On Anger

I think embracing anger is a very feminist thing to do. For many years, women were denied the right to express their anger. Men were denied expressing any emotion other than anger. I have grown up in a family where my father usually cries to express his happiness and his grief and my mother expresses her anger. In this sense, I know I have grown up in a feminist environment.

Anger is something that I do not often feel. I feel hurt a lot more frequently than I feel angry. I don't like confrontation, and I despise being the focal point of someone's anger. I have recently gotten out of a very unhealthy situation where I was frequently the focal point of the anger and rage, whether it was intentional or not (and I could never tell whether it was or not). Something arrived today that cemented my relief at getting out of that situation. I have learned that I deserve a lot better than that, and even if I don't deserve it, I sure as hell want it anyway. Anger and rage are all well and good, but if that is the only emotion a person knows how to express, that's a problem.