tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post6673092991059115272..comments2023-04-03T00:40:11.369+10:00Comments on TakeawaySoulfood: ChangesFranceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05588049222095187200noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-15275494118280158842011-09-28T18:38:08.874+10:002011-09-28T18:38:08.874+10:00"It was always assumed the male was the natur..."It was always assumed the male was the naturally competent driver", Persiflage..and he was naturally competent in so much else, was he not?<br />Jan Morris, in one of her engaging books about changing sex, says that she found that, at that time women were allowed to say silly things. What men said had to be strictly empirical and logical. Women were allowed to bring in foolish concepts like emotion, intuition or alternative world visions, because men could easily pooh-pooh them.<br />Some of those "foolish concepts" have of course become mainstream. <br />Thankyou for your kind words.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05588049222095187200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-88555860030356940932011-09-28T18:25:36.361+10:002011-09-28T18:25:36.361+10:00In some ways, RR, I am less anxious than I used to...In some ways, RR, I am less anxious than I used to be: having been uselessly and overwhelmingly anxious in the past, and it having been shown again and again to be pointless, I can now feel anxiety depleted....<br />Sometimes.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05588049222095187200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-42785124574865437942011-09-28T17:05:32.237+10:002011-09-28T17:05:32.237+10:00Sorry Frances, I was late in returning to this. No...Sorry Frances, I was late in returning to this. No. I hope I wasn't saying your interpretation. What I was trying to say was that quite often a sort of low-level anxiety seems to creep in with falls in oestrogen levels - or is it that as oestrogen levels fall we have more to be slightly anxious about?<br />I certainly didn't intent to imply that it renders opinions meaningless, only that it pays to respect our feelings, however they are generated.Relatively Retiringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07648407316162715318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-61281198078355091992011-09-28T12:21:16.012+10:002011-09-28T12:21:16.012+10:00Is that the Segovia aqueduct? An amazing piece of ...Is that the Segovia aqueduct? An amazing piece of engineering and construction! <br />I wonder about enduring the scary parts of driving. When I was young, it was always assumed that the male was the naturally competent and expect driver, and the women drivers did stupid and dangerous things all the time. It was difficult to overcome this notion, which many of us came to believe to be true. I still get twitchy when I do long drives.<br />I haven't visited for a while, and enjoyed your post on Ann Moyal. Dr P did know her and quite a few of those she mentions in her book (which I just plucked off the shelf for a little browse. I met her, but would not say I knew her.<br />And yes, I am persevering with it all, and thank you for your support - practical and sensible and kind.It all helps.persiflagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05161607100227748374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-16822660739521084482011-09-27T18:40:35.695+10:002011-09-27T18:40:35.695+10:00I'm a little puzzled by your response, RR. My ...I'm a little puzzled by your response, RR. My hormones - (good lord, I thought I had at last got rid of them) - are surely an integral part of "me"?<br />Isn't what you are saying a little like saying that my opinions are just a product of my brain chemicals? Which they are, of course, as are everybody else's...making every opinion a little meaningless and futile to offer.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05588049222095187200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-78742796600010331632011-09-27T06:36:16.410+10:002011-09-27T06:36:16.410+10:00I have every sympathy. I am fully aware that the o...I have every sympathy. I am fully aware that the one ot two real fears I have are illogical, but I respect them. I'm no longer prepared to put myself through tests of strength.<br />I'm convinced that some of this is hormonal with older women.Relatively Retiringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07648407316162715318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-69593610091711716062011-09-26T20:16:41.820+10:002011-09-26T20:16:41.820+10:00You are a highly qualified person, Cat, who is als...You are a highly qualified person, Cat, who is also very logical, rational, experienced and intuitive.<br />And then there is this feeling...like a black hole, where none of these attributes matter, or can even enter.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05588049222095187200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-80543591622089489782011-09-26T12:15:52.995+10:002011-09-26T12:15:52.995+10:00It is even harder if something does go wrong, espe...It is even harder if something does go wrong, especially when you are emotionally vulnerable. I sympathise madly as I do not like heights - and it does not have to be particularly high - and that is not getting easier as I get older either.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-51419734596589541962011-09-25T20:34:03.372+10:002011-09-25T20:34:03.372+10:00So true, so true, Elephant's child. Only thos...So true, so true, Elephant's child. Only those who have been there know it.Franceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05588049222095187200noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1266222804770076979.post-66142777449030512712011-09-25T19:55:02.049+10:002011-09-25T19:55:02.049+10:00You are right. I always preferred 'he who fig...You are right. I always preferred 'he who fights and runs away, lives to run another day'. <br /><br />I have certainly found that facing my own demons time and time again gets harder, not easier and fills me with dread beforehand, and sweaty nausea afterwards.Elephant's Childhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06650565833097914052noreply@blogger.com