Imbalance Of Power In Culture

The more controlling and codependent a culture or community is, the more gender stereotypes, gender roles, assigned higher or lower status due to gender, and favoritism, elitism, inequity, and prejudice for or against each gender are present.

Strangely, it is not just the group that's favored that continues to reinforce these dysfunctions, but also members of the group that's discriminated against.

The reason for this is mainly the same as in racially imbalanced communities; Bullies who are members of the oppressed group can't bully those in the "favored" group, so they bully those in their own group instead, helping the oppression process.

Also, Controllers in the oppressed group often use the present imbalanced "hierarchy" for personal agendas and gain, either on a personal ("catty") level, or on a material level.

On top of that, those who are insecure, fearful, or resentful often project inferiority and weakness onto other members of their own group, contributing to the cultural false belief that the oppressed group is indeed inferior to the favored group.

Imbalanced power in a culture or community is usually either accomplished by extremely dysfunctional violent and threatening behavior by members of the group that seeks control over the other, or through passed on cultural fairy tales about who is capable of what, and who is not capable of it, and rationalizations about who is entitled to control and power.

Healthy, prosperous, long-lived, peaceful, happy, science-oriented and spiritually respectful cultures throughout history, wherever and whoever they were, have made it their priority to keep "power" balanced and fair for all members of the society, and to protect the freedom and well-being of every adult, and care for the well-being and mental and emotional growth of the children.

"Think not forever of yourselves, O Chiefs, nor of your own generation. Think of continuing generations of our families; think of our grandchildren and of those yet unborn, whose faces are coming from beneath the ground."
Dekanawida, Peacemaker, Founder Of The Iroquois Confederacy
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