tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post4359237779315263183..comments2023-10-07T22:37:49.244+13:00Comments on The Hand Mirror: Friday Feminist - Susan Brownmillerkatyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15742280289613450293noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8770341086445997547.post-34435083846609688582008-09-06T09:13:00.000+12:002008-09-06T09:13:00.000+12:00The last sentence about a conditioned paralysis of...The last sentence about a conditioned paralysis of will as part of feminity. This really resonates as I just read Helen Garner's The First Stone and she kept wondering about where this paralysis of will comes from in women. Enraging book (Garner's) and it seems like Garner could have done with reading Brownmiller. <BR/><BR/>I've had that experience of paralysis, tho thankfully just sexual harassment rather than rape, when an elderly man groped my 17-yr old, school uniform clad self in a supermarket. I froze, in large part because I thought *I* would embarass him and would be seen as being disrespectful to an old man and hysterical. I tried to move away while placating him with smiles and noone came to my defence, probably because of the fact that I appeared comfortable. Even as 17yr old, when my friend accused me of kind of 'liking it' based on my reaction I was able to connect the dots that my reaction was to do with maintaining some facade of expected behaviour, despite how I felt. It's amazing to me that people like Garner don't realise that.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com