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"Openness" - Elizabeth Anne Wood
Elizabeth is a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at Nassau Community College. She is also Senior Strategist for Woodhull Freedom Foundation, the nation’s only human rights organization working full time to protect sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. This experience and background made for a really interesting discussion, as Elizabeth had a ton of knowledge about the history of humanity and how we interact from a sociological perspective.
The value she brought to the discussion was "openness", as in openness to consider other perspectives, explore things we don't understand, and generally just be curious about life. Elizabeth's belief is that there is a very direct and logical correlation between openness and well-being. Maybe the most interesting case study of this is Elizabeth's own story (covered in her recent book: Bound: A Daughter, a Domme, and an End-of-Life Story) of how being open to explore her own mother's sexuality allowed her to help significantly improve her mother's quality of life.
We also spent some time delving into how openness plays out with the social issues we face today. We touched on topics like teaching kids about sexuality, religious freedom, and the impact of capitalism on society. One of the most interesting insights across all of these topics was the advantage "openness" provides. If the goal is to get to the truth then logically openness gives you the best chance to get there. Being open and curious gives you the chance to find the best solution, whereas closed-mindedness becomes extremely limiting. It doesn't mean your perspective or viewpoint is wrong, it just means you wouldn't know if it was because you've never actually been open to challenging it.
I really enjoyed this conversation and think it touched on some fundamental aspects of human nature. Being open to other people's views, no matter what they may be, is hard for all of us--but that doesn't mean we stop trying. We have to challenge ourselves to care more about the truth than our personal agenda or ego.
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By Terry McMullen
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Elizabeth is a Professor of Sociology and Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work at Nassau Community College. She is also Senior Strategist for Woodhull Freedom Foundation, the nation’s only human rights organization working full time to protect sexual freedom as a fundamental human right. This experience and background made for a really interesting discussion, as Elizabeth had a ton of knowledge about the history of humanity and how we interact from a sociological perspective.
The value she brought to the discussion was "openness", as in openness to consider other perspectives, explore things we don't understand, and generally just be curious about life. Elizabeth's belief is that there is a very direct and logical correlation between openness and well-being. Maybe the most interesting case study of this is Elizabeth's own story (covered in her recent book: Bound: A Daughter, a Domme, and an End-of-Life Story) of how being open to explore her own mother's sexuality allowed her to help significantly improve her mother's quality of life.
We also spent some time delving into how openness plays out with the social issues we face today. We touched on topics like teaching kids about sexuality, religious freedom, and the impact of capitalism on society. One of the most interesting insights across all of these topics was the advantage "openness" provides. If the goal is to get to the truth then logically openness gives you the best chance to get there. Being open and curious gives you the chance to find the best solution, whereas closed-mindedness becomes extremely limiting. It doesn't mean your perspective or viewpoint is wrong, it just means you wouldn't know if it was because you've never actually been open to challenging it.
I really enjoyed this conversation and think it touched on some fundamental aspects of human nature. Being open to other people's views, no matter what they may be, is hard for all of us--but that doesn't mean we stop trying. We have to challenge ourselves to care more about the truth than our personal agenda or ego.