The Manufactured Fear of Women: How a Narrative of Distrust Keeps Us Divided

There’s this idea—old as time—that women are the problem.

It started in a garden when Eve allegedly bit that apple and ruined humanity so badly that God himself had to come down as a man and die to fix what she did. That’s a hell of a reputation to carry.

And it didn’t stop there.

Women have been cast as crazy, dangerous, deceptive, untrustworthy—so much so that entire systems have been built around controlling us, silencing us, and keeping us from trusting ourselves.

Consider this:

There was a time when women were diagnosed with melancholy (a.k.a. too many emotions). Then hysteria. And even as those outdated labels faded, the way we talk about women’s health hasn’t changed much.

Now, we have the P’s—postpartum depression, perimenopause, PMS, PMDD. Very real conditions that deeply affect our bodies and minds—yet we’re often afraid to talk about them, afraid of not being taken seriously, afraid they’ll be used against us.

Then there are the "mens"—menstrual cycles, menopause. Two natural biological processes that half the population experiences, but are still treated like mysteries, inconveniences, or weaknesses.

Our bodies are so misunderstood (and feared) that entire religions, governments, and industries have been structured around what we can and cannot do with them.

Even now, women are gaslit about their own pain—doctors dismiss us, we whisper about our bodies, and we move through the world as if the very fact of being a woman is something to apologize for.

And yet, even with all this?

Women still get sh*t done.

I’d be scared of women, too. Because if we can be all of these things—emotional, drained, exhausted, medically neglected—and still run businesses, raise families, lead revolutions? That’s some terrifying power.

And if I were running the world? I’d want to divide them, too.

🔥 The Invention of Female Distrust

The fear of women—our power, our bodies, our ability to create and destroy—has been baked into the culture for centuries.

So has the idea that we can’t trust each other.

Because let’s be clear: The idea that women are each other’s worst enemies? That wasn’t an accident.

💡 The Religious & Mythological Roots of Distrust

From the beginning, women have been positioned as a problem.

Eve disobeyed God, bringing sin into the world. (Not Adam. Eve.)
Pandora (from Greek mythology) opened the jar that unleashed evil upon humanity. (Not a man. A woman.)
Lilith, in Jewish folklore, was demonized because she wouldn’t submit to Adam.

See the pattern?

Women aren’t just flawed. We’re responsible for the downfall of everything.

💡 The Medicalization of Women’s Bodies: “You’re Just Crazy”

If women weren’t ruining the world and being a threat—to ourselves, to men, to the "natural order of things”—we were side-eyed in other ways, largely because of our our our minds and bodies.

Hysteria was an actual medical diagnosis for women being "too emotional." (The cure? Institutionalization, forced sterilization, or marriage.)
Postpartum depression? Ignored or treated as weakness.
Endometriosis? Painful periods? Menopause? Women have been dismissed as “dramatic” for reporting real medical symptoms for centuries.

Women’s bodies were (are) seen as unpredictable, unstable, uncontrollable.

And in a world that values control above all else? That’s dangerous.

💡 The Divide-and-Conquer Strategy

Legend (and research) has it that women existed in collective communities for generations. We raised children together, built economies together, protected each other.

Then came colonialism.

Divide and conquer wasn’t just a military strategy. It was a social one.

🚨 White women were placed above Black and Indigenous women.
🚨 Black and Indigenous women were divided among themselves—house vs. field, light vs. dark, free vs. enslaved.
🚨 The power structure rewarded loyalty to the system over loyalty to each other.

And just like that? Women became competitors, not co-conspirators.

Instead of questioning the system, we were too busy competing for the limited scraps of power we were allowed.

Instead of fighting the hierarchy, we were busy trying to prove we weren’t at the bottom of it.

And this trickled into everything:

The “mean girl” culture that tells women there can only be one at the top.
The scarcity mindset that makes us feel like another woman’s success threatens our own.
The whisper networks of warning (because we know what happens when women step out of line).

We didn’t create this. We inherited it.

But that doesn’t mean we have to keep it.

🔥 When Women’s Work Leaves Women Behind

Ever since we fell for the okee doke, there have been moments in history where we tried (kinda) to reunite. We’ve built movements, challenged injustice, and stood together when it mattered (sorta).

But let’s be honest—it hasn’t always been perfect.

There have been alliances that excluded Black women. Movements that prioritized one group’s needs over another’s. Moments when the women who should have been fighting with us were instead standing in our way.

Still, despite the divisions, we’ve found ways to show up for each other.

📌 Black and white women worked together in abolition— but many white women still didn’t see Black women as their equals.
📌 Women joined forces in the labor movement— but immigrant and Black women were often left out of union leadership.
📌 Black women fought for women’s suffrage— only to be told their rights would have to “wait.”

And today? The same patterns show up.

Some women have the privilege to “opt in” to activism when it benefits them, while others—especially Black women—have been fighting these battles for generations.

But here’s the thing: just because it’s been messy doesn’t mean we stop trying. And just because we have been better off today than we were yesterday, doesn’t mean our rights are guaranteed. Life is showing us that. Now, more than ever, we have to bridge these gaps.

That’s what the Without Apology Tour is about. It’s about bringing together women from all backgrounds, from around the world—with Black women at the center—to stand in their unapologetic truth.

To own our messy and complicated stories.
To talk honestly about motherhood, wealth, health, and sisterhood.
To stop waiting for permission to take up space.

Because if history has shown us anything, it’s this: when women come together—really come together—we just might be unstoppable.

🔥 The Without Apology Tour: Reclaiming What We Lost

My goal? To be in community with one million women—virtually and in person—one city at a time.

This tour is about:
✔ Facilitating conversations.
✔ Sparking introductions.
✔ Creating spaces where women thrive together—because we do thrive best when we do it together.

This isn’t about “fixing” us.

It’s about connecting us to each other as we reconnect with ourselves.

It’s about being...

🔥 Seen—for exactly who we are.
🔥 Heard—without shrinking or making ourselves small.
🔥 Supported—because we deserve to be nurtured, not just to be the nurturers.

It’s about showing up for ourselves and each other. And while this post is more about awareness than anything else, it’s also an invitation and a seat at the table to come. So stay tuned.

🔥 Your Turn: What Does Community Mean to You?

I want to hear from you.

💬 What does “building community” look like in your life?

💬 When have you experienced the power of sisterhood?

💬 What’s one moment, lesson, or connection that helped you grow?

Drop your thoughts in the comments. Let’s start a chain reaction of support—one story at a time.

Because if we’re going to thrive, we’re going to do it together. 💖

ABOUT THE BLOGGER

Dr. Sagashus Levingston is an author, entrepreneur and PhD holder. She has two fur babies, Maya and Gracie, six children (three boys and three girls), and they all (including her partner) live in Madison, WI. She loves all things business, is committed to reminding moms of their power, and is dedicated to playing her part in closing the wealth gap for people of color and women. She believes that mothering is a practice, like yoga, and she fights daily to manage her chocolate intake. The struggle is real, y’all…and sometimes it’s beautiful.

Follow her on Instagram: @infamous.mothers