When I first moved to Mexico, a spiritual goddess gave me "When the Drummers Were Women," by Layne Redmond. It speaks of exactly what you mention, the matriarchal society that ruled until the church got involved, displacing midwives, herbalists , soothsayers, and more. The book was a mind opener, bc you are so right, fairy tales, stories of heroes, in today's society reign. I write about Maya archeology and civilization, and when the last Indiana Jones movie came out, the WaPo (hate to even mention the paper now) ran an Op-Ed, "A Woman to Reboot Indiana Jones? Yes, Please," by bio-archeologist Brenna Hassett who reminds us that overall, the study of archeology is dominated by men. Wrote Hassett, "This is what generations of girls—me included—saw when we saw archeology, and that's a problem. Because to be it, you need to see it." Before this Op-Ed, I'd been writing a women trailblazer series about the (un)famous women archeologists who trekked the jungles, uncovered the stones, made rubbings of the stela, helped decipher the hieroglyphs, studied the Maya calendar, authored books, and opened doors into that mysterious civilization--women like Linda Schele, Merle Greene Robertson, Barbara Tedlock, Trudy Blom, Alice le Plongeon, Tatiana Proskouriak, and the Maya warrior queens (!) who until 2004, were long forgotten. These stories of powerful women performing extraordinary deeds are important as an imprint for future generations of young women--to know that power is not, nor should not, be one-sided. Thank you for a truly great post and reminder today. Two of my Maya queen warrior posts ran a month or so ago and I plan to rejuvenate my women trailblazers in archeology soon.
It came to me in a dream recently, followed by a wild ass spiritual awakening of sorts that ultimately led me to your app to do some soul work.
But the book I was told to pick back up again (last read around 17 years old or so), is “The Power of Now”. Diving back into it today and will be sure to scream the messages that resonate deeply with me from the rooftops.
One of my favorite female protagonists is a spider! Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web was able to connect a diverse barnyard of characters to rally behind a runty pig. 🐷
Maybe we need to write some new stories that show the Heroic Journey of the Divine Feminine- where the Divine Feminine IS NOT ABOUT GENDER, but about a kind of spiritual warrior who embodies both energies of yin and yang in balance and knowing when and how to utilize each energy ✨🌟💫💃🕺☯️❤️🙏🕊️
I’m so glad you wrote and shared this post right now. With the re-election of the orange one here in the States, our cultures are desperate for narratives that honor the divine feminine. The Substack I write, The Rising of the Divine Feminine, is about how more and more writers and readers are re-claiming those divine feminine energies that have been repressed by the patriarchy for thousands of years.
Nghi Vo's Singing Hills Cycle immediately comes to mind. A nonbinary monk who travels the land, learning stories from a lot of different characters that are all memorable and fascinating. Plus, they are novellas that can be read in a sitting :) the first one is titled "the empress of salt and fortune"
Oh, this has been a recent favourite of mine. I loved the way it was written. The monk is a great character, although I admit I have a soft sopt for the talking bird. The old woman is an absolute thrill, too!
Modern film promotes strong women, now more than ever. The Ripley character from 'Alien' was written without a gender in mind. Sigourney Weaver plays a great role, showing what happens when women are ignored... The rest of the crew dies and she is the sole survivor! The sequel 'Aliens' shows her maternal side when she rescues Newt. Future and science fiction often envisions a more equal society in terms of gender.
I'm producing one! It's graphic novel steeped in Roman mythology, that's about accepting ourselves and our flaws, at its core. Some people who have read the full summary make remarks that show me they expect it to be a hero's journey... But I'm fine with not meeting that expectation!
Charles Duhigg in the Power of Habit points out that hit songs are usually a blend of the familiar and the unusual. So if we want to shift the narrative we need to provide stories that are familiar and comforting, but different. Not just different.
The other thought is to think back to that ancient utopian world, let us imagine that it has an equal blend of patriarchal and matriarchal stories. Why, in the absence of mass media, with most storytelling done in small groups did patriarchal storytelling become so dominant? Were they better stories? Did they fit the needs of people at that time better? Were they the ones that were written down as societies migrated from oral to written transmission.
It may be to do with some of those factors and probably many more. But if we take Dan Dennett’s ideas of meme’s competing it is clear that many matriarchal memes failed to be transmitted (or perhaps were captured and subsumed into patriarchal ones)
Going back to your post I think that there is an argument that Indiana Jones is a blend of patriarchal and matriarchal stories. The stunts and horror and herring do come from the P side. The romance comes from the M side. Few films are devoid of matriarchal elements.
Equally, I suppose there are different genres of storytelling. Whilst action movies focus on clearly patriarchal threads programmes like eastenders and neighbours are thoroughly matriarchal in their telling and viewership.
Hi Denis, In response to your question, "Why, in the absence of mass media, with most storytelling done in small groups, did patriarchal storytelling become so dominant?"
I would offer that the ruling class of male leaders at the time may have been identified with ego, and so wanted personal power for their own agenda, rather than the right use of power which is to alleviate suffering - both in oneself and in others.
And I speculate that those egoic male leaders perhaps felt innately threatened by the women leaders who may have been less identified with ego, and perhaps more connected with soul, and so unconsciously the patriarchy wanted to annihilate that feminine energy. (Which in one sense is ironic, because this divine feminine energy exists within all human beings regardless of the gender of our physical form - i.e. we all have within both yin and yang energy, and perhaps we're now living in the era of re-claiming what has been suppressed for so long.) Hence the witch hunts and persecution and patriarchal suppression of the divine feminine by creating narratives that serve the patriarchy's agenda.
The Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin is a very refreshing (and tragic) fantasy epic that explores the complexity of the female experience in a post apocalyptic world. Book 1 - The Fifth Season was definitely enrapturing
Psalm to the Wild Built - also about a non binary monk travelling and collecting stories - this time with a 'wild built' robot. So helpful to read novels written with They/Them to feel like one is subverting the patriarchy.
This thread has been on my mind and i wanted to share an incredible book. A recently written legend/fairie story which doesn't subscribe to the heros journey, is all about patirarchal subversion, is darkly funny in parts and manages an uplifting ending....
Chouette by Claire Oshetsky
It resonated with me as a mother but Chouette could also be an aspiration ir a calling maybe....
When I first moved to Mexico, a spiritual goddess gave me "When the Drummers Were Women," by Layne Redmond. It speaks of exactly what you mention, the matriarchal society that ruled until the church got involved, displacing midwives, herbalists , soothsayers, and more. The book was a mind opener, bc you are so right, fairy tales, stories of heroes, in today's society reign. I write about Maya archeology and civilization, and when the last Indiana Jones movie came out, the WaPo (hate to even mention the paper now) ran an Op-Ed, "A Woman to Reboot Indiana Jones? Yes, Please," by bio-archeologist Brenna Hassett who reminds us that overall, the study of archeology is dominated by men. Wrote Hassett, "This is what generations of girls—me included—saw when we saw archeology, and that's a problem. Because to be it, you need to see it." Before this Op-Ed, I'd been writing a women trailblazer series about the (un)famous women archeologists who trekked the jungles, uncovered the stones, made rubbings of the stela, helped decipher the hieroglyphs, studied the Maya calendar, authored books, and opened doors into that mysterious civilization--women like Linda Schele, Merle Greene Robertson, Barbara Tedlock, Trudy Blom, Alice le Plongeon, Tatiana Proskouriak, and the Maya warrior queens (!) who until 2004, were long forgotten. These stories of powerful women performing extraordinary deeds are important as an imprint for future generations of young women--to know that power is not, nor should not, be one-sided. Thank you for a truly great post and reminder today. Two of my Maya queen warrior posts ran a month or so ago and I plan to rejuvenate my women trailblazers in archeology soon.
Some great thoughts here. Love the Hassett quote!
Thank you, Ellie. Yes, Hasset's quote is a good one. She was on point for sure.
Hello, a welcome article, thank you.
I've been reading Sharon Blackie. FOXFIRE, WOLFSKIN
and other stories of SHAPESHIFTING WOMEN.
Did you enjoy the book? I was planning on picking up Blackie's Hagitude...
Hi Ellie...yes the book has some gems and Blackie has conversations with women who are reimagining the Hagitude years.
This is INCREDIBLE. I love these stories.
It came to me in a dream recently, followed by a wild ass spiritual awakening of sorts that ultimately led me to your app to do some soul work.
But the book I was told to pick back up again (last read around 17 years old or so), is “The Power of Now”. Diving back into it today and will be sure to scream the messages that resonate deeply with me from the rooftops.
Diverse takes on stories are essential. Reading widely and with an open mind is too. Great post.
One of my favorite female protagonists is a spider! Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web was able to connect a diverse barnyard of characters to rally behind a runty pig. 🐷
Charlotte has a special place in my heart, and always will. Thanks for the reminder!
Maybe we need to write some new stories that show the Heroic Journey of the Divine Feminine- where the Divine Feminine IS NOT ABOUT GENDER, but about a kind of spiritual warrior who embodies both energies of yin and yang in balance and knowing when and how to utilize each energy ✨🌟💫💃🕺☯️❤️🙏🕊️
I like this very much!
I’m so glad you wrote and shared this post right now. With the re-election of the orange one here in the States, our cultures are desperate for narratives that honor the divine feminine. The Substack I write, The Rising of the Divine Feminine, is about how more and more writers and readers are re-claiming those divine feminine energies that have been repressed by the patriarchy for thousands of years.
I believe we need more stories about re-claiming the divine feminine. One interview I recently shared is here: https://camillasanderson.substack.com/p/soul-kindling-ignite-your-sacred
Please do let me know if you may be interested in collaborating in some way.
Nghi Vo's Singing Hills Cycle immediately comes to mind. A nonbinary monk who travels the land, learning stories from a lot of different characters that are all memorable and fascinating. Plus, they are novellas that can be read in a sitting :) the first one is titled "the empress of salt and fortune"
Oh, this has been a recent favourite of mine. I loved the way it was written. The monk is a great character, although I admit I have a soft sopt for the talking bird. The old woman is an absolute thrill, too!
Modern film promotes strong women, now more than ever. The Ripley character from 'Alien' was written without a gender in mind. Sigourney Weaver plays a great role, showing what happens when women are ignored... The rest of the crew dies and she is the sole survivor! The sequel 'Aliens' shows her maternal side when she rescues Newt. Future and science fiction often envisions a more equal society in terms of gender.
I'm producing one! It's graphic novel steeped in Roman mythology, that's about accepting ourselves and our flaws, at its core. Some people who have read the full summary make remarks that show me they expect it to be a hero's journey... But I'm fine with not meeting that expectation!
It's also running on Substack here: https://abrian.substack.com/
Sounds fascinating!
Thanks! It’s available to read, updates on the first of each month. I hope you enjoy it!
Bone Mother from “Women Who Run With the Wolves,” Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Baba Yaga in Hagitude, Sharon Blackie
Great ones! We love Estes around here, as you've probably guessed :)
I’ve drawn a blank.
Charles Duhigg in the Power of Habit points out that hit songs are usually a blend of the familiar and the unusual. So if we want to shift the narrative we need to provide stories that are familiar and comforting, but different. Not just different.
The other thought is to think back to that ancient utopian world, let us imagine that it has an equal blend of patriarchal and matriarchal stories. Why, in the absence of mass media, with most storytelling done in small groups did patriarchal storytelling become so dominant? Were they better stories? Did they fit the needs of people at that time better? Were they the ones that were written down as societies migrated from oral to written transmission.
It may be to do with some of those factors and probably many more. But if we take Dan Dennett’s ideas of meme’s competing it is clear that many matriarchal memes failed to be transmitted (or perhaps were captured and subsumed into patriarchal ones)
Going back to your post I think that there is an argument that Indiana Jones is a blend of patriarchal and matriarchal stories. The stunts and horror and herring do come from the P side. The romance comes from the M side. Few films are devoid of matriarchal elements.
Equally, I suppose there are different genres of storytelling. Whilst action movies focus on clearly patriarchal threads programmes like eastenders and neighbours are thoroughly matriarchal in their telling and viewership.
Fascinating . Thank you for the blog.
Hi Denis, In response to your question, "Why, in the absence of mass media, with most storytelling done in small groups, did patriarchal storytelling become so dominant?"
I would offer that the ruling class of male leaders at the time may have been identified with ego, and so wanted personal power for their own agenda, rather than the right use of power which is to alleviate suffering - both in oneself and in others.
And I speculate that those egoic male leaders perhaps felt innately threatened by the women leaders who may have been less identified with ego, and perhaps more connected with soul, and so unconsciously the patriarchy wanted to annihilate that feminine energy. (Which in one sense is ironic, because this divine feminine energy exists within all human beings regardless of the gender of our physical form - i.e. we all have within both yin and yang energy, and perhaps we're now living in the era of re-claiming what has been suppressed for so long.) Hence the witch hunts and persecution and patriarchal suppression of the divine feminine by creating narratives that serve the patriarchy's agenda.
The Broken Earth trilogy by N. K. Jemisin is a very refreshing (and tragic) fantasy epic that explores the complexity of the female experience in a post apocalyptic world. Book 1 - The Fifth Season was definitely enrapturing
Yes, loved this one. The first book is wonderful.
Psalm to the Wild Built - also about a non binary monk travelling and collecting stories - this time with a 'wild built' robot. So helpful to read novels written with They/Them to feel like one is subverting the patriarchy.
I adore Becky Chambers but I haven't read this one yet. Putting it on the list. Thank you!
This thread has been on my mind and i wanted to share an incredible book. A recently written legend/fairie story which doesn't subscribe to the heros journey, is all about patirarchal subversion, is darkly funny in parts and manages an uplifting ending....
Chouette by Claire Oshetsky
It resonated with me as a mother but Chouette could also be an aspiration ir a calling maybe....