Imagine with me, if you will, the following words being sung to the Sunday School song so many of us grew up with - “Father Abraham”:
“Mother Sarah, had many daughters.
Many daughters had Mother Sarah.
I am one of them and so are you.
So let’s just praise the Lord.
Right arm…”
What a strange world would it be if Dad’s had to explain to their sons after church that by “daughters” we really mean “everyone” and therefore boys aren’t lying when they sing that song? And what a foreign world it would be if the constitution of the United States proclaimed that “all women were created equal” and by that they [the founding Mothers] meant… well, Everyone, of course!
Our little boys would quickly learn how to include themselves in or edit themselves out of certain uses of the words “woman” and “daughter”. They would include themselves, for example, in phrases like “womankind” or “daughters of God” but not in phrases such as “a woman’s woman.” This self-editing would become second nature to them - they wouldn't even know they were doing it! This second nature might even get called "first." Their ability to yield to womanhood might become the essence of how God made them.
What if little boys grew up listening to girls degrade each-other by calling each other "boy". “You throw like a boy!” “Girls don’t cry, you’re such a boy!” Little boys would realize at young ages that there is something different about them. They may even feel like guests or second-class citizens in someone else’s world! They might start believing that best behavior and female-pleasing is key to their success.
What an up-side-down and backwards world this would be!
7 comments:
Gracie,
Did you see the special on tv last night regarding discrimination with John Stossel (sp?)? They tested various women---some groups watched a commercial before the test that depicted a dumb, ditsy blond trying to get into college. The women that saw the commercial before the test scored significantly lower. There were several other examples about how "hearing" or "seeing" negative comments about gender, race, etc., had a powerful impact on someone's performance, etc. Nick and I were wondering if you happened to catch it.
By the way, as much as I enjoy the tune of the sunday school song you mentioned, I never could stomach singing it to Maya---we made all new words to it last year and it became one of her favorite songs. :)
Sib
No, I didn't see that special last night. But I have read a heck of a lot of research on the topic.
Thanks for mentioning that... it's amazing how our environment affects us (humans... not just women).
For a satire that will make you take a step back and entertain you read: Egalia's Daughters. Its a fictional account of the backward and upside down world I was imagining.
Perfectly succinct.
I wish I were a girl. Then I'd know how to communicate.
:)
Don't worry T, I think of you like one of the girls (in the upside down and backwards sense, of course).
...and that is why I have this blogger name (should I change it legally? Ha ha!).
That's great! Then your initials would be LUD.
:)
When i was a kid i used to lay on the couch and let my head slip off onto the floor and imagine what it would be like if gravit reversed it's self and i had to walk around on the cottage cheese celing and step over the doorway into my bedroom. I thought it would probably just be hastle, especially once you wanted to go outside.
I'm sure there's some connection there on a level that Basselin could find.
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