Arianna Huffington once shared a conspiracy theory with me. We were discussing guilt, and why it was the default female emotion, when the Huffington Post founder narrowed her eyes and hissed: “I think they implant the guilt when they deliver the baby.” This does seem likely.
Although of course it would only account for maternal guilt, and not the smorgasbord of guilt many of us have suffered from since well before the smurfs came along.
Guilt about family, friends, work and the constant imbalance between the three; guilt about food, drink and every form of trivial ‘indulgence’ right down to your basic, joyless body-admin.
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