Existential Angst: Am I an imposter?

Re: # 1
Yes I agree the ``Imposter Syndrome`` or in lay man`s terms the insecurity should be more attributed to the, lack of a better word, male dominated society than the genes. Moreover, I believe such perspectives are instilled deep within women because of the need to proove themselves in a society where gender equality has not fully developed. However, such imposter syndrome can also be found in men who have not achieved or lived up to the standards set by themselves or by the society as a whole. Therefore, both men and women impersonate because of lack of self belief (caused by not achieving enough according to the set standards) and not because of genes. Women may try to voice such self doubts more than men do, just because men are not suppose to be such emotional beings. It does not necessarily mean women suffer more than men by the ``Imposter Syndrome.``

I like this article because there may be a core of truth to the central theme. In my view, what you say about artists as more prone to the angsts driving them may have been true at a time - but now a days, most artists can be just like regular folks - and for many, it is just a job. Yet, they are all different. (Stephen King can crank out a six hundred page novel in (perhaps) less than a week - but I would not call him any less creative.) But perhaps many creative artists do go through life acting confident yet feeling VERY doubtful on the inside. One perhaps encounters them on a daily basis in life. And perhaps it IS gender-specific. (I consider myself an average reader, and it does not seem ridiculously impossible to me.) And, For all I know, perhaps this world could even be run by such impostors - call it my ignorance, if you like! And there even maybe highly evolved artists who can CREATE such composite images just for the world at large!

Interesting piece; yes, it is much easier for male professionals to ``act as if`` they are born competent-even for positions they have no background or experience in. What I find curious is the biochemical thesis-that anxiety is more hormone related and not the product of entrenched societal gender inequity.

Would the same argument-anxiety as the result of hormones-be made for African American professional men? Or African American professional women?