Hello @dflo, thanks for your honest comment here, I really appreciate it! I really understand and I think so many of us have had similar difficult experiences -

in my real life world , any time I have gotten into vocal or leadership positions of any kind I get shot down and lots of challenges thrown my way by others, even when my skills match that of the men in the same role

I'm sorry this has happened to you and to all of us! All the ways we are made to feel less valued add up a lot and can be very difficult to overcome.

I agree that steemit can be and often is incredibly supportive but also echo your thoughts that there is definitely lots and lots of room for improvement here!! There is some pretty awful crap too.

I hope that you continue to have good experiences and that more unlearning happens :-), you can count on my honest support!