gaslighting

Gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse intended to make someone doubt the evidence of their own experience. The term comes from a 1944 film in which a man manipulates his wife into believing she is going insane.

The term has been used to describe an unfortunately typical response when someone speaks out against sexist or racist speech: “I’m sure they didn’t mean it that way.” Whether responses such as this stem from a desire to uphold patriarchy or white supremacy, or merely being in denial, they serve to invalidate the experience of the victim, perpetuating the problem.

I see a relationship with systems thinking: for example the effects of systemic racism are clear, measurable, and well-attested, but some deny the systemic nature of the problem and blame either its victims or “a few bad apples” (neglecting the very meaning of the phrase “a few bad apples spoil the bunch”). This attempt (perhaps made in bad faith) to deny the systemic nature of what many experience and anyone can observe seems like a kind of gaslighting.