Please rotate your device to landscape mode to view the charts.

Navigating the twisted path of gaslighting: a manifestation of epistemic injustice for Palestinian women entrepreneurs

Journal: Human Relations

Date: 2024

Author: Wojdan Omran, Shumaila Yousafzai

Abstract:
What exactly is gaslighting and how does it play out in the gendered context of women’s entrepreneurship? We contribute to Stern’s three-stage model of gaslighting by presenting a contextualised perspective through a ‘twisted path’ of gaslighting that maps out gaslighting interactions and consequences, reflecting how our findings coincide with, depart from and enrich this model; meanwhile identifying primary and subsequent (secondary and tertiary) gaslighting interactions. By examining gaslighting through the lens of epistemic injustice and testimonial injustice, we explain why some women entrepreneurs succumb to gaslighting, while others strategically employ testimonial smothering and infrapolitics as an empowered agential strategy rather than a disenfranchised consequence. Considering the lack of research on gaslighting in entrepreneurship, our geopolitical context emphasises the role of spatial position and identity within multiple systems of injustice, such as occupation and patriarchy, adding novel insights theorised and grounded in lived experiences. In doing so, we disrupt the influence of western feminism by embracing a postcolonial feminist perspective and promoting social justice through centring the voices of 40 internally displaced Palestinian women entrepreneurs. Policy implications underscore the need to raise awareness of gaslighting, facilitate its identification and promote preventive measures to hold gaslighters accountable.

Link: Google Scholar

Background and Context

Research Focus

Study examining gaslighting as epistemic injustice affecting internally displaced Palestinian women entrepreneurs operating under occupation and patriarchy.

Methodology

Interviews with 40 women entrepreneurs aged 21-68 in Ramallah and nearby internally displaced people camps.

Theoretical Approach

Postcolonial feminist perspective disrupting Western feminism by centering marginalized voices in entrepreneurial discourse.

The "Twisted Path" of Gaslighting Reveals Multiple Layers of Epistemic Injustice

Primary Gaslighting Secondary Gaslighting Tertiary Gaslighting Hermeneutical Death
  • Gaslighting follows a complex path from direct interaction to systemic invalidation of experiences.
  • Secondary gaslighting occurs when bystanders invalidate women's accounts of their experiences.
  • Tertiary gaslighting happens when institutions meant to provide support further invalidate claims.
  • Continuous exposure to gaslighting can lead to hermeneutical death—total loss of voice and agency.

Stern's Three-Stage Model Shows How Women Experience and Respond to Gaslighting

Stage 1: Disbelief Shock Confusion Self-questioning Stage 2: Defence Confrontation Clarification Strategic responses Stage 3: Withdrawal Self-doubt Sense of surreality Hermeneutical death
  • In Stage 1, women experience initial shock and confusion after being gaslit.
  • Stage 2 involves strategic responses ranging from direct confrontation to strategic silence.
  • By Stage 3, repeated gaslighting can lead to withdrawal and internalization of negative stereotypes.
  • Some women remained at Stage 2, using defense tactics to strategically navigate gaslighting encounters.

Five Distinct Gaslighting Tactics Used to Manipulate Women Entrepreneurs

Gaslighting Tactics Countering Withholding Trivializing Denial Diverting
  • Countering questions women's memory with statements like "You never remember things accurately."
  • Withholding involves refusing to engage in conversation when women entrepreneurs raise concerns.
  • Trivializing belittles women's experiences with phrases like "You're overreacting" or "Don't be sensitive."
  • Denial involves gaslighters claiming events never occurred or pretending to forget them.
  • Diverting changes conversation focus to question women's credibility and shift blame onto them.

Layered Nature of Gaslighting Creates Compounding Epistemic Injustice

Tertiary Gaslighting Institutional invalidation of claims Secondary Gaslighting Bystander invalidation of experiences Primary Gaslighting Direct manipulation tactics
  • Primary gaslighting involves direct manipulation using tactics like trivializing women's concerns.
  • Secondary gaslighting occurs when bystanders invalidate women's experiences of being gaslit.
  • Tertiary gaslighting is perpetrated by institutions meant to provide support and justice.
  • The layered structure creates compounding harm, leaving women entrepreneurs with limited recourse.

Women Entrepreneurs Deploy Strategic Responses as Forms of Resistance

Testimonial Smothering Self-silencing Filtering communication Strategic compliance Infrapolitics Covert resistance Supportive networks Agential strategy
  • Testimonial smothering involves strategically silencing oneself to avoid further gaslighting encounters.
  • Women entrepreneurs filter communication and strategically comply to navigate entrepreneurial ecosystems.
  • Infrapolitics represents covert resistance strategies employed to maintain agency and control.
  • These responses represent empowered agential strategies rather than disenfranchised consequences of gaslighting.

Contribution and Implications

  • The study introduces a "twisted path" model showing how gaslighting manifests through multiple layers.
  • Palestinian women entrepreneurs' experiences reveal gaslighting as epistemic injustice in patriarchal entrepreneurial contexts.
  • Research challenges Western feminist perspectives by centring marginalized voices from occupied Palestine.
  • Findings demonstrate how testimonial smothering can be a strategic response rather than disempowerment.
  • Policy recommendations include raising awareness of gaslighting and creating institutional accountability mechanisms.

Data Sources

  • All visualizations are based on qualitative findings from interviews with 40 Palestinian women entrepreneurs.
  • The "Twisted Path" visualization is derived from Figure 2 in the article (p. 1733).
  • Gaslighting tactics visualization represents the coding structure described in Figure 1 (p. 1731).
  • The strategic responses visualization draws from data and analysis in pages 1735-1737.
  • All visualizations represent conceptual findings rather than quantitative data from the research.