Man's Dilemma Part 2

 Sharon “Shay” Bintliff was also known as Doc Shay. She provides a concrete example of nonsensical male institutionalized prejudice. She was an outstanding athlete especially in the sport of golf. Way back when, she was not allowed to play golf with her fellow male doctor’s on Wednesdays because she was female [to this day she likely can still whip males on the golf course]. She moved to Hawaii and discovered that prestigious outrigger canoe race that began in 1952. That particular race started in Molokai and ended in Oahu covering a distance of 38.66-42 miles. Subsequently, a group of women paddlers lobbied the men in order to compete in this spectacular race. The Coast Guard got involved and told the females, giving them reasons not to compete, with various replies like “it’s too dangerous and it’s too far.” Finally, in 1979 women finally participated in their first official race that covered 40.8 miles. In 2009, Doc Shay told me that she made her 30^th crossing. More about this extremely talented and accomplished female can be found in “It Has Nothing To Do With Age.” Currently, with the “me too” movement,” women are now doing the unthinkable. They’re telling males that “no “means” no” when it comes to physical and sexual advances. 100 years ago, it would not have mattered what they expressed. It’s beginning to matter now.

One explanation for man’s fear of women is related to the development of his distrustful attitude. It is because of distrust, man has compensated by taking control and by dominating the so called weaker sex in one way or the other. Let’s start with childhood. Childhood’s not paradise for a male child. There are too many lurking monsters in the dark. The origin of the attitude of trust or mistrust begins with the male child’s helplessness and dependence as a newborn. He constantly and regularly experiences a favorable or non- favorable degree of gratification or non-gratification of his physiological instincts for warmth, safety and survival. Does the male develop that inner certainty, and/or that comfort with that individual caretaker or caretakers or does he develop instead that discomfort with the caretaker or caretakers? Erickson stated “the infant’s first social achievement, is his willingness to let the mother out of sight without undue anxiety or rage, because she has become an inner certainty as well as an outer predictability.” For instance, this process differentiates psychologically between the inside and outside. This process of differentiation are the defense mechanisms of interjection and projection. Interjection is when an outer goodness becomes an inner certainty and projection is when an inner harm is experienced as an outer harm certainty.

To Be Continued