Everyone is Beautiful
I would like to find reliable ways to work on the matching distresses of men and women that perpetuate sexism. The notion of women being 'pretty' is one of them.
At a workshop I led recently I had the idea of giving a woman the direction, 'I am so pretty,' or some version of that, to be said with a boastful tone of voice. I never even got to try the direction. After briefly speaking on the topic I brought a woman up front and she immediately began sobbing heavily and recollecting painful memories.
In the past I have worked with heterosexual men on our infatuation with 'pretty' women. This seems to bring up lots of embarrassment, humiliation, and just plain old fear. It is a relief to get distresses like this out in the open for discharge.
Gregg Wagner
Queens, New York,
USA