Saying Yes and Saying No

Abstract

Saying ‘no’ is not simply a Luddite reaction. Women in particular have been associated with saying ‘yes’ at many different levels in their lives. Women who say ‘no’ are stereotypically seen as hard, ruthless, ambitious and egoistic. At the end of the last chapter, I quoted Johnson (1977), who believes that the essential task for women is saying ‘no’ — creatively. It is this which is essential. Simply saying ‘no’ can be destructive, but a creative ‘no’ is always for growth, at least psychologically.