Misogyny

When I Met My Muse

I glanced at her and took my glasses
off –they were still singing. They buzzed
like a locust on the coffee table and then
ceased. Her voice belled forth, and the
sunlight bent. I felt the ceiling arch, and
knew that nails up there took a new grip
on whatever they touched. “I am your own
way of looking at things,” she said. “When
you allow me to live with you, every
glance at the world around you will be
a sort of salvation.” And I took her hand.

William Stafford

In Australia recently there has been a debate on the exact meaning of the word “misogyny” after our Prime Minister Julia Gillard labeled the opposition leader a misogynist. So much so that the Macquarie Dictionary added a 2nd definition: “entrenched prejudices against women”.

My own belief is that the whole world exercises a cultural misogyny against the feminine that is entrenched and unexamined.

This is to the detriment of a more peaceful, thriving, just world.

William Stafford understands the importance of allowing the feminine aspects of life — the intuitive, mysterious, sensitive, green and juicy — into our lives. Whether man or woman, it behoves us all to “take her hand” and allow the feminine to be more active in our lives. As an artist, this is vital.

She’s already there within each of us — “your own way of looking at things” — so what’s holding us back?

Just looking at bark now is a sort of salvation.