Gender Stereotypes Hurt Everyone
We all live under the patriarchy, which is a rigid dichotomy of gender roles. Men are expected to be strong and feel unemotional, logical and confident. Women are supposed to be expressive, nurturing, and submissive. The patriarchy is held up not just by men who have the most to gain from the system, but by everyone else too. It is so pervasive. It is the water, and we are the fish swimming in it. The water is toxic, and we are all drowning.
How to Overcome Self-Doubt as an Artist
Helen Mirren said, “Self-doubt is the thing that drives you to improve yourself.” I first read this quote and said to myself, “WTF, Helen!? Self-doubt is the thing that drives you insane!” In my experience, self-doubt is a default mode that I must fight against each day in order to succeed as an artist. I wanted to know why Helen, a creator that I deeply respect, would say such a thing. Upon further investigation, I think I see what she meant.
Compare and Despair
You know the feeling. You’re sensing a bit of a rut with your creativity, so you decide to take a look at some others’ work for a boost of inspiration. You start looking through Instagram, blogs, Facebook, or some other medium, and that sinking feeling creeps in. By the time you notice it, you are so far down the spiral, you don’t even know when inspiration was replaced with the feeling of overwhelming self-doubt. Now you don’t want to make anything at all. What’s the point?
So what happened? Compare and despair happened. The minute you measure your own work to the work of others, the feeling of despair sets in.
There have been whole years that I let comparing get the best of me, and I didn’t engage in my creative pursuits. Now, when feel it coming on, it lasts no longer than an hour. This has taken a lot of practice to curb. I have found a few tried and true solutions to overcome the compare and despair monster. And I'd like to share them with you.