Guest guest Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Hi moon_81_surfer ... You've raised a fair question. Did Mary Ann earnestly ask whether Pippi Longstocking was a Shakta? No, I'm sure she did not. Mary Ann was, however, making an earnest point. Very often, her posts challenge us to look at familiar material in a new way. And right now, Mary Ann is reading a book in which the author attempts to reclaim an old, derogatory term for women, and re-approach it as a term to be proud of, or at least not insulted by. The author uses a passage from the children's book series to show a familiar female icon (the fictional heroine, Pippi Longstocking) offering a iconic role model -- i.e. assertive, self-confident, in control -- for young girls who read these books. I suppose, at first glance, it might seem counterintuitive, disrespectful, even sacrilegous to be tossing around the "C" word in a forum devoted to glorification of the divine feminine. But I think Mary Ann was simply asking us to ask ourselves why we might feel that way. And I think that there can be value in that. Similarly, a week or so back, Mary Ann posted a passage from another book she was reading, whose author very loosely proposed an alternative interpretation of the Christian Gospels. The gist of her post was, "Hey, there's an interesting parallel with Shaktism, eh?" But what she got in return was a full-force barrage of textual criticism akin to something you'd expect in a graduate-level comparative religions seminar. Sure, Mary Ann's posts can be provocative -- but again, I think that's her intention; and I think her intentions are pure and earnest. My best advice is, accept them in the spirit in which they were intended. My two rupees, at least ;-) DB , moon_81_surfer <moon_81_surfer> wrote: > Pippi Longstocking a Shakta > Is this an earnest question??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 27, 2004 Report Share Posted April 27, 2004 Dear moon_81_surfer: I'm not sure what you mean by "earnest." Do you mean does the answer lie in scripture? When I read the Pippi Longstocking passage in the book Cunt: A Declaration of Independence, I recognized a similarity between Pippi L. and Candika (or other fighting Goddesses) in the Devi Mahatmyam. I wasn't actually trying to be provocative in my post, and I don't generally try to be provocative. I usually just post or respond out of enthusiasm. (Gurumayi has a book called Enthusiasm that I love.) I am here because I honor Devi in all things and people, not because I'm a student of scripture. I see parallels between modern day tales and scriptural ones. This is why I appreciated the post that drew such a parallel between my song "Hunger" and the Devi Mahatmyam. Otherwise, to answer your question specifically, I guess you could call my question "rhetorical" rather than "earnest" because I already see Pippi Longstocking as Devi. And I invite you to agree or disagree respectfully, or to share whether you understand my meaning or not. I hope this makes it more clear. Regards, Mary Ann , moon_81_surfer <moon_81_surfer> wrote: > Pippi Longstocking a Shakta > Is this an earnest question??? > > Mary Ann <maryann@m...> wrote: > Just had a word idea: "cuintessential" - a cute name for a company > selling stuff geared to promote the feminine: Cuintessentials. > > , "Devi Bhakta" > <devi_bhakta> wrote: > > Hi Mary Ann: > > > > I am no expert in etymology, but I do believe that "cunt" comes > from > > one of those Bronze Age Indo-European roots, and that it had no > > obscene or derogatory implications until much, much later in > > history. Is the fall of this word related to the historically > > simultaneous fall of Goddess culture and rise of patriarchy? I have > > no idea, but it's probably a valid theory. > > > > I recall a passage in "The Vagina Monolgues," which is particularly > > relevant to Shakti Sadhana: It states that the word cunt "was > > derived from the goddess Kali's title of Kunda or Cunti, and shares > > the same root as kin and country"! And the Woman's Encyclopedia of > > Myths and Secrets adds that the word is linguistically related > > to "cunning, kenning and ken: knowledge, learning and insight." > That > > does seem similar to the treatment of the Goddess by the > patriarchal > > religions that came later -- eventually redefining all symbols of > > divine femininity as symbols of evil and/or profanity. > > > > And sure enough, just this moment I found an online essay that > > states: "Its prefix, 'cu', is an expression of "quintessential > > femineity" (Eric Partridge, 1961), confirming 'cunt' as a truly > > feminine term. The synonymy between 'cu' and femininity was in > place > > even before the development of written language: "in the unwritten > > prehistoric Indo-European [...] languages 'cu' or 'koo' was a word > > base expressing 'feminine', 'fecund' and associated notions" (Tony > > Thorne, 1990). The proto-Indo-European 'cu' is also cognate with > > other feminine/vaginal terms, such as the Hebrew 'cus', the > > Arabic 'cush' and 'kush', the Nostratic 'kuni' ('woman'), and the > > Irish 'cuint' ('cunt')." > > > > And on and on -- tons of information. Here's the link for anyone > who > > may be interested: > > > > http://www.matthewhunt.com/cunt.html > > > > Aum Maatangyai Namahe > > > > , "Mary Ann" <maryann@m...> > > wrote: > > > > *** what is the origin of the word "cunt" ? Has its meaning > changed > > over time? *** > > > > > Links > > > / > > > > > Terms of Service. > > > > > > Win a $20,000 Career Makeover at HotJobs > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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