On several occasions I have come across the term "gaslighting" but have always struggled to know what it means and whether or not I should add it to my own vocabulary. I have been doing a little research.
The term is connected with a 1944 film called "Gaslight" starring Charles Boyer as Gregory Anton and Ingrid Bergman as his his wife - Paula Alquist Anton. Gregory secretly searches in the attic of their inherited London home for precious jewellery and when he puts the gaslight on up there, the lights in the rest of the house go noticeably dimmer.
When Paula mentions this Gregory dismisses her claims as nonsensical and this becomes the core of his campaign to make her think she is going crazy.
The term "gaslighting" is not in fact used in the film but it has come to be associated with psychological manipulation - undermining somebody's self-confidence and cause them to question their sense of reality.
You know when you look for a word in Google, the search engine starts to churn out related questions. I guess this is meant to be helpful though some of the questions that appear may be quite dubious. However, this came up:-
What is an example for gaslighting?
Gaslighting happens when an abuser tries to control a victim by twisting their sense of reality. An example of gaslighting would be a partner doing something abusive and then denying it happened.
"Gaslighting" was the "word of the year" for 1922 over at Merriam-Webster - the dictionary people. They defined it as "behaviour that's mind manipulating, grossly misleading, downright deceitful."
The use of "gaslighting" in conversation and print has rocketed since 202o. Back in the late nineteenth century it was only ever used to describe lighting that was literally derived from gas but modern usage is all about manipulation and control.
Although I don't like writing his name in this blog, Donald Trump has shown that regarding gaslighting there are few who can compare with him. It comes naturally - bending the truth and making people doubt themselves. He has done it a hell of a lot since he arrived on the political scene. His failing communications website - reputedly an alternative to "Twitter" - is called "Truth Social" but the notion of truth seems to run counter to the very record of Trump's life.
With regard to ease of use, "gaslighting" does not sit well with me. I think I would feel more comfortable using terms like "psychological control", "mental abuse" and "manipulation". I don't find "gaslighting" especially helpful but it is always good to try to keep up with this constantly evolving English language.
from Yorkshire Pudding https://ift.tt/Xc3INRz
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق