"Introversion Is Not An Illness, But Society Sure Treats It Like One"

"Despite the constant misunderstandings, as many as 30-50 percent of people are thought to be introverted in some way (including ambiverts, who possess aspects of both personality types). You’d think that large number of introverted people in the world would make solidarity with them a priority, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Conversations about introversion/extroversion today are often superficial and based on this “us vs. them” dynamic that rests on introverts being pretentious and extroverts being overbearing. But now that people are having honest conversations, superficial or not, about what it’s like to be an introvert in the U.S. today, many people seem quick to dismiss introversion as a trend — another symptom of “special snowflake syndrome.”

But as a kid, there was never a moment where I wasn’t aware of the fact that I was “broken.” Even if I understood the material perfectly on my own, I was marked down on school assignments for not asking questions and participating in class. In college, a meeting with a professor ended with her calling me an ableist slur because I couldn’t and wouldn’t perform extroversion for her; I had a panic attack. (Even though I filed a complaint, she still works at the university in an advising capacity.) And once I began working full time, I was told repeatedly by supervisors that my work was stellar, but I wasn’t cut out for the job if I couldn’t be more “aggressive.” The criticism has been so widespread and consistent in my life — from family, friends, and random people on the street — that, in certain circumstances, even being called “quiet” becomes a trigger...

there’s an added benefit to giving people more space to be their authentic selves: when we stop creating hierarchies of personality, words like shy, awkward, reserved, or quiet stop being negative traits. Extroverts can be shy or want to hide from the world too, and the only reason they can’t admit that as openly is because popular understanding of these personality types is so rigid. And it has to be, if for no other reason than to privilege certain ways of being over others."

http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2016/07/introversion-not-illness/