This 'eternal feminine' is one of the natural
resources we are destroying, leaving only its frivolous and silly
aspects, as the world we live in becomes increasingly and excessively
aggro-masculine, trigger-happy to destroy. What is the feminine that
is missing in a macho world that is ugly, belligerent, callous, hard,
unpleasant, noisy, ruthless, self-centred, destructive, competitive?
You dont have beauty, peace, gentleness, lovely, soft, quiet,
merciful, caring, creative, co-operative. Men, it has been said, want
power. Women want love.
However idyllic prehistory may have been like, the male has
dominated the female throughout history . But as physical strength
becomes less important for a modern society, women have a chance to
seek equality. But it is still a 'damn near thing' as that equality
wavers. Women too can become mach-aggro to try to claim and preserve
rights.
Female is not the same as feminine or yin, and male is not the
same as masculine or yang - as Roget's Thesaurus of English Words and
Phrases shrewdly points out in classifying: -
Roget's 'masculine' list - strong, power, energy, vigour,
force, muscle, virility, heart of oak, iron gip, grit bone, mighty,
vigorous, hardy, potent, robust, stalwart, manly. (Goodonya bewdies!)
The 'male' list - man, gentleman, sir master, fellow, manly,
Roget's 'feminine' list - weak, impotent, effeminate,
feminality, fragile, flaccid, delicate, asthenia, weak, tremble,
languish, relax, enervate, powerless, nervous, soft, womanly,
feminate, fragile, flimsy. The 'female' list includes feminality, the
sex, fair, weaker vessel, mistress, lady, belle, goody,matron, wench,
girl, womanly, ladylike, matronly, maidenly, womanish, effeminate,
unmanly. (Lists compiled by males. Secular women have been noted -by
men - as being silly, frippery and dressing up. Christian women have
been expected to be - by men - humble, lowly, giving and serving.)
A 'Battle of the Sexes' is a masculine scenario. Even feminism
gets sucked into this masculine paradigm. Macho loves battles and
competition. The most masculine aggressive men and the most feminine
'helpless-victim' women tend to have been either severely
disadvantaged as children, and run to these excesses in trying to
cope with the blows they have been dealt - or they have been severely
spoiled and only know excess
Symbiosis - living together for mutual benefit, is part of
Nature. In the old patriarchal East, Yin and Yang were seen as the
feminine and masculine qualities essential for the harmony of the
world and for the humanity in it, and in the old patriarchal West,
Divine Wisdom was female for both Hebrews and Greeks. Every pantheon
has had goddesses as well as gods, and often they were the more
beloved. Classical and Christian personifications of the Virtues were
female.
