Enough Is Enough

Amy Croft

Description

Enough is Enough shines a spotlight on toxic masculinity, the reach of misogynistic coercive control, and the plight of wronged women throughout the world.
Enough is Enough! shines a spotlight on toxic masculinity, the reach of misogynistic coercive control, and how a patriarchal mindset has been so threatening to women and children around the world.
Amy Croft, author of A Longing for Justice, expands on many of the themes she tackled in her first ground-breaking work to reveal how women need to empower themselves in the twenty-first century.
She answers questions such as:
• What would you do when you are fed up with the so-called prerogative of male entitlement and paternal patronisation that is impacting millions around the world?
• What do you do when you abhor sexist, misogynistic attitudes, and see the need for systemic change to reflect more equitable values?
A groundswell movement, of global, collective protests, signals that people everywhere are tired of such man-made entitlement, waging wars, and bringing humanity down.
This book empowers others to find a path to patriarchal accountability, and to put right the wrongs, which impact badly, on women, children, and men, in a global society.

Sujets

• Gender Studies
• Social Science
• Sociologie, société et politique
• Non-fiction
• Roman non fictionnel

Informations

• Publié par: Balboa Press AU
• Date de parution: 27 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781982294762
• Langue: English

Extrait

Enough is Enough
 
What needs to be said!
 
 
 
 
 
Amy Croft
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2023 Amy Croft.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
Balboa Press
A Division of Hay House
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.balboapress.com.au
AU TFN: 1 800 844 925 (Toll Free inside Australia)
AU Local: [phone] ([phone] from outside Australia)
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-9822-9475-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-9822-9476-2 (e)
 
Balboa Press rev. date: 05/24/2023
 
 
 
 
 
For Diana
A
Valuable Colleague
and Friend
Contents
Chapter 1The Presumption of Entitlement
Chapter 2Challenging & Changing Views
Chapter 3Conscientious Decision Making
Chapter 4Creating Opportunity for Change
Chapter 5Standing Up for Justice
Chapter 6Integrity versus Despair
Chapter 7Mother, Mentor, Mediator, Matriarch
Chapter 8Discernment in Collective Determination
Chapter 9Homage to Women – Past and Present
Acknowledgments
Resources
Helplines
Chapter One The Presumption of Entitlement
I would have remained silent… if I hadn’t been lucky enough to enter a time where a few women were beginning to figure out that our gigantic lack of confidence wasn’t all due to our individual se lves.
– Gloria Steinem
When I found an irresistible urge to unpack the above statement, I immediately knew I needed to investigate further, as it prompted so many questions in my mind. I felt an overwhelming need to fully highlight, the impact of a misogynistic mindset and behaviour on women, and children. I felt compelled by intense need to seek the inner expression, and truth of that, which led me to question, my own perceptibility of what constituted ‘toxic behaviour’ and where it resided in society. When I found the truth of that, I realised that it was not just my imagination. It was a stark reality.
What do you do when you abhor sexist, misogynistic attitudes, and see the need for systemic change to reflect more equitable values? What do you do when you are fed up with the so-called prerogative of male misogynistic entitlement, and paternal patronisation that is impacting millions around the world? Throughout my life, I have been profoundly affected by abusive human behaviour, and appalled by the sheer amount of it. I am talking about the suffering incurred (undoubtedly due to misogynistic behaviour) in patriarchal institutions, systems, and society, not only in my nation, but around the world. News networks are full of stories about physical, mental, and emotional abuse being perpetrated on women and children, usually described as domestic violence. Something within me made me question the motivations of such criminal behaviour, because this is what it is. If we are going to be honest with ourselves, it is time to confront the nature of this beast. The groundswell of protest movement in all corners of the globe, tell me that people are tired of ‘entitled’ men waging war, chaos, and mayhem, on their own societies, and other people’s countries. It seems to me that people are raging about the injustices and are refusing to be silent. It is time to tear the fabric of patriarchy open to reveal the breadth and depth of it.
No wonder female confidence has been eroded to such a great extent, when you read the words of Steinem’s quote, above, and yet, in some quarters, females are still blamed for the downfall of man. This unscrupulous falsehood exhibits a lack of conscience, and not much in the way of remorse, in the perpetuation of the need, and intent, to disenfranchise the female gender. Why has it been so necessary for males to deny the feminine, whilst so strongly advocating for a masculine-served society? One female stated it was because they are narcissistic, egotistical jerks. No one can deny the mindset of patriarchy is dominating and controlling, and there is undoubtedly a good deal of egotism, and sexism in the mix.
From childhood to adulthood, I have personally seen, decades-long systemic failure in our various governments, and society, that enabled the perpetuation of these forms of odious behaviour on women and children, and other vulnerable groups. There had been, in recent decades, a spate of child deaths at the hands of their own fathers, which went far beyond betrayal, to a pathological level of revengeful behaviour. Did this indicate some degree of mental disturbance, bordering on sociopathic (even psychopathic) behaviour? Such killings, so brutal and unwarranted, no matter where, or when, were deemed unconscionable in a democratic society such as ours. What was going on? These are not medieval times. this is the twenty-first century.
Male abuse has not abated. Little of any value seems to be happening to alleviate the pain and suffering of the many abused, and their loved ones, and legislative powers of justice should have been well and truly in place to follow up, and deal with, the ravages of such behaviour well before now. Such violence is as rife as ever, today, and it impacted my own psychological self, when I observed, read, and heard, about these injustices taking place, in every single decade, since I was a girl. I imagined that many citizens of our societies, must also be reeling at the extent of it, given that it is happening in homes, communities, and countries, world-wide. Failing to address this, is not an option. It is time the female gender gained their rightful place in the world, which is not dependent on male involvement, to the extent it has been in the past. For too long the male status quo has had control over humans they consider ‘less than’. It is time to deny the status quo the belief that they have sole control.
Joyce Carol Oates (a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978) in her book, The Faith of a Writer (2003), said, ‘it is a man’s world; a woman whose sensibility has been stroked by feminism will find much to annoy and offend, but perhaps there’s much to learn, and to be inspired by, if only in knowing what it is to be an outsider gazing in’. I, too, begin: to reveal, to learn, and perhaps, inspire. There is no integrity in standing aside, saying nothing. Humans make good choices, and they make bad choices, too. Are we so infallible that we cannot see right from wrong?
I consider myself to be an ordinary person, with average intelligence, and with a strong sense of perception, which has proved to be quite enlightening. I, like others, have some small level of perception and awareness, which has been honed by mistakes I’ve made, and by fractured life-lessons from the past, which I have endeavoured to learn from. My hope is that this book may be one case for why loud voices should be raised against misogynistic behaviour. It is time this behaviour ceased to be, and laws to be changed, to reflect the damage done. Every single woman, who is abused, physically, emotionally, and mentally, by a male, somewhere in her psyche, carries the aftermath of PTSD, OCD, or other known conditions ranging from anxiety to depression. No one comes out unscathed.
When I read Germaine Greer’s book, The Whole Woman, (1998), the chapter on loathing , years ago now, I remember it was an extremely hard read, because of the amount of wicked, abusive behaviour of men, against women and girls, contained within the pages. Read it if you dare. I dared to read it again, because I knew she does not pull any punches in revealing the loathing, many misogynistic males have for women, and how that impacts them. Greer is a superlative writer. She takes you right to the crux of it and leaves you breathless. There are males amongst us, who have the capacity to do terrible damage to women because, essentially, they dislike us, fear us, that if we have any real power, we will use it against them. What is contained in Greer’s book, is a pathological hatred in some men for women, that can surface very quickly, yet they can hide their intent so well, and plead innocence, after the fact. Just your average ‘Joe Blow’, until they aren’t! Do not underestimate the words of women who know what men are capable of, as they are words of experience, knowledge, perception, and finely honed intuition. This is no fantasy or illusion. This is how males have treated females, forever. Enough, truly is, enough, in the 21 st century. We must support ourselves, and each other, as if our lives depend upon it, be