I hope it's ok that I tell you IT'S OK.
I belong to several communities but this is the place where I most frequently see posts prefaced with "I hope it's ok to post this here." On the other communities where it happens, it always seems to be female posters who are hesitant and apologetic about their posts.
This phenomenon reminds me of a women's psychology class I took. The professor pointed out that women apologize for our words all the time by starting sentences with "I'm sorry but..." and "I just wanted to say..." Every time someone in that class said those words, we were supposed to boo--in a goodnatured way, of course. Broke me of the habit immediately. She also insisted that the students stand up and speak up when we had a comment or question.
Those simple lessons have stuck with me for twenty years. We shouldn't apologize in advance for what we're saying, and we certainly shouldn't do it here.
This phenomenon reminds me of a women's psychology class I took. The professor pointed out that women apologize for our words all the time by starting sentences with "I'm sorry but..." and "I just wanted to say..." Every time someone in that class said those words, we were supposed to boo--in a goodnatured way, of course. Broke me of the habit immediately. She also insisted that the students stand up and speak up when we had a comment or question.
Those simple lessons have stuck with me for twenty years. We shouldn't apologize in advance for what we're saying, and we certainly shouldn't do it here.