Shyness as an evolutionary tactic

[ksmith]

I've been told for years that "shy" and "quiet" are bad. I was labeled "shy" during a performance review at one company, and that was considered the nail in the career coffin. I'm still being told that I need to speak up more. In many business, quiet is bad, even though the talkers often don't add a damned thing to the conversation.

But I digress.

I remember the commercial that the writer of this article refers to. It made me angry. The idea that any sort of reticence is considered automatically bad and needs to be chemically engineered out of one's system, that character traits are disease states, pisses me off. Yes, there are anxiety disorders that are debilitating, that hamper the sufferer's life. Some people should be treated. But being one of life's watchers doesn't make me abnormal. It doesn't make me better, either. It just makes me a differently-shaped piece in life's puzzle, and if that gets under your skin, well, tough.

Comments

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

It's a sad truth that the bubbly extroverts are favoured over the quiet, careful sorts in the workplace. Anyone who can talk the talk - even if they are talking complete bollocks - will be favoured over a person of few words and those to the point. Business has fallen in love with the idea of being seen as go-getting, high-speed, high-profit, high-risk... and look where it's taken us.

I don't care how cut-throat the jobs market - I'm horrified that anyone would perceive introversion as a condition needing treatment.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

I wish I could recall the article, but I think it was in the NYT 3-4 months ago--yet another doctor confusing social disorders with introversion, and seeing introversion as a condition requiring treatment. Like talking to a wall.