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But Wait, There's More!
And then there's this site, which is safe for work. Matriarchy.info"
It does an ok job of looking like a semi-informative, even somewhat scholarly website. On the surface that is. Except for the Google ads. and then you start to read...
Lets start with "Basics You Should Know"
From Description Of Matriarchy:
A Matriarchy is a type of society, which is distinguished from all other types of societies by the absence of power structures and institutionalised hierarchies. This is why rural sociologist Christian Sigrist [1] refers to it as an ‘adjusted anarchy’, and culture sociologist Thomas Wagner [2] calls it an ‘egalitarian consensus democracy’.
Mmmhmmm. Silly me, all this time, I thought an egalitarian society should be called egalitarian. And you know, matriarchy does sound SO much like patriarchy for chicks. But it was so easy for me to get confused.
And of course they have the "Golden Age" article talking about how way back in the day, EVERYONE worshipped the universal Great Mother Goddess, and everything was just happy and there was sunshine and rainbows all day long, and kittens frolicked in the filed and the birds sang. Yeah, I think I'm gonna heave.
What REALLY amuses me is this passage:
Also in the few Aztec and Maya writing that have survived again there is a myth of a very ancient Golden Age ruled by a compassionate Mother Goddess. This is shown in contrast to the later age of warfare and human sacrifice. In fact most ancient cultures of the world have some myth of a Golden Age of the ancient past.
Compassionate Mother Goddess...of the Aztecs. I almost snarfed my coffee when I read that one.
If you only read one thing on this site, read this: Matriarchal Point Of View...its a nice long table cmparing matriarchy with patriarchy.
And then this article all but advocates coercion of teenage girls and community members to participate in "first menstrual rituals" when a girl first starts her period.
When your daughter's first menstruation arrives, congratulate her, love her, and make sure you take care of her immediate physical and emotional needs. Then call together your community of women to participate in the ritual you have planned. Let other women support and nurture you both at this time. Don't worry if some of the women are embarrassed by the idea of a moon-time ritual. Their feelings will be healed as they join in the honoring of your daughter. And please don't put off your daughter's ritual because she is shy and doesn't want to tell anyone "she has started." This is her moment. I recommend helping her to face it and feel good about it. Surround her with women she loves and who love her. You may be surprised, especially if you have never attended a menarche ritual, at the healing and joy that accompany such a gathering.
At most menarche rituals, women only are present. The men of the family, and the young girls who have not yet begun menstruation, are invited to congratulate the new woman after the ritual, and give her gifts.
Gaaaaah, if my mom had done that I think I would have disowned her.
So basically, yeah matriarchy=equality, didn'tcha know?
Seriously though kids, we need equality and a LOT of other things. Not this utopian, agrarian, anarchistic myth.
Which reminds me, I need to snag a copy of Cynthia Eller's The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Will Not Give Women a Future
Anyone have a copy they'd be willing to lend me or want to part with?
It does an ok job of looking like a semi-informative, even somewhat scholarly website. On the surface that is. Except for the Google ads. and then you start to read...
Lets start with "Basics You Should Know"
From Description Of Matriarchy:
A Matriarchy is a type of society, which is distinguished from all other types of societies by the absence of power structures and institutionalised hierarchies. This is why rural sociologist Christian Sigrist [1] refers to it as an ‘adjusted anarchy’, and culture sociologist Thomas Wagner [2] calls it an ‘egalitarian consensus democracy’.
Mmmhmmm. Silly me, all this time, I thought an egalitarian society should be called egalitarian. And you know, matriarchy does sound SO much like patriarchy for chicks. But it was so easy for me to get confused.
And of course they have the "Golden Age" article talking about how way back in the day, EVERYONE worshipped the universal Great Mother Goddess, and everything was just happy and there was sunshine and rainbows all day long, and kittens frolicked in the filed and the birds sang. Yeah, I think I'm gonna heave.
What REALLY amuses me is this passage:
Also in the few Aztec and Maya writing that have survived again there is a myth of a very ancient Golden Age ruled by a compassionate Mother Goddess. This is shown in contrast to the later age of warfare and human sacrifice. In fact most ancient cultures of the world have some myth of a Golden Age of the ancient past.
Compassionate Mother Goddess...of the Aztecs. I almost snarfed my coffee when I read that one.
If you only read one thing on this site, read this: Matriarchal Point Of View...its a nice long table cmparing matriarchy with patriarchy.
And then this article all but advocates coercion of teenage girls and community members to participate in "first menstrual rituals" when a girl first starts her period.
When your daughter's first menstruation arrives, congratulate her, love her, and make sure you take care of her immediate physical and emotional needs. Then call together your community of women to participate in the ritual you have planned. Let other women support and nurture you both at this time. Don't worry if some of the women are embarrassed by the idea of a moon-time ritual. Their feelings will be healed as they join in the honoring of your daughter. And please don't put off your daughter's ritual because she is shy and doesn't want to tell anyone "she has started." This is her moment. I recommend helping her to face it and feel good about it. Surround her with women she loves and who love her. You may be surprised, especially if you have never attended a menarche ritual, at the healing and joy that accompany such a gathering.
At most menarche rituals, women only are present. The men of the family, and the young girls who have not yet begun menstruation, are invited to congratulate the new woman after the ritual, and give her gifts.
Gaaaaah, if my mom had done that I think I would have disowned her.
So basically, yeah matriarchy=equality, didn'tcha know?
Seriously though kids, we need equality and a LOT of other things. Not this utopian, agrarian, anarchistic myth.
Which reminds me, I need to snag a copy of Cynthia Eller's The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why an Invented Past Will Not Give Women a Future
Anyone have a copy they'd be willing to lend me or want to part with?
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Part of the reason these rituals are so pressed for in Pagan circles is that a major problem for the youth in our culture today is that they have no Rites of Passage. Hells, these days, childhood can run you into your 20's! We need rituals, and we need them to give kids a positive spin on life and their selves, including the physical self.
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