Of Male Masters and Naturally Surrendered Females

[Guest guest]

Just a word of caution on gendering the metaphysical: A quick look at

how gender roles and dominant ideas about masculinity and femininity

vary across time and space is enough to show that there is very little

" nature " indeed in the way we construct and represent gender roles

today (or in the past, for that sake). Gender (which is not the same

as sex) is a social and cultural construct. The claim that " women's

nature is passive, submissive, receptive (etc.) " is the product of an

ideological constellation whose only purpose is to put women in their

place (usually the kitchen).

 

Surrender is not a " natural " behavior for women. Rather, we learn it

the hard way, since the day we are born. If we are not good at

surrendering by the time we are adults, we get punished in a variety

of ways--some of which are subtle and almost intangible (scorn,

neglect, social pressure), others are pretty brutal (physical

violence, denial of reproductive rights, rape, etc.).

 

Historically, gender domination began about ten thousand years ago.

Prior to that time, most hunter and gatherer societies had very little

in the way of gendered division of labor (yes, women hunted, and

yes, men cooked and took care of kids). With the onset of agriculture

as a mode of production, however, the division of labor intensified

along lines of gender, class, and ethnicity. As a matter of fact, all

of these social categories were conveniently devised to serve the

purposes of dominant groups. Hence, the same social, economic, and

political processes that led to gender inequality produced social

stratification by class, ethnicity, and race, just to name a few. Over

the last few centuries, the spread of capitalism and Christianity

through colonialism further intensified the " natural-ness " of gender

roles as we have them today in much of the world. Saying that it is

" natural " for women to surrender and obey to men is equivalent to

claiming that one race is " naturally " superior to others, or that

certain nation-states have the right to invade and dominate others

because they are more " civilized " . The fact that nowadays gender

inequality is regarded as " natural " and more acceptable than other

types of social injustice is very unfortunate, but it also speaks to

the power of ideology in numbing our minds to what is really going

on at a deeper level.

 

Please don't take me wrong: I am not saying that there are people in

this list who are willingly reproducing patriarchal domination. God

forbid. The point is: ideology is so powerful because it works below

the level of consciousness, and is taken for granted by most. As a

famous sociologist put it, ideology " goes without saying, because it

comes without saying. " Hence, a lot of people to pretty

nefarious ideologies not because they are power-hungry or evil

individuals, but rather because they do not question the status quo.

Others realize that, if they ask too many questions, they will be

punished--so they give up the struggle and opt for the path of least

resistance instead. Generally speaking, we spiritual folks are so

concerned with exploring other spheres of existence that we

occasionally forget to keep in touch with the social, cultural, and

political implications of life on the physical plane. As we do so, we

may overlook the extent to which these dymensions shape the way we

conceptualize spiritual experience. Enlightened though we might be, as

physical beings we are still members of a society and a culture after

all (even though we might not like it). Hence, I hope my frankness did

not offend anyone's sensibility.

 

From the perspective of the female tantrika (and born-again Hindu

LOL!): In the complex constellation of beliefs and practices that goes

by the name of Hindu Tantra, the female energy Kundalini Shakti is

invariably represented as fiercely active. Shiva, the male principle,

is passive. This is why much of tantric iconography depicts Kali

(i.e., Shakti) as she dances wildly on Shiva's body. The latter lies

flat on the ground, in an unquestionably passive and receptive

pose. Interesting, isn't it?

 

Love, light, and laughter,

 

Sel

 

PS I am going to try and upload a tantric Shakti/Shiva pic in the

Photos section.