Post #2483134

@Azzura@lgbtqia.space what you have witnessed is an example of the fawn response. Flight and fight are well understood. You get the hell out or you punch. These are often typically masculine responses to dangerous situations. Boys are taught to be big and brave, they are rewarded for boisterous behaviour. Flight and fight are the only options from this perspective. But girls are typically punished for being or appearing physically strong or socially dominant. So we learn appeasement. We do that nervous, uncomfortable laugh. We nod and smile. We de-escalate and plan our escape. Sometimes fawning isn't enough and we resort to the fourth defense strategy: freeze. When you don't know what might make things worse, you do nothing. You try very hard to be irrelevant. Obviously, people, gender, society, etc are all highly complex and there are many examples that don't fit the pattern. Being a "yes man" is also a form of the fawn response. But the pattern still exists. I'm glad you've seen this much of it. Now consider how it interacts with such phrases as "she was asking for it," and "she should have fought back."