ap_racism: Do I have White Woman's Syndrome? Because I have this rash in the shape of the "Runaway Bride."

You know what they say about girls who go to Blair (

i_dreamed_i_was) wrote in

ap_racism,
@ 2005-10-20 15:20:00

Do I have White Woman's Syndrome? Because I have this rash in the shape of the "Runaway Bride."
White Woman's Syndrome.

Has anyone else heard or used this term?

Paging vivianstcloud. vivianstcloud to the white courtesy telephone.

I can intuit what it entails-- certain behaviors that reek of white privilege and are designed to enlist white male power-- but I'd love to flesh it out a bit more.

Who would like to give his or her impression of "White Woman's Syndrome?"

Both personal experiences and sources are welcome.

(

highyella, I'm also thinking of your post to

blackfolk.)

Anyone?

(Post a new comment)

jadedjade
2005-10-20 08:56 pm UTC (link)

I'm not sure what white women's syndrome is honestly, but as of today I feel that white women are the single most racist and prejudice creatures on the planet who think the rest of the world revell in their feminine whiteness, and they seem unable to get beyond that, and become very confused when things aren't about them, or aren't some how related to them and how they view the world. When they become confused, they become angry, and when they become angry, they act upset, and when they are upset people want to "fix them" thus perpetuating the idea that they are central.

I think a lot of the issues I'm currently having have to deal with sexism, in that women are taught to constantly compare themselves to other women in determining if they are fat, pretty, etc, and well, white women picture the ideal as white, and compare themselves to everything. Because they're constantly comparing they're constantly noting what others are, and assume that everyone else sees their whiteness, and their femaleness, and automatically puts them on a pedistal. And when they realize that either their whiteness or their femineness isn't being put on a pedestal, they don't know what to do.

but... i had a bad day :P so I could be totally wrong.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

It seems to me that it has something to do

i_dreamed_i_was
2005-10-20 09:15 pm UTC (link)

with that "pedestal." The whole "white woman in peril" thing-- it seems to be encouraged. I think... As a way of reinforcing sexism. But it also helps give white women access to the power of white men.

It's not just that they are upset at being challenged on their privilege-- because so are white men. And no one can believe his sh!t don't stink and he's savior of the universe like a white man. I mean... There's a whole White Man's Syndrome that's pretty unique to white men (and rarer in white women). They're probably just two sides to the same white privilege coin.

But yeah... Something about how everyone should rush to take care of them and "baby" them. Which I think is fairly unique to white sexism (because it's definitely a part of that). That is-- I think, in this country, other cultures copy it sometimes, but it's not quite the same. It's... Unique to the overclass in any culture/country, and in this country, for most intents and purposes, white folk ARE the overclass. What white women don't realize in these discussions of sexism (and I feel I'm on repeat here) is that whole "fragile, virginal woman" stereotype that has been used to disempower white women exists BECAUSE of racism and the foisting of the "animalistic, whoring" stereotypes on WOC-- particularly black women.

Hmmmm...

(Reply to this) (Parent)

demondoll2001
2005-10-23 03:41 am UTC (link)

I agree. I think white women get theatrical just to make everything be all about them.

I'm actually having a discussion on a POC forum right now (an Indian forum, at that) and there are white women there who are trying to tell me all the different ways that they are discriminated against by society--one just told me that she experiences more racism than I do on a daily basis because she is Muslim (note: she is a white woman who recently CHOSE to become Muslim, probably to get attention). Then, of course, she called me racist because I pointed out her white privilege.

I get SO sick of this White Woman Syndrome. I'm so glad that you guys made up this term. It's like everytime I try to have a conversation about racism, some white woman tries to get in my face and tell me how much worse she has it because she is "fat, Jewish, ugly, whatever.....".....I guess it's all because these women are trying so hard to be the center of attention.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

krazyhippie
2005-11-12 04:21 am UTC (link)

From a white woman's perspective, I think it has to do mostly with white guilt. What better way to ignore your white privilege than to cling to the minorities you DO belong to and use those as an excuse, a reason why you COMPLETELY understand oppression?

I've been guilty of this before (I think any white woman who says she isn't is full of shit) because I'm queer and I used to tend to cling to that as a safety net, as a "see, I'm oppressed too," though not really realizing that's what I was doing. And yes, I do belong to an oppressed group, but it has nothing to do with racism and it does not have any effect on my white privilege. They are apples and oranges (unless you belong to both groups) and belonging to one does not mean you understand the experience of another.

I think the reason white women do that is, like I said, to ease white guilt in the case of more racially aware white women, or to avoid guilt in the first place for less aware white women. By feeling like "one of the victims," they can get a "poor US" attitude, like hey, we're all in this together, instead of realizing they're part of the problem, a member of the oppressing group, because hey, that wouldn't sit well with the white conscience, now would it.

(sorry, getting a little bitter toward the end there)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

demondoll2001
2005-11-12 09:04 pm UTC (link)

Well, I think you're right. And I'm glad that you're able to distinguish between racism and the gay experience in that way.

I've actually know white gay males who think that they are more oppressed than I am. I think they're only fooling themselves.

It's okay to get bitter. :-)

(And no I don't name names....keep reading, you're clever enough. And you'll see what is there to see!)

(Reply to this) (Parent)

vivianstcloud
2005-10-20 09:31 pm UTC (link)

Honestly, I don't know if anyone else uses the term White Woman Syndrome. :)) My best friend and I coined the phrase in college, where us two brown girls (she is Filipina) were suddenly surrounded by these wealthy incredibly privileged white women who seemed to have had their whole lives handed to them on a silver platter but still found things to moan and wail about in dramatic fashion, almost a la 19th century.

Those with WWS have to always be the center of attention in a pedestal kind of way and needed tons of reassurance from adoring fans to feel good about themselves. They do ridiculously indulgent helpless woman things, that we as brown women could NEVER get away with, and all men would flock to their aid and admire their delicateness. Grrrr. And there just seemed to be a high level of drama that followed them around and that they were "allowed" by society to have and that people accepted and, really, just ate up.

It was never an option for us brown girls to be so self-absorbed or so selfish. We wouldnt dare indulge our dramatic sides that way. I don't think we were necessarily tougher or that things didnt bother us any less, but we would never be allowed to show our neuroses like white women did and certainly wouldnt expect them to be endearing and attractive. A lot of this fits in with the de-feminization of black women that we've been talking about on

blackfolks recently.

btw, Michelle, you have it a little bit. Just a little. :) I kinda think having the syndrom is simply a part of the way that white women are treated and learn to behave in our culture, so there's no inherent shame in having it. You just gotta look for the symptons and then treat them accordingly. Can it be cured? I don't know. We'd have to find the roots causes in our society and eliminate those, but I'm not sure we will really do that. But until we do that, can it be managed on an individual level? Yes indeedy! I have hope!

(Reply to this) (Thread)

I KNEW I had it!

i_dreamed_i_was
2005-10-20 09:46 pm UTC (link)

OMG! I told everyone who would listen about how I had it, and they all came running to help me!

But yeah, I can see that. You know, being so "sensitive," among other things. WOC are just as "sensitive," but they don't get coddled for it. I know I resented being coddled for it (not so much by my parents, but by others), but at the same time, I still had/have that boo-boo-kissing to fall back on. If I really wanted to, I could be using my "white woman wiles" a LOT more-- which I didn't realize until recently. Like the way I see these women at the club, batting their lashes at the bouncers and getting in for free and such... 95% of them are white, even though the clubs I've been to have been pretty diverse.

I know that even when I don't try, I often get "babied" by men of all colors. But I see that as a (admittedly dubious/usually unwanted) privilege that I have over POC, not a way that I am oppressed by men-- you know?

And I don't see a lot of acknowledgement of that among white feminists.

Anyhoo... I didn't know you had coined it, but now let's make it famous! White Woman's Syndrome! I see an icon in our future... :P

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: I KNEW I had it!

vivianstcloud
2005-10-20 09:52 pm UTC (link)

OMG! I told everyone who would listen about how I had it, and they all came running to help me!

LMAO!!! Yep, you get it. ;)

I know that even when I don't try, I often get "babied" by men of all colors.

Yes, this is a good point. Men of all colors seem to enjoy women with WWS. It is frustrating, but true. And honestly I don't know enough about feminist theory to understand if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It seems like a power to me, but a power that is centered around your perceived weaknesses. Which sounds like a crappy power to have, you know?

It sort of reminds me of women I've known who said they became strippers or work in the sex industry (pro doms) because that gave them power over men, and then end up hating/distrusting men and feeling humiliated and disempowered by the experience. It's like is it real power at all?

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	*nods* i_dreamed_i_was 2005-10-20 10:00 pm UTC (link)
	It's like what we were talking about the other day... Asian American women have more "power" than black women through their ability to attract more white men. But that kind of fetishization (generally)-- is that the kind of power anyone REALLY wants? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	And to your first point... i_dreamed_i_was 2005-10-20 10:03 pm UTC (link)
	I think white women have always been posited as the most desirable, so white woman behavior (from a white woman, of course) would elicit that response from many men, regardless of color. (Reply to this) (Parent)

I'm slow on the (commenting) uptake.

atruestory
2006-02-24 02:37 am UTC (link)

Yes, this is a good point. Men of all colors seem to enjoy women with WWS. It is frustrating, but true. And honestly I don't know enough about feminist theory to understand if that's a good thing or a bad thing. It seems like a power to me, but a power that is centered around your perceived weaknesses. Which sounds like a crappy power to have, you know?

I think this is one of those funny places where privileges are double-edged swords; some are, some aren't, but this one definitely is. In fact, I think it's one of those places where a privilege overlaps with an oppression, i.e. white privilege combined with sexism, and then the two woven together in a somewhat inextricable way. That way it's fucked up in multiple fun ways!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Oh, yeah...

i_dreamed_i_was
2006-02-24 06:43 pm UTC (link)

This is definitely the way I think about it. A bit of a gilded cage, I think.

When white American women, especially, talk about sexism, they often talk about being forced into the position of "lady" and "virgin," etc. Without realizing that-- though those roles are oppressive, certainly-- they are not even OPTIONS for most WOC. In fact, those "ladylike" roles even EXIST for white woman in large part because WOC have been oppressed in differently. In Europe, those roles were traditionally restricted to the upper class. In the USA, with its seeming egalitarianism-- but only for white people (and only sorta)-- POC were made an artificial underclass. Therefore-- in many cases-- all white women were conceived on some level as "upper class," and put into that "ladylike" box. Not all. But many. Or at least-- it was supposed to be possible to aspire to that, you know? And that wasn't so much an option for WOC, who were usually assumed to be "mannish" or "whores" unless proven otherwise...

Just my thoughts...

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

Re: Oh, yeah...

atruestory
2006-02-26 06:32 am UTC (link)

Hmmm. Great thoughts. I didn't realize until I posted this comment that this thread was months old (I guess I opened it in a browser window and then didn't check the dates? Or something).

This actually seems like a good starting point for talking to people about how privileges and oppressions overlap and how by working to dismantle the first can really change the second.

Hah, I'm probably mostly daydreaming. I can already picture the argument, "But my oppression means I HAVE NO PRIVILEGES" (theirs), and the headache (mine).

By the way, "Gilded cage" is a great turn of phrase.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

*word*

highyella
2005-10-20 09:35 pm UTC (link)

I'm currently taking a class on Race, Nation, and Non-heteronormativity and the premise of many of the readings is that the US is built on stressing white women's need to propagate the white race in order to create an imagined national unity while also idealizing white women as the only "pure" vessels who can create this unity. We are reading actual historical documents that blatantly promote white women (and therefore white people, and therefore the nation) in peril rhetoric. Task forces, women's clubs, governmental agencies, scientists, doctors, sociologists etc put time, money, and effort into protecting white women's pedestalled existence. White women in peril is a very specific and pronounced part of the racism that is the fabric of the US.

I can intuit what it entails-- certain behaviors that reek of white privilege and are designed to enlist white male power-- but I'd love to flesh it out a bit more.

You hit it with this one. White women syndrome is not an accident, but a created national phenomenon.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Yes yes yes...

i_dreamed_i_was
2005-10-20 09:58 pm UTC (link)

I think that's the big thing... The "purity" thing. The "we can sleep with/rape all the WOC we want, but let a MOC LOOK at a white woman, and we'll string him up" thing.

*vigorous nodding*

Because one is a threat to white men's masculinity, and their power. The other reinforces it. Especially the white part of it, because white males can only get more white males from white females.

LOL... It's like freakin' National Geographic. They're protecting their honey from maraudng bears for the survival of the species.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Yes yes yes... highyella 2005-10-21 06:29 pm UTC (link)
	Our brains should get together and spawn little baby brains. Then those little baby brains should take over the world. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Oh, man! i_dreamed_i_was 2005-10-21 06:34 pm UTC (link)
	That would be so sweet. Little baby high_i_was brains taking over the world! (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: Oh, man! highyella 2005-10-21 06:43 pm UTC (link)
	Lol... I LOVE IT!!! for so many reasons. (Reply to this) (Parent)

polymexina
2005-10-20 09:39 pm UTC (link)

i think an awesome example of white woman syndrome would be crying in class because you're just... "feeling so overwhelmed and emotional." in my experience, i've often seen that as a way for white women to get out of having difficult conversations about race, and as a way to make the conversation be about them and their emotions/reactions to racism instead of the emotions/reactions/experiences of the students of color in the classroom.

scene:
black student: wow, i was at the cafeteria across campus, and while i was getting my food, a cafeteria worker pulled me out of line, demanded to see my id, and told me that this wasn't a 7/11 or a benefits line while i was digging in my back pack. sometimes i feel unwelcome here.
white female student: OH MY GOD. your experience makes me SO SAD! ::starts crying::
class: ::comforts crying female::
black student: ?????

i also sometimes call it bell jar or prozac nation syndrome.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	lol highyella 2005-10-20 09:44 pm UTC (link)
	white female student: OH MY GOD. your experience makes me SO SAD! ::starts crying:: Hee...I've been there. I end up just looking around like WTF? All confused and isht. Also, as much as I am a fan of Plath I like Bell Jar Syndrome. I'm going to steal that. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Re: lol polymexina 2005-10-20 09:46 pm UTC (link)
	yeah, what's great is when you get to start calling people big BJs. or FFiDs (fragile female in distress). (Reply to this) (Parent)

LMAO...

i_dreamed_i_was
2005-10-20 09:52 pm UTC (link)

I mean, I'm pretty "sensitive," so I don't know what it is, but I've never done that (in public! in class!) past maybe early high school. Maybe because my mom almost never cries, or because I was in a math-science magnet program for a while, where women didn't get as many breaks, but...

black student: wow, i was at the cafeteria across campus, and while i was getting my food, a cafeteria worker pulled me out of line, demanded to see my id, and told me that this wasn't a 7/11 or a benefits line while i was digging in my back pack. sometimes i feel unwelcome here.
white female student: OH MY GOD. your experience makes me SO SAD! ::starts crying::
class: ::comforts crying female::
black student: ?????

I HAVE seen that a lot. Once in a loooooooong while, I have seen a WOC cry to her professor, but it usually has something to do with a serious family/health/financial issue, and it's in a semi-private private. But you're right-- white women? *smh*

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Duh. i_dreamed_i_was 2005-10-20 09:52 pm UTC (link)
	That should be "semi-private setting." (Reply to this) (Parent)

vivianstcloud
2005-10-20 09:59 pm UTC (link)

I had almost that exact experience happen to me in an undergrad class on Race, Gender and Class. Heh. I swear those classes are the WORST place to discuss, race, gender or class. But anyway...

So I say something about Womanist theory and how the specific needs of WOC have been left out of white feminist theory (cause I'm writing my Senior thesis on something similar) and this blonde white girl gets upset because I called her racist (WTF?!??) and starts tearing up and the whole class including the (African) professor turn on me and start saying I am so mean and that's not fair and they've never heard of "womanism" or any kind of critique like that and white women are good people! I was in S-H-O-C-K! Everything I just said was invalidated because I *made* a white girl cry. WTF!?!

(Reply to this) (Parent)

papertigers
2005-10-21 01:36 am UTC (link)

black student: wow, i was at the cafeteria across campus, and while i was getting my food, a cafeteria worker pulled me out of line, demanded to see my id, and told me that this wasn't a 7/11 or a benefits line while i was digging in my back pack. sometimes i feel unwelcome here.
white female student: OH MY GOD. your experience makes me SO SAD! ::starts crying::
class: ::comforts crying female::
black student: ?????

OMFG. this happens EVERY SINGLE TIME i try to discuss racial issues with one friend of mine, particularly when i mention white privilege or unconscious racism. it's the perfect way to avoid having to analyze those concepts in herself and instantly focuses the conversation on her and her feelings. GAH. i never could articulate before why that pissed me off so much.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

	shadowfae 2005-10-21 02:12 am UTC (link)
	i've often seen that as a way for white women to get out of having difficult conversations about race, and as a way to make the conversation be about them and their emotions/reactions to racism instead of the emotions/reactions/experiences of the students of color in the classroom. I totally agree. (Reply to this) (Parent)

kittylarock
2005-10-21 04:38 pm UTC (link)

omg the crying thing!!! my favorite experience with this phenomenon was a few summers ago when i was facilitating a discussion around young women of color & feminism at ladyfest. of course there had to be that one white girl who made the comment "i don't even understand why we're talking about race. we're all women. i want to talk about patriarchy." after all the women of color politely yet firmly schooled her ass she immediately started crying. it was awesome.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	polymexina 2005-10-22 02:45 pm UTC (link)
	.... why did she even come to the discussion, then? (Reply to this) (Parent)

	missruckus 2005-11-12 03:50 am UTC (link)
	yes! you hit the nail on the head! (Reply to this) (Parent)

	croupier 2005-10-20 10:56 pm UTC (link)
	There's an essay by Erna Brodber called "Perceptions of Caribbean Women" that goes into WWS a little bit--talking about how white women try to project something akin to "the lady in the fine castle." (Reply to this)

	I hate to say it, i_dreamed_i_was 2005-10-20 11:05 pm UTC (link)
	but I feel I see a fair amount of WWS in both feminist and feminist_rage. (Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: I hate to say it, papertigers 2005-10-21 01:39 am UTC (link)
	yep. more in the former than the latter, but it shows up pretty much every day in both places. (Reply to this) (Parent)

gal_montag
2005-10-21 12:31 am UTC (link)

I dunno, I think men are way worse. But the majority of my experience with white women is with members of my immediate family. The biggest drama queen I know is my cousin and she's mixed.

However, upon reading the comment above about

feminist and

feminist_rage, I'm not sure if I'd call that WWS or that weird fanatic entitlement people start developing when they're blinded by their cause. And that can happen to people of *any* race.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	shadowfae 2005-10-21 02:16 am UTC (link)
	I think white men are worse when it comes to straight out racial violence ... ... but white women are just as bad, if not worse, than white men when it comes to white privilege denial and hiding racism/sexist attitudes behind a smile. (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

	Agreed. i_dreamed_i_was 2005-10-21 04:12 am UTC (link)
	And so far, in my experience, the vast majority of white men are more outwardly defensive than white women, beating their chests, shouting people down and generally trying to be Mighty Whitey (at best). But that doesn't mean white women are any better at "getting it." (Reply to this) (Parent)

vivianstcloud
2005-10-21 03:11 am UTC (link)

It's not a comparison game (men v. women), it's just a..syndrome.. that one seems in white women. White men may have their own special syndrome, as do men and women of color, respectively. But they are not characterized by the same things and I think personally that the things we are talking about in the previous posts are specific to white women in US culture (and beyond?).

I honestly think WWS is something that *is* class-based. I know racism != classism and all that, but I do think incidences of WWS increase as your socio-economic level increases. All the women that have had it really badly have been upper-middle class and above. I think these are women that grew up believing the myth of whiteness = beautiful and woman = adoration from all. Does that make sense? I don't think I'm saying that well.

And your mixed cousin may be a drama queen, but does that mean she believes all the things we've mentioned above? I would distinguish between a plain ol drama queen and someone with WWS. (Of course, if she's mixed, she might well believe the hype about whiteness. Heck, anyone, mixed or no could believe the hype about whiteness.)

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

gal_montag
2005-10-21 03:18 am UTC (link)

She doesn't, but people who like to bring the drama seem to be what you're talking about. That's where I'd put them, anyway, and just roll my eyes and go about my business.

But again, it's about experience. I never spent much time with any women who were above middle middle class. I don't know any women who burst into tears at the mention of racism/injustice as a means of making it all about them.

But I *do* know a few men who say some pretty entertaining things because they either don't know I'm black or because they don't care. And that's the only reason I mention men, because I don't and have never known any women who have that issue.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

I was going to say...

i_dreamed_i_was
2005-10-21 04:10 am UTC (link)

It's DEFINITELY exacerbated by class. And so you see (to a very limited extent) a FEW upper-class WOC who act similarly. I'd still say you see it significantly less often (even as a percentage) among upper-class WOC than upper-class white women. (IME.) Because unless they're among the MOST sheltered, WOC aren't going to be able to "get away with it" as often.

And the class issue is why I didn't encounter it as much among white women until college-- because I spent more time with my family than other friends, and both sides were working-poor-to-working-class when they grew up. Although I'm sure white women have more "class mobility" even in terms of WWS ('cause it's the thing to emulate!), it does seem that lower-class white women don't have as much time for it, so to speak.

Of course, now that I go to the most expensive school in the country, whoo boy! And naturally, most of them are "liberal," but you know how that goes... :P

(Reply to this) (Parent)

djpekky
2005-10-24 12:03 am UTC (link)

My biggest issue with White Woman Syndrom is in the "feminism" department. I particularly have problems with the patronizing tone about how Women of Colour *should* behave in order to get rid of their "oppression."

To add on this: women who come from Latino, Middle Eastern, and Asian cultures have the stereotype of being "submissive" (just to name one). Once, a relative of mine got married to a white American guy, and his daughter said that it is good he married her, because "Latinas are submissive and passive. And yet, when I call on it, they say "Latina women are bitchy/loud/emotional." And pout.

Other than that, I agree with most of the comments up.

I could talk about how the "White Feminist Woman Syndrom" sells stereotypes about non-white women that even affect the way we women of colour look at each other. But then, it would be a long comment.

Peace!

Pekky

(Reply to this) (Thread)

eleventyteen
2005-10-24 11:31 pm UTC (link)

These people need to get together and make some damn senset. White guys (and to a degree POC men of a different race too) will chase after POC women (of a particular race) because they're "submissive/domestic/more pleasant/etc". with white women echoing these sentiments. But POC guys will say they won't date ~~their~~ that race, because they're "loud/aggressive/bitchy/etc". and some POC women will justify not making friends with women of the same race for the same reasons. And then most of these guys are chasing white, because they feel white women are the submissive ones.

And the funny thing about it is, the white people and POC who have such ridiculous attitudes towards POC are usually hanging out together in the same circle of friends, or communities or forums, online and in real life. How do they reconcile the conflict in stereotypes?

(Reply to this) (Parent)

fire_fly
2006-10-10 10:33 am UTC (link)

Still maintaining a healthy distance from LJ, but I followed this link from a blog, so it doesn't count. XD

I'm reading Ain't I A Woman (bell hooks) at the moment, and some passages about the relationship between enslaved black women and white colonial women struck me as epitomising the kinds of behaviour that other commenters were talking about.

The way that white women behaved when they discovered that their husbands were having "affairs" with black women was prurient, overdramatic, and punitive towards black women. Instead of locating the malice with their white husbands, they turned on black women because that was easier than confronting colonial power. They saw these women as their sexual rivals, and conveniently ignoring the difference of power, acted to "defend" the privileges of their whiteness and heterosexual submission.

I think it's all about fearing the consequences of being a 'race traitor,' and having to deal with the consequences of forming genuine alliances with PoC... all without being able to play the damsel in distress and have a white knight come along and rescue her (i.e. falling back on relations which depend on white [male] privilege).

(Reply to this)

wws and white knighting

jogamatic
2008-01-19 07:24 pm UTC (link)

so i've recently been thinking about both wws, and its correlary which i don't know yet has a title, though i'm proposing 'white knight syndrome'. preliminary googling for wws only really returns a couple of places, including this one.

wws: the behavioral pattern of emotionally flail about with a sense of persecution in an attempt to enlist the saviourship of external parties and / or deflect perceived attacks with a shield of over-vulnerability and irrationality.

wks: the reciprocal to wws, wherein the wk attempts to be the saviour and, regardless of facts, come to the 'defense' of the wws-sufferer. while looking for more info on wws i came across an example of both here.

I'm thinking of an actual post for more discussion on these terms. especially in light of the near lack of posts relating to it that i can find. although this could be me not searching for the right things. i know these things happen on a daily basis, so i find it hard to believe no one's 'formally' talked about them.

(Reply to this) (Thread)

	Re: wws and white knighting jogamatic 2008-01-19 07:27 pm UTC (link)
	yes, i think i oversimplified wws there, as well as wks. totally left out the part of loss-of-attention-being-paid-to being an available trigger. (Reply to this) (Parent)

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