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This year I learned through a friend that just because you don't agree with someone's stance and opinion on something, it doesn't mean you shouldn't hear what they have to say.
It might take a lot of humility and maturity, but hearing out someone you don't agree with can be the wisest thing to do in order to understand people and the world better.
However, I find in his case, he is often too lenient, and seems his thoughts are manipulated by his sources (influential personalities he listens to on the internet). Like I said, it takes maturity.
That brought me to this thought, that I wasn't sure how I should act, since I don't know how mature I am to do this, and at the same time if I shield myself from any other divergent opinions someone might have, I'd be putting myself in this isolated bubble thing.
I think I am mature enough to at least hear some things.
For example, a while ago I found this video on YouTube with a lady that used to be a feminist but suddenly became very conservative to an alarming degree. In her videos, she leads a chain of thought that is very agreeable. But at the same time I felt something was off, like she had fallen under the opposite end of the illusion she claimed to have under feminism.
I'd like to clarify that the "alarming degree" isn't being intolerant or hateful, but her positioning in terms of gender roles seemed so old fashioned compared to today's 'woke' standards, that it felt somewhat biased.
But at the same time, as I was hearing her speak, everything she said seemed so agreeable, so right. At every turn she clarifies things, as not to be misinterpreted.
I'm not too sure what to make of it. I might need to mature a bit before I can conclude anything about her positioning and the subject at hand. Which is wild since she explains things so clearly.
The thinking needs to be done by me and under the perspective of my experience.
It seems very clear that people deeply rooted in "woke culture" generally seem to be quite immature, but that's just my experience. What also seems to be my experience is that generally when people commune and are all ever agreeing to each other and every divergent idea is repressed, you might just call them a cult. Ideas must always be improved through healthy discussion.
Whatever conclusion can be found, I can't deny I find her experience and conclusions fascinating, as well as her other videos. I recommend watching her content if you can.
I've noticed I have been finding many things "fascinating". It has been a recurring adjective.
It doesn't necessarily mean I 'like' the thing, but that it has grasped my attention to a point it raises my eyebrows and has me looking into it. Another word for it can be "interesting".
Generally, I don't take stances, because of the ever returning thought - "what if I'm wrong".
I don't think not having stances is exactly healthy, I think it's best to be malleable - trait of the feminine, as opposed to the stable and immovable trait of the masculine...
Or rather, it's best to be the balance in between, as with most things, harmoniously.
Everyone has both masculine and feminine traits, which is also something I learned more in depth with my friend, as well as with Erin Byrd from the video. But then again I don't know enough to be teaching here.
That was my experience. By subjecting myself to the ideas of people I didn't initially agree with, I ended up having learned a lot of fascinating things about people and the world.
And I believe every healthy minded people should do that - not limit yourself to your job and hedonistic behavior and find things that fascinate you and learn about the world. And so you might be able to create and share things that enrich your life and of others.
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axiya of damnatio
There are people who react to the ideas of others to form thier identity, and those who use ideas as tools to form their identity.
There was a quote I heard once, something along the lines of:
Every bad thing you have ever thought about yourself, someone else had said first.
Although I don't think it is entirely true, I want to try to apply this quote to all the ideas that we have thought.
If we deconstruct our ideas and trace the origin all the way back, how far can we go until facts that we have based our contictions on are no longer relational?
Relational fact: the facts that only exist in relation to another fact. The existence of feminine and the fact of its existence is only true because there is a masculine in relation to it. Vice Versa. We could apply the same thing to ideas of Whiteness and Blackness. Culture and Counter-culture. If they only exist as facts in relation to another thing, then in isolation, wouldn't they hold no meaning?
I want to believe that there are no "wrong ideas" when it comes to the opinions on relational facts, but I do believe that without deconstructing where those ideas are coming from, you risk becoming the type of person who reacts to ideas that are based on another's idea of what is thought to be true. If your perception dictates your reality, and you are basing your thoughts on another's perception of relational facts, then are you not allowing another to dictate your reality?
I believe being aware of other's perceptions are good in understanding the POV and motivations behind the ideas of others. I have found in understanding these things, one can understand the reality others live or have lived. However, I may note, it's good to understand that perceptions are fickle and ever changing, like the standards of beauty that dominate based on place and time and culture and consumtion of that culture.
In your title, "Opinions and Stances - Feminine and Masculine," I would say my opinion is based on what I have observed others to give meaning to. When you hear "Gender is a Social Construct," it is based on all that has preceeds it in this response. Many people, in their adamancy to assert their reality instead of questioning it, will commune together and create the "culture of correct ideas". Perhaps it instills a sense of belonging and self-importance to assert what is true.
Comfort from untouchable connection.
I envy that.
Ernopolis
Something I didn't elaborate much is of the idea of trusting yourself to believing the right thing.
I am careful not to be believing the wrong things. And I don't think my friend is careful enough.
I find it difficult to trust myself if I let myself listen to these far out things people say on the internet, because I might start to fall for it. But then, in doing that, I might think myself as intolerant for not giving other ideas a chance.
I try very hard to find the balance.