Shameless Leadership cover image

Shameless Leadership

792: Perfectionism as a Patriarchal Social Construct

Aug 7, 2023
36:03

You may know by now that I could preach all day about how women are programmed by the patriarchy to show up in this world in very specific ways that primarily (and almost exclusively) benefit white men. Please know when I say “patriarchy” I am referring to a system that is not only harmful to women but also undermines and completely stunts the emotional development of most men. This system benefits few, but the few who benefit have the most tremendous power - globally.

Our patriarchal society has created tons of social constructs that lead us to unknowingly behave in ways that benefit some (men) while holding others back (including but not limited to: women, people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people with neurodiversities, people with disabilities, and people with larger bodies)

Over the years, I’ve talked about mom guilt as a social construct and imposter syndrome as a social construct. Both of these social constructs are part of a system that intentionally makes women and moms think and behave in specific ways that ultimately limit how they show up in the world. These limitations create more space for others (men) to have more opportunities to find success, build wealth, and amass power.  

I recently started doing some thinking on perfectionism as a social construct. Once I started thinking this through, I knew there had to be research to back up my hypotheses. So, I went and found it. In today’s episode, I’m going to talk about perfectionism as a social construct. We will dig into different forms of perfectionism, as well as how you can start to reject perfectionism in order to get out of your head and get on with your life. Buckle up. This is a good one!

Links mentioned:

NYU Article: Problematizing Perfectionism: A Closer Look at the Perfectionism Construct

Harvard Business Review Article: Perfectionism Is Increasing, and That’s Not Good News


We love the sponsors that make this show possible! You can always find all the special deals and codes for all our current sponsors on our website: https://shamelessmom.com/sponsor

Interested in becoming a sponsor of the Shameless Mom Academy? Email our sales team at sales@adalystmedia.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the Snipd
podcast app

Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
App store bannerPlay store banner

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode

Save any
moment

Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways

Share
& Export

Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more

AI-powered
podcast player

Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features

Discover
highlights

Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode