Do you think society confuses passivity with kindness, especially in women?

Question

Do you think society confuses passivity with kindness, especially in women?

Answer 1

I think it's natural for people to assume submissive people have more of gentle nature. If their assumptions are wrong, I don't think it's that much of a problem. Would anyone really be offended if their passive nature was mistaken for kindness? I wouldn't. But people do confuse the two. An upfront  assertive person could be a really nice person, while a passive person could be a jerk.  

Answer 2

well, first you have to decide what kindness really is. from a psychological or philosophical point of view, my opinion is that true kindness, or selflessness, does not exist. when we help each other, we try to either feel better about ourselves while not caring what happens to others (that is if we are not affected negatively) or we try to feel better about ourselves or our situation, but actually caring about how our actions affect others. now doing something you dont want to do just see other people happy may seem selfless, but what if we didn't feel good from doing these things? isnt the point of our survival instincts to stay away from doing things in which not one bit of happiness occurs? this argument also brings the theory of whether or not free will exists. i wont go into detail but selflessness, kindness, and free will are tied together. every decision we make is based on a want, and those wants are our wants, and ours alone. things would not get done if we were not selfish. kindness is a way of controlling the world around us. maybe women have more of an instinct for this. maybe we just want to rid ourselves of an unsettling feeling we get when we see poverty, starving people, etc.