The hidden victims of gaslighting – By Ria Wolstenholme (BBC) / Nov 24 2020
When “gaslighting” was coined it referred to misogynistic emotional abuse, but it is clear far more of us are suffering than we may realise.
You might be familiar with gaslighting in the context of relationships, but this manipulative tactic also works en masse. This is what some experts call “structural gaslighting”.
Has someone ever told you something that made you doubt your own memory? And have you been convinced after the fact that they were doing so to manipulate you?
Over the past few years, the use of the term “gaslighting” to refer to this phenomenon has shot through the roof. While the word has been in our dictionaries for over half a century, its precipitous increase in usage began around 2013 and hasn’t slowed since.
Gaslighting is defined as manipulating someone into thinking they’re wrong even when they’re right. A form of emotional abuse, it can be used to make the victim question their own mental wellbeing. It was used by the medical profession for decades before being named the buzzword of 2018. The word itself comes from the name of a 1944 movie in which the male protagonist convinces his wife she is losing her mind. While you may have heard about gaslighting in this context of relationships, it’s actually present in many other aspects of day-to-day life.
CONTINUE > https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20201123-what-is-racial-gaslighting
