Alison Armstrong

“And so what I had to distinguish to get to the bottom of women taking men down, which after it was pointed out to me and I got that as long as I was taking men’s power I would never know my own. I could see that every time I took a man’s power, I’d have a moment of glee, but it just reinforced my own sense of weakness - that I did not have enough power to deal head on, to be honest, let alone be in a partnership. Are you kidding me? And so when I laid down my sword, I was stunned, because I set out to learn how I was bringing out the worst in men and maybe how I could bring the best in men. And when I just stopped attacking - just stopped. Every time I was triggered, I just sat down with a grenade… And I just set it down. I didn’t attack no matter how hard I was provoked. And I was stunned at who men became around me. I wasn’t doing anything nice, I just wasn’t being mean anymore. That was the beginning, I called it the transformation of the castration club. I’d find out what triggered a woman to emasculate a man. What was her trigger? And then I’d find out how they did it. So how did they attack his power? Try to take his power, undermine him, take the wind out of his sails. And then most importantly is how they justified having done that. We don’t ask women to stop emasculating men. It’s a response. It’s a fear and frustration, it’s a reaction to fear and frustration, sometimes terror, a lifetime of terror, and this terrible fear that if men have power, obviously you’re going to use it against us. I was 16 years old when I decided men are bigger and stronger and they’ll hurt me. And I adopted that the best defence is a good offense. Hand me your balls and then we’ll talk. And I used everything. I used my sexuality. I used my intellect. I used my sense of humour. I used everything to protect myself from men. But I didn’t know I was doing it. What we ask women to do is to give up the right because women believe they have the right that anything any man has done that’s bad gives us the right to emasculate all of you. Anytime a man uses his power against us it gives us the right to take every man’s power. It’s hideous. And guys you can become impervious to this. That’s my message if you look the dragon in the eyes and see how terrified she is, you can lean into it. And – and we’re terrified.”
― Alison Armstrong