2). After reading Chapter 6 in its entirety, answer the following question: How does it feel when you are in an unbalanced power relationship? What is it like to have more power? Less power?
To
me, life is all about balance. It is the motto that I live my life by
and I even have the word “Balance” tattooed on my foot. In general,
balance is one
of the most important things about life and I really try to use balance
in all aspects of my life, especially my relationships with other
people. Power is something that everyone needs to have in every
relationship. For example, in my relationship with my
mom, she has more power than I do because she pays for school and my
insurance still. These are things that I would definitely struggle
paying for on my own and therefore she will have leverage over me when
it comes to anything. But I balance it out by having
more power over her in the way that I help my family. I have a younger
brother (10 years old) that I often have to take care of when my parents
want to do something. I always have the power to say “no, I’m too busy
to help” and that is a power that is extremely
helpful to me. The balance between the two powers works out quite well
for a balanced relationship! When it comes to my romantic relationships,
I think that power is divided equally between the two of us.
I was actually really interested by your post and I think that you offered up a perspective that I really didn't consider: That balance of power in relationships can shift. In my response to this question, I mentioned about the idea that unbalanced relationships are not necessarily a negative thing and that they exist in all walks of life. That being said, I really didn't consider that in some relationships (where people aren't abused or subordinated by others) power often shifts. While at times one person holds more power over the other, in healthy relationships, this fluctuates as in the relationship that you referenced you had with your mother.
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