Discussion about this post

User's avatar
Sandra Ann Miller's avatar

I think, as women, we are forced to learn to advocate for ourselves, if only to avoid the endless frustration of being female in this world. I remember being 18 and having a bad starter in my car. I would tell the mechanic, "You just need to jump the starter," to which he would say, "No, no. It's not that." I would tell him, yes, it is that and finally said, "Pretend I'm a man while I'm talking to you. I know what's going on with my car. It's the starter." Slightly unsure of how to proceed, he still held his ground. Then I offered, "Just jump the starter. Prove me wrong." The car started, much to his annoyed surprise. "Next time, trust what you're told," I said as I got into my car, mentally giving him the bird. It's even worse when we get into the medical realm, where we REALLY have to speak firmly and assuredly to advocate for ourselves or a loved one when we are scared or stressed (and, yes, I've used "Pretend I'm a man" while talking to more than one medical professional). I'm 54 and still waiting for this $%*@ to change. We do have to get comfortable being in the starring role and asserting ourselves. Also, LOVE 'Of course, only in Hollywood is there any overlap in the Venn diagram of “effective communication” and “arson.”' LOL. You rule, Maddie. xo

Expand full comment
Chris Anselmo's avatar

This is a really interesting framework for looking at advocacy. I have had to learn on the fly how to self-advocate as my condition has progressed, so I can relate to so much of this. Now I will see advocacy through the lens of Office Space, which should be....interesting. Would the printer be fighting with insurance?

Expand full comment
4 more comments...

No posts