File:Sweet smell of Submission.jpg

" Sweet smell of Submission", by Erik Pevernagie, oil on canvas, 100 x 100cm b . .xxx

Many women strongly advocate for emancipation and equality, and some men help them in their cause. However, the behavior of some groups of women is not always straightforward. They exhibit an agreeable acceptance of submission, adding a layer of complexity to their advocacy that is intriguing to explore.

Some men argue that removing suffering from women's lives strips them of the one thing that allows them to display grandiosity, nobility, and magnanimity. Florence Nightingale serves as a poignant example of this dynamic.

In their relationships, some women develop a secret, self-destructive dependence on being needed. They invest obsessively in benevolent care and total devotion to people who are physically or mentally unstable, demonstrating a selflessness that is both admirable and concerning.

The only thing they want might be to feel needed or indispensable. Men who haven't grown up, remaining mentally little kids and addicted or socially deviant characters, can give them sense to their lives and grant them a mission they can fight for.

To be able to fulfill the self-imposed and addictive task, they are ready to submit to any random actions, which allows them to enjoy the sweet smell of total submission.

Women can invest a tremendous amount of care and devotion into others, but by becoming sometimes dependent on being needed, they simultaneously become self-destructive. By their self-imposed dependence on being considered necessary, they deny their own freedom and agency, sacrificing their individuality and autonomy.

By embracing the role of caretaker, some people want to avoid confronting their own inner void or insecurities. By making themselves indispensable to others, they initiate a mission and create a purpose for their existence, often at the cost of their own well-being.

Imbalance and self-destruction can be our inevitable fate if we devote ourselves entirely to others without previously nurturing a stable sense of self.

When "caregivers" become addicted to the neediness of others, their needs may become destructive or exploitative. If women give up their empowerment, they abandon their potential for freedom and personal growth and lose their own sense of self.

Phenomenon: Submission and emancipation