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fascinating stuff [Jun. 1st, 2004|10:20 pm]
[mood |geeky]

Ok so this is my 4th try. . .

Would you believe this is my 3rd try to post this?!

Damn it!!!!!!!! I had this all typed out and the stinking blog just made it disappear! #@!%%#%%@!!

I am working on a term paper on medieval women and music and I came across these strong expressions of the ancient roots of patriarchy:

"The philosophy of gender polarity, articulated by Aristotle, is the source of the male/female binary opposition so familiar to medieval thinkers. According to Aristotle male/female could be juxtaposed with active/passive, form/matter, and perfection/imperfection. Furthermore, these oppositions are not perceived as equal and opposite but rather are in a hierarchical relationship. The female is understood to the the result of defective generation and is, as it were, a deformed male. Since she is imperfect, it is natural that man should rule over woman."

"The philosophy of gender unity attributed to Plato is somewhat more complex because it was not presented in a sustained and systematic discussion, and because his evaluation of gender tended to vary from work to work. In general, Plato believed that male and female are essentially the same and only accidentally different. The physical bodies of man and woman differ but they possess the same eternal souls. For Plato, bodily existence has the appearance of reality but it is in fact imperfect and transitory. Ultimately the body will pass away, leaving only the individual's true nature, the soul, which is neither male nor female. Consequently, Plato's body-soul dualism established that woman and man were of the same nature and that woman was just as capable as man of moral and intellectual perfection. Yet, this dualism also relegated the physical to a secondary status. Woman's body was believed weaker and she was more closely linked with the physical world through the process of giving birth. This, then, provided an explanation for woman's evident social inferiority. However, social and physical inferiority notwithstanding, according to Plato women and men were of essentially the same nature and equally capable of the highest wisdom, virtue, and moral perfection." (mind/body split; view of the soul/mind as pure and valuable, while body is corrupt and suspect)

Tertullian characterized women as "the devil's gateway."

"By the late thirteenth century, as a result of Thomas Aquinas's reconciliation of Aristotelian philosophy and Christian theology, women's inferiority and subordination became grounded firmly on both the theoretical and practical levels."

(Quotes taken from: "Power of the Weak: Studies on Medieval Women." Edited by Jennifer Carpenter and Sally-Beth MacLean. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995. pgs. 3-5.)

From: victoria1st
2004-06-02 01:26 pm (UTC)

Other weird perceptions

Did you also know that in the days of these brilliant men, that it was believed that women's skin was more penetrable than men's. Their skin was thought to be more porous and that is why they had to stay covered all of the time, because that exposure made them more susceptible to demons, disease, illness, and these forms of "matter" of course could have a negative effect on the woman's soul!

It was also thought that men's body temperature was also hotter than women's. And that when they ejaculated, part of this heat, which was thought to be tied to their soul would escape . . . this is why it was not good to have sex! And, if that was not enough, the "over-sexed" people were thought to be less than of a man or even crazy (you know cuz all of your heat was gone)! This is where the myth about males masturbating comes from.

Well, that's enough of that!

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