"We were chastised, reprimanded, barred, pushed out and silenced. I was often criticized for being too assertive or disagreeable by male authority figures in my life. When I spoke with passion, I was dismissed as being “hysterical.” When my view differed from others, I was deemed “disagreeable.”
I still am.
I don’t fit many people’s dominant cultural expectation of how a woman should act, and I am often reprimanded for it. I’m told I’m too confident, too forthright, and that I ask too much."
You used passive voice throughout that passage. Politeness motivates writers to use passive voice. Civility motivates critical writers to use active voice:
"Domineering folks chastised, reprimanded, barred, pushed out and silenced me. Male authority figures in my life often criticized me for being too assertive or disagreeable. When I spoke with passion, they dismissed me as being “hysterical.” Others deemed me “disagreeable” when my view differed from theirs
I still am.
I don’t fit many people’s dominant cultural expectation of how a woman should act, and they often reprimanded me for it. Many folks tell me that I’m too confident, too forthright, and that I ask too much."
Be well.
Thank you for this essay and for being in my on-line life
Beyond Politeness, Toward Civility
Hi Alexandra
You wrote:
"We were chastised, reprimanded, barred, pushed out and silenced. I was often criticized for being too assertive or disagreeable by male authority figures in my life. When I spoke with passion, I was dismissed as being “hysterical.” When my view differed from others, I was deemed “disagreeable.”
I still am.
I don’t fit many people’s dominant cultural expectation of how a woman should act, and I am often reprimanded for it. I’m told I’m too confident, too forthright, and that I ask too much."
You used passive voice throughout that passage. Politeness motivates writers to use passive voice. Civility motivates critical writers to use active voice:
"Domineering folks chastised, reprimanded, barred, pushed out and silenced me. Male authority figures in my life often criticized me for being too assertive or disagreeable. When I spoke with passion, they dismissed me as being “hysterical.” Others deemed me “disagreeable” when my view differed from theirs
I still am.
I don’t fit many people’s dominant cultural expectation of how a woman should act, and they often reprimanded me for it. Many folks tell me that I’m too confident, too forthright, and that I ask too much."
Be well.
Thank you for this essay and for being in my on-line life