woods scenario means becomes, without a doubt a date of pure taciturnity. It seems the men that get it, get it, and the men that don't - see it as this significant attack on the entire male collective. There doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground here; which, from a purely psychological perspective, is very intriguing. The ones who can't get it - blow up and get angry; but the ones who do become saddened that the other men are not getting it.
(Although I can massively empathize with both genders here, I really can. Men are built, every day - on this foundation of superiority and stoicism, which, for the best part, is the only way we can ensure young men develop self-confidence and to a degree, some aspects of emotional intelligence. But who is to blame? The mums, or the education system? Is it the micro-aggressions that are constantly happening in real time? From mates, co-workers, family members? Pop culture and social media? Or is it just a set of older, generational belief systems that manifest within behaviours? Cycles of behaviour that never get questioned or ever get seen as being problematic?
There is either this conflict while having discourse surrounding the bear or man in the woods question that is being presented to protect one's self, or pure empathy; meaning they just get it?
It feels very much like a cognitive dissonance issue, which means that possibly, the way that men currently view the current system is too ingrained - generationally speaking; these belief systems are subconsciously programmed within the very subconscious of the male collective. This means that when men were boys, their identity and sense of self were developing on a foundation of knowledge regarding the patriarchy, which would have a significant effect on not only their attributes, attitude, and personality. But it would also have a significant effect on how they see women and how to navigate life alongside women in the world. As men are growing up, they are either made aware of this system and how it works or not and don't understand the privilege they have just by being born a boy.
No wonder it's like some of them are waking up to this reality - like the Matrix films; in fact, a lot of people everywhere are waking up. Not just to their own internalised misogyny. But other beliefs too, like racism and homophobia. Culturally, we are collectively beginning to understand all of these subconsciously protected cognitive distortions. Which patterns inevitably arise deep within the subconscious mind. They can be based on past experiences, social environment, or information absorbed without conscious awareness.
The list below are very much simple examples of how these subconscious distortions play a key role in how we interact with new information. Trying to get new information in when it's threatening to our very core identity prevents it from being learnt.
- Overgeneralization. ...
- Mental Filter. ...
- Disqualifying the Positive. ...
- Jumping to Conclusions – Mind Reading. ...
- Jumping to Conclusions – Fortune Telling. ...
- Magnification (Catastrophizing) or Minimization.
- Emotional Reasoning.
(Exclaimer)
regarding cognitive dissonance: none of us are free from this constantly ongoing existential problem. I've been honestly trying for decades to over ride it but so far; attempts have been futile. As far as science is aware currently aware off; like in this very moment - as a collective, the scientific census is - being able to consciously switch it off - is just impossible.
Plus if you if you are in the know when it comes into how the the arrow of time works, then apparently we're completely fucked in trying to be able to consciously switch it off. When your really offended in a conversation and get really uncomfortable with the information that your being presented with and then right afterwards you notice - just how irrational you was. Then you have a sudden need to apologise, that's cognitive dissonance for ya.
I often get accused (only online, mind you) that I don't understand this type of cognitive distortion/ phenomena properly but truth be told, I see it in a very mechanical way. Because for me, it's a defence mechanism; which triggers without our conscious awareness - like a protective shield to protect one's belief systems. How I understand a defence mechanism is quite simply a mental process which initiates on an unconscious level to help prevent conflict or anxiety or more importantly, psychological trauma. It's a tool to temporarily detach or dissociate from what ever it is that an individual is experiencing at that very moment.
The meaning of cognitive dissonance
The first 15 minutes of the following YouTube video will explain further how I currently understand cognitive dissonance, but it's a very complex video - so you may need to watch it a few times to try and digest it properly. And please don't allow the title to put you off - it's purely science - not religion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbh5l0b2-0o&t=360s
Comments
Post a Comment