Allowed to Be Angry: Women, Rage, and the Way Forward

What were you raised (socialized) to believe about women’s expression of anger versus men’s expression of anger? Have your beliefs changed since then, and if so, in what ways? How, according to the podcast, does the suppression of women’s expression of anger and the support for men’s expression of anger contribute to the power imbalance between men and women in U.S. and other patriarchal societies? Listen to the examples from the podcast. Do you think women’s expression of rage and anger will result in changes in politics, sports, and culture? Why, or why not? Finally, what is your opinion of the difference between how black women’s anger and white women’s anger are received? Is there a double standard here, too? (Answer some or all of these questions, but be sure to discuss some specifics from the podcast to demonstrate that you listened to it)

I was socialized to believe that women are meant to hide their anger when they are in front of men but can be angry at their kids because this is how the control in a home can be made sure. Men were supposed to keep calm and be angry from time to time to keep the family intact and united about tough decisions that the family was finding hard to agree on. To be honest, my believes are still traditional and I think that the expectations about anger from men and women should remain the traditional way, the way I socialized to keep a balance in the family.

According to the podcast, when men are angry, they might be considered to be saying the truth while women, when angry, are considered as weak and vulnerable. I do not accept this argument because I think that the internal emotions of both men and women are alike. Both could be angry for a variety of reasons and their anger should be addressed accordingly.

I do not see any reason why the expression of anger and rage might be a source of change in sports, politics and culture. They might lose their traditional roles that are already assigned to them.