Imposter syndrome

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This morning I watched a video on tiktok about imposter syndrome (I now can’t find the video so can’t share it, but hopefully someone else knows the one I’m talking about), and it’s stayed with me all day.

The speaker was a woman speaking at a graduation ceremony, looked like she was speaking to only young women.

The subject of her talk was that she felt there is no such thing as imposter syndrome, but it is yet another pathologised issue mainly aimed at women.

Since women have gained any traction in organising themselves, working and competing in previously male environments, men have come up with increasing ways to dismantle this.

The speaker talked about bicycle face - in the late 1800s more people rode bikes, including women - in fact bike riding is thought to have enabled the suffrage movement as women could travel further to meet each other. Bicycle face came about to deter women from riding bikes - it made their faces flush, their facial muscles tense, basically it was a bunch of spurious reasons to persuade women to stay at home.

Imposter syndrome is the feeling that you’re underqualified, not good enough to fill a work role, or write an article, or gain more qualifications. Until watching the video this morning I hadn’t really thought about the fact that every single person I know who fits the traits of imposter syndrome is a woman. Up until today I’ve always assumed it was down to individual confidence. Having watched the video though, it does very much look like yet more misogyny, and another way that has been found to hold women back.

Wondered what others thought of this.
(Going to try to find the video now!)

Tiktok video here

I think it's almost the opposite of bicycle face.

That was 'Doing something liberating will make this bad thing happen, so don't do it.'

Whereas imposter syndrome is 'Societal oppression might make you feel you can't do things; that's wrong - go ahead and try.'

It's the wrong way round though. Imposter syndrome is a symptom of a male dominated environment that necessarily affects women more than men. It's not an invented tool to keep women down. Recognising that there should not be any reason to feel inadequate is a way of beginning to challenge any thought processes that feed into it.

So like many psychological conditions imposter syndrome is due to social contagion rather than anything innate or universal? Very plausible, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have real effects for those who suffer it.

I think it might be (or possibly used to be) that many men in high places went to public schools where the arrogant, confidence is a given. Not so much the case at women's public schools (I mean private schools but they used to be called public) .

It isn't an actual medical syndrome. It's just a way of describing a cluster of factors that can hold people - particularly women - back.

But how does it hold women back? I thought (and have suffered with) it was when you had already got to point X THAT is when you got imposter syndrome? So you are already walking the walk and talking the talk but wonder how it happened?

I recently got absolute plaudits - I mean unbelievable ones- for something I had already done, and I got imposter syndrome. As in 'are they talking about me? But I'm just little old me!!'

And in that state of 'How did I get to this level?' how likely - compared with someone whose internal monologue is 'I'm smashing this!' - are you to apply for the next level?

Ah, ok, different situation, mine wasn't something that had another level exactly. So something like writing a book. In that situation I would think, 'well they liked the last one so I'll do another'. Perhaps although I did suffer with it I'm one of the ones that then think 'I can do this' . Definitely didn't stop me thinking it though.

I suffer it, it's social conditioning, it's the sit down and be quiet because your a girl whereas boys can run around. Its ingrained from an early age for girls to take a back seat, put others first. To be happy with your lot. Boys are encouraged to strive for more. Ok things are improving these days but it comes from the same place that women won't apply for a position unless they meet all criteria whereas men will, men will ask for higher salaries etc

Its not men doing this to us it's society, it is misogyny and the patriarchal society.