This is not specifically about dating, but it is related.

I have been in several emotionally abusive situations and many of the situations derived from men not wanting to accept that a woman could be smart.

In each situation, I was always told by someone “I thought that you were too smart to let something like this happen”.

Smart women are targeted for abuse by men. It does not mean that they do not have intelligence if it happens. Also, many times, the men in our lives are watching us and keeping score of our intelligent actions. They lash out when they feel threatened and not a moment earlier.

More? Older men LOVE to try to control the direction of your life when you are in your twenties and thirties. Don’t allow them to take the steering wheel.

  1. The professor was okay when you turned in extra assignments or you wrote a Master’s thesis while still in undergrad, but suddenly unleashed wild criticisms when you asked for a grad school recommendation.

  2. The supervisor praised your work night and day for five years, but only had negative things to say when you put your name in the hat for a promotion.

  3. The boyfriend who keeps telling you that you will hate it if you leave your current job for something better...

  4. The male-dominated companies that reward you for seniority but keep you in the same position for years...

It feels as if men strike us from all directions and yes, this is emotional abuse, but it is not our fault.