Okay, I really needed this article. Thank you.
Still need to read all the way through, but I just want to share:
I was raised to be dependent.
My mother has a PhD but she earned $35k/yr and raised us kids, which she hated, while accepting my dad’s emotional and mental abuse.
My entire extended family, both sides, treats women like we’re props who should strive for moderate salaries and jobs that don’t require a brain.
My parents never discussed finances, career planning, self-marketing, or any other useful life skill with me.
I was supposed to find a man to take care of it.
Fast forward to me in my 30s. I have several chronic illnesses and minimal savings. My parents don’t want me to be dependent on them, which, yeah, neither do I, meanwhile I’ve been sick off and on for the past few years and barely surviving.
All of which is to say. This is me after a degree in Gender Studies, years of therapy, a LOT of personal work, and it’s still a daily struggle.