What Is Gaslighting? Definition, Examples And Support

Intimate relationships are not the only area where sexuality is the focus. Other examples of gender-based gaslighting include:

Gas lamps in medicine. Some women are misled by doctors who may use stereotypes of women as irrational or hysterical to ignore real symptoms and health problems and convince patients that everything is fine.

Public or collective gas lighting. Many women experience public gaslighting, also known as collective gaslighting, where statements made by public figures or ordinary people widely shared on social media can cause women to collectively doubt themselves.

In his article “Gaslighting, Misogyny and Psychological Bullying,” Ph.D. Cynthia A. Stark recounts the case of two high school football players who raped an unconscious 16-year-old boy at a party and later received sympathy from CNN. The journalist described them as "two young men with a promising future, football stars, top students, who looked as if they were sure their lives were doomed."

“This kind of public exposure... can put women in a particular state of mind where they cannot fully accept their view that men’s actions are wrong or harmful,” Stark wrote. “They struggle with anxiety because they strongly believe that women are being treated unfairly, and at the same time they believe that women are just fussing over something that doesn’t matter, or that men should be allowed to make mistakes. "

Gassing transgender people. A gaslighter may try to convince transgender people that they have mental health problems. In a more subtle display of gaslighting, a parent might tell their transgender daughter that she should wear pants because they are better for lounging, thereby making the daughter question her desire to wear a skirt or dress.

Gaslighting behavior is often demonstrated by parents of transgender children who express support for their children, making gaslighting difficult to detect.

Gaslighting in the legal system. Police officers, judges, or juries may unwittingly participate in gender-based gassings. “When perpetrators take control of the narrative and ‘twist’ stories and events based on irrational stereotypes about women, especially violent black women, the legal system becomes a major area of ​​deflation,” Sweet writes. “Therefore, institutional authorities sometimes unwittingly resort to gaslighting tactics, leaving women even more vulnerable to violence and loss of trust.” This is often seen in child custody and sexual abuse cases.

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