The important point is that the rule of Adam over Eve is more than just men ruling over women. It is about the upper elite classes and the government classes ruling over the "labor" classes as well as the poor. Like dependent housewives, we have to succumb to the wishes of the "Man" who is in charge of our labor in terms of what is done with what we create and what we receive in return for that creation. "Throw me and baby a bone, sweetheart" we working people plead to the man with the huge phallic cigar hanging from his mouth. "Please give me my benefits!" we cry to the powers-that-be. Thus, we remain slaves as we wait for our abusive husbands to change.
They aren't going to do it. They might behave for a little while. Things seemed better after the labor movement helped create a well paid work force with benefits. But, the Man giveth and the Man taketh away. I say we need a divorce. Perhaps we should start a movement to draft a divorce decree. Before that; however, we need to reclaim who we are in our truest Nature. Feminine empowerment is the empowerment of all of us, women and men for it opens us up to our inner worlds and, ultimately, our true wealth. An honoring of the feminine spirit within men would help us return to the original meaning of the verb, "husband," which means to tend to the welfare and nurture the potential of an-other.
It's interesting that I view writing as a feminine activity in that it comes from within me based on an externalized, seminal source. In this case it was an interview with Trista Hendron, author of The Girl God. Trista is a fathering influence to this article. Thus, the woman's issue is much more inclusive than just a woman's issue. It is a human rights issue and, ultimately, since Nature is a Mother, it is a Nature's Rights issue. Since Nature means Essence, and in this sense is one with the notion of God as the Self, then it could be we are violating God Her-Him Self. Debate gender about God all you want. If you read Genesis 1:27, and take the Bible seriously, it blatantly states God created humankind in His image, " male and female created He them ." Gender and sexuality is a cosmic process. Thus, Taoism states the intercourse of yin and yang is "The Way!" Our egoic self allows us to explore and comprehend the way of all things. It is a great gift from the Universe to us and to Herself, as well as a great curse we place upon the Universe when we allow it the free reins of greed, arrogance, and empire.
Our egos aren't bad. They are misdirected and do bad things. They are there for a Divine Purpose, self-awareness. We are Nature being aware of Herself. Our problem is seeing self in just ourselves instead of the entire cosmos. Gaze into the starry skies and see yourself reflected! Can you see yourself as Nature gazing upon Herself? Can we give this gift to our children.
We often speak of our children having a lack of self-esteem. Why is that? What is it we deny them? How does that relate to our destruction of Nature? We deny our children a sense of who they are in their naked essence, i.e., their Nature. They don't feel connected to life.
It's all about the BIG QUESTION that we ask ourselves: "Who am I?" God's answer to this question is: "I AM that I AM". But, what does that I AM encompass? The All! It is the All that is expressed as I AM. I AM expresses Her/His Self in me and you and the rest of manifest Nature. We--female and male alike--are invited to become aware of ourselves as the manifestation of God. Thus it is that Trista Hendren was moved to write The Girl God for her biological daughter, Helani, for us, for all God's daughters and sons, and ultimately for God her/him Self. Trista began writing this book when she found that her daughter could not identify with God, and that many girls and women could not identify with God as presented in mainstream culture. She felt this was not natural for girls and women.
How many of us can see the similarities of who we are to our parents--both our mothers and our fathers? Then why can't we see the similarities of who we are to our grandest parents: Nature and God?
I also believe that Lao Tzu's use of the term "The Way" as being synonymous to "Tao" is more on target then God as a noun, or a person existing on high in some heavenly domain. Is the expression of I AM also more verb than noun? Indeed, there have been writers in the Judea-Christian-Muslim traditions who have said this. One example is David Cooper's: God is a Verb: Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism. Perhaps I AM is more process than product? Perhaps we as manifestations are Being Becoming. (Here I'm musing on the term Being....is it verb or noun? Geez, I just heard my wife say "yes!" She does this all the time when I ask a "this or that" question. It's a both/and proposition. Thus, we are made in the image of God, "male and female created She them." And, we are simultaneously verb and a noun, both process and product.
Perhaps it is high time that those of us who believe we are forward thinking get out of our theological, theoretical and philosophical boxes and begin to look at the big issues, of which our views of the Feminine are primary. How we view the Feminine effects everything, including our own creativity, dreams, intuitions, and abilities to nurture. It also affects our children. Women's liberation is People's Liberation. We no longer need to have the externals ruling over us either on the physical level or at the level of the Psyche or Soul. Rather, we can develop a partnership society as reflected in the writings of Riane Eisler.
Based on our current misperceptions of women and girls, overall it appears they have a harder time in this world then men. Indeed, ever since childhood women have experienced discrimination in all walks of life. This leads to lowered self-esteem. Some of the causes of depression in girls and women are:
Biology which includes onset of menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause. To this I would add cultural attitudes of these processes. For example, can we start to teach our girls that their menstrual processes mirror the way the seasons of fall, winter, spring and summer mirror the turns of the seasons? Could we all become less alienated from life if we began seeing the connections? This, actually, is the epistemological root of the term religion, which is religere, literally meaning "to bind together." Religion is NOT about a dogma, or a man thundering from a pulpit. It is about connection, peace, love, harmony.
Rape and abuse which reflects upon women and girls being much more likely than men to be raped and physically or sexually abused. We should also relate this to how we treat Nature. Walking or driving in any major city any person alive should be hit in the face with this.
Social conditioning of their being inferior to men which is often reinforced in the workplace in the form of lower pay and discrimination in hiring and promotion. In the labor-management scenario, this becomes a management-labor issue that is transcendent of labor being female or male. Much as labor had to go on strike and fuss to get pay raises, better working conditions and benefits, then women had to march for equal rights.
Work overload: Women still do most of the housework and child-rearing on top of their "paying jobs." Therefore, they shoulder an overload of responsibilities. So, how much time do we spend on our jobs vs being with our families and communities?
Religions that speak of God only in masculine terms and images. (This is the one that Trista addresses most directly.)
There are books dealing with this by educating girls about their power. One example is Trista Hendren's The Girl God. Her book contains a text that is comprehensible to young girls. quotations for older girls to cut their spiritual teeth on and mothers to meditate upon, and empowering illustrations by the renowned Norwegian artist, Elisabeth Slettnes . Through all three of these media, the book reveals that it is a misconception that one cannot be Christian or Muslim while worshiping a Feminine Face of the Godhead. Trista also states the Feminine Deity has been found in every spiritual tradition, but that Deity has been squelched.
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