Collective Conditioning

As women today, we are grappling with an age-old dilemma. History may not provide the right answer to our individual questions but it often throws a new, unexpected light on what appears to be an individual problem and then turns out to be social in origin. When we can recognize that our complaints, concerns and conditions are not new, we can begin to acknowledge our lives in the context of history.

Our concerns have the voice of many women; women who have lived thousands of years before us. This awareness brings with it comfort at not being alone to deal with things in life. It also encourages our need for a change in consciousness. Change is needed not just for this generation but for the many generations of women who will follow us.

Have we forgotten how silenced and invisible we are and have been? This reality is difficult to observe consciously with accuracy. Centuries of being unheard has been internalized by women who, while feeling sadness and outrage at the lack of response our contributions in life produce, will at the same time undermine ourselves in any conversation. We minimize our problems, concerns, and even joke about things in our lives that in actuality are significant. We have been taught throughout history to “be–little” ourselves.

It is difficult to live and encounter this passivity in ourselves when we have done and endured so much. It is important for us to reflect on the thousands of years of conditioning that has gone into making the collective beliefs in and for women. These beliefs have been buried in our unconscious for so long we don't even question the behavior produced by our internalized oppression.

The beliefs women have internalized over generations have been brought to light by feminism but still persist at a deep unconscious level. Women collectively believe we are in some way worthless. We believe that our minds contain only small matters and that our thoughts can never be great or inventive. We doubt we will make any significant contributions to our culture or the world.

Being reminded of this unconscious collective belief system makes it more possible to stay aware of the ludicrously of its thinking. We can learn from history that women have now, and have always had, genuine complaints and issues that are real and pertain to the context in which we live. These issues have an impact on the lives of all women from our first days as dependent and vulnerable daughters to our last days.

We are not invisible. We do matter. Unless we are willing to face the historical and social context and acknowledge the limits of change that have plagued women for generations, we will be held back from advancing further in an understanding of ourselves and each other.