In thinking about kindness today, I bumped up against an issue I’m wondering if any of you women experience or any of you men can understand. It feels unfortunate to me that women cannot safely be as kind. By that I mean we cannot as safely extend ourselves for others. I may want to offer someone a ride, for example; but would feel foolish to do so as a woman. I may want to trust in others and extend myself in all kinds of ways that may end up biting me in the butt and making me feel foolish as a woman. And even as I write this the phrase “foolish as a woman” grabs me. What is that about? Women are expected to me careful and cautious and if we aren’t, we are foolish. Is that just my experience? But maybe men feel they cannot extend themselves without seeming aggressive or creepy. Any thoughts on how we play this game? I wish we could all just open ourselves up but know this is also not the reality we live in…

Posted by Kate at 2022-10-26 01:01:38 UTC