"You have to be thin, but not too thin..."

Deconstructing Gaslighting™

"It is literally impossible to be a woman. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow, we're always doing it wrong.

"You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood. But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So, find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.

You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! (Abridged quote from "Barbie")

Greta Gerwig, in an interview with The Atlantic said: "I was just sobbing, and then I looked around, and I realized everybody’s crying on the set. The men are crying too, because they have their own speech, they feel they can’t ever give, you know? And they have their twin tightrope, which is also painful."

So today my guest and I are going to dive into the topic of double standards, based on our genders.

If you’re new here, I wanted to let you know about the FREE webinar I have on my website. It’s a video that teaches you about the necessary foundations and a format you can follow to give you the ability to stay connected to yourself while having to communicate with your gaslighter. You can find that on my website.

Story Time: Sarah and Collen have a fun, sassy, and in-depth conversation connecting GASLIGHTING with the way double standards are perpetuated.

Top Take-Aways:

• "I give myself permission" to get curious around where my thoughts, values, feelings & perspectives are coming from when there are double standards present.
• Remember - you don't have to do anything immediately about what you learn/find out - just find out!
• Don't let YOURSELF be limited by the double standards people are trying to put on you!

I wanted to invite you interact with me on your preferred social media platform… Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

And remember – you may have crashed and burned; been broke and hurt, but damn it, you’re a phoenix and you’re rising again. I think it’s time we fly.