Strong Opinions

If you are human, your mental activity produces opinions on a daily basis. Whether you assert your opinions or not, and the tenacity of those assertions, is influenced by your gender. In 2024, cis women and non-binary people are discouraged from assuming the position of authority that vocally speaking their minds would have them do. There is often punishment given by the more misogynistic part of the population (all genders have internalised misogyny under patriarchy) to them.

So what to do? It seems like there are two choices: withhold your opinion, remain unseen, aim for malleability and feel down because of it, or express yourself, be seen, attract people who like your style, and feel more secure, confident and agentic.  

If you read my blog, chances are you have noticed that I've been writing for a very long time. I have changed my mind about many things over the decades, but the one constant throughout my practice is that I have kept valuing my thoughts deeply enough to present them to the outside world, with all the openness to criticism that implies in this digital landscape, and all the potential for connection, too. 

It resonates with me that "you cannot be it if you cannot see it," so I am thankful to the cis women and non-binary folks whose writing I'm influenced by and aspire to live up to. Some of these involve Laurie Penny, Virginia Woolf, bell hooks, Naomi Wolf, Moira Donegal, Laura Bates, Jill Filipovic, Roxane Gay, Jeffrey Marsh, Hannah McGregor, Kara Lowentheil, Sara Ahmed, Sisonke Msimang and Mona Eltahawy. (I'm sure to think of many other names soon.)

Thanks to the ongoing nature of my work, I will continue to attract people who share my values, and want to see me flourish. Publishing strong opinions (and speaking them out loud) is something that helps me be the best version of myself.