For the Survival of the Species:
An Appeal for the Recognition and Validation of Man
Catherine Framm
There is really no need to explicate in detail the culture that has been the heritage and treasure of womankind for centuries back. We all have been brought up to know and love with great intimacy that which in our language is known as the Red River Valley Culture, a term originating in that sacred ground which is the source and matrix for our way of being in the world. From this holy place come the songs and rituals and stories that every child, whether girl or boy, imbibes like mother’s milk from the earliest age. And in this valley, a kind of earthly paradise, one senses the presence of Goddess like nowhere else on this earth. One of the many names that are associated with Goddess is “Haima”, and it is to her that this place is especially consecrated. We know Haima well, as she who comes to every young girl as the eagerly awaited flow of blood – those rivers of blood so richly potent, so filled with potential life that we celebrate their first outward flowing with music, singing and dancing, with magnificent crimson garments, with cherry pies and pomegranate wine, with rich tomato pastes, and with all the deep-red berries that are so favored by Haima. The home is decked with fragrant scarlet roses that our mothers have carefully watered through the years with their own blood, carefully saved for this as well as other purposes, assuring that their lineage will prosper. Each girl is then presented with a ruby or carnelian or garnet ring and from this day onward, she will proudly wear this on the days when Haima is flowing – for me this was always a little like having a birthday once a month! – and be given special attention and treats for that time. Then, after many, many moons, we start awaiting the day that Haima will change her course, no longer flowing outwards, but filling us with her full energy within, starting a new cycle of inner growth, heightened intuition and spiritual knowledge. This too is celebrated with all the songs and rituals that we know so well.
Womankind has done well living in accordance with the rules of Goddess, and yet in recent years there has been an ever-growing increase of some very disturbing signs that have the potential, if the trend continues, to ultimately lead to the destruction of womankind and all civilization as we know it. My premise is the following: I believe that we as a society have marginalized men to an extent that is no longer reasonable nor healthy We are seeing the results of this in the tendency and also the need for men to band together for the purpose of war-like pursuits, and recently for actually building up armaments and carrying out real wars against each other. Not only is this aggressive activity directed towards other men, but increasingly it is directed against our mother the earth herself, injuring her in ways that will be fatal over time. Humanity, which I actually call “womankind”, should be deeply ashamed – but it seems she is not. Understanding and change is warranted also on the part of women. Too much is at stake to just rest on our laurels and persist in denial and a life-goes-on-as-usual attitude, as easy as that may be.
In the following short gynecological study, for that is our term for the study of human beings in general, I will explore the possible reasons for men’s behavior, with special emphasis on the needs of men as expressed in their religious beliefs. As much as possible I will avoid a gynocentric viewpoint, but would like the reader to bear in mind that all viewpoints are by their very nature subjective.
It is well-know that a quite popular religion among men has been Christianity. The devotion to a male “Goddess” is a natural outgrowth of the need for a figure with which men can more easily identify, a story with which they can resonate. This need among men is one that should be recognized in our society – the recent growth of the “God-movement” and “God-groups”, so frequently discussed by us in disparaging term is a necessary and healthy development and one which should be supported. The term, “God”, deserves to be given recognition by our society as a whole, as part of a general movement in the direction of celebrating diversity, an idea which womankind has always ascribed to and which has been her great strength. In fact, I believe that this religion, a religion which traditionally has encouraged love, brotherhood and “turning the other cheek”, fulfills a need in men that is essential for their emotional make-up that is growing evermore out of balance.
Not only is their “God” (from this point on I will use this admittedly “going-against-the-grain” terminology!) a male, but it is a suffering male – in stark contrast to our Goddess. But men, with their well-documented womb-envy (cf. Horney) have always suffered deeply and I argue that it goes beyond womb-envy to the far more painful “haima-envy”, the envy of the blood and the blood-flow. Thus, men, in their desperation, have found a way to transform their inherent deficit into a religion which is centered on that very element – blood and its flow. Central to the Christian belief system is the story of the crucifixion, the perforation of the skin by whipping and by the crown of thorns (n.b. female symbol , the circular wreath form), the penetration of the hands and feet by the nails, causing the blood to flow, and the final action, beyond all logical necessity: the piercing with the sword (this time the classical male symbolism!) into Christ’s side, resulting in a dramatic gushing flow of life-blood, an effusion, an out-pouring, a red river of blood - flowing over the body, down the cross, down into the mother earth which it thus fertilizes and nourishes. In ritual and liturgy this tragedy – and tragedy it truly is when an innocent man (man-God) is convicted to death, by whatever means – is reenacted over and over again when the male priest raises his gold chalice to heaven and proclaims ‘This is my blood”. The bowl-shaped vessel, surrogate-womb filled to the brim with precious blood, transformed by men to sacredness, is made ready to be poured out, to be imbibed by the mouths of the men partaking of this ancient ritual celebration. Through the centrality of the “Passion”, a term which can be understood as suffering but also as desire/strong love, men have found a means, and created a ritual, through which they can vicariously live, with their own typically male passion, in suffering - the passion/strong love/desire that women celebrate in the rhythms and the concomitant rituals that are so natural to them.
The deficiencies of men are not insurmountable but they are realities which need to be dealt with in an attempt to work against the weak self-image, the emotional un-groundedness, the agitation, oppressiveness and aggressiveness inherent in this emotionally weaker sex. Men should be encouraged to use the color red – in clothing, therapeutic painting and rituals. In a spirit of inclusiveness, the traditional taboo imposed by women against the wearing of red gemstones by men must be broken down. I would especially encourage rituals to increase the sense of connectedness with mother earth, a sense which by their very biology men are naturally deficient in. I plead urgently for all of the above and more, not out of any noble selfless virtue, but spurred on by survival instincts. The survival of womankind is what is at stake here. Only through a deep understanding of their difference and through the full recognition of men as equal, cherished and appreciated members of the family of womankind do we as a race have a chance to survive the future on our beloved planet mother earth.
Catherine Framm 2007
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