Female Brain Running

Recently I fell for clickbait because the tagline sounded so binary and sexist
that I wanted to see just how dumb it was:
“This optical illusion will tell you if you have a female brain or a male brain.”
The article goes on to explain that ladies were more likely to see the figure
as running toward you; men were more likely to see the figure running away.
I was pleased to discover I shattered the gender-brain barrier
because to me the figure was clearly running away.
I was puzzled as to why anyone would see it differently:
who wouldn’t choose to run from darkness into light? 

Any way you look at life on earth since the time time started,
we’re all just trying to survive,
relying on drives and trying to transcend them
so we might inflict less harm along the way. 

It seems like there might be some light to guide us?
We can all admit it would beat the idea of doing this blind.
To me, that light looks like abiding by kindness.
To me, that light looks warm and inviting.
Might as well run toward it.

Lindsay-Rose Dykema

Lindsay-Rose Dykema (she/her) graduated from the University of Michigan Medical School in 2005 and completed her residency training at Columbia University. She is a queer psychiatrist, prison/police abolitionist, and founder of Uncaged Minds Detroit, a mental health and wellness resource for low-income Detroiters, particularly the LGBTQ+ population and those impacted by the criminal injustice system. She attends Detroit (Mich.) Meeting.

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