26 And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness:
and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl
of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth 27 So God created man in
his own image, in the image of God created he him: male and female
image, created he them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the earth.
Here is the sacred historian's first account of the advent of woman; a
simultaneous creation of both sexes, in the image of God. It is evident
from the language that there was consultation in the Godhead, and that
the masculine and feminine elements were equally represented. Scott in
his commentaries says, "this consultation of the Gods is the origin of
the doctrine of the trinity." But instead of three male personages, as
generally presented, a Heavenly Father, Mother, and Son would seem
more rational.
The first step in the elevation of woman to her true position, as an
equal factor in human progress, is the cultivation of the religious
sentiment in regard to her dignity and equality, the recognition by the
rising generation of an ideal Heavenly Mother, to whom their prayers
should be addressed, as well as to a Father.
If language has any meaning, we have in these texts a plain
declaration of the existence of the feminine element in the Godhead,
equal in power and glory with the masculine. The Heavenly Mother and
Father! "God created man in his own image, male and female." Thus
Scripture, as well as science and philosophy, declares the eternity
and equality of sex—the philosophical fact, without which there could
have been no perpetuation of creation, no growth or development in the
animal, vegetable, or mineral kingdoms, no awakening nor progressing in
the world of thought. The masculine and feminine elements, exactly
equal and balancing each other, are as essential to the maintenance of
the equilibrium of the universe as positive and negative electricity,
the centripetal and centrifugal forces, the laws of attraction which
bind together all we know of this planet whereon we dwell and of the
system in which we revolve.
In the great work of creation the crowning glory was realized, when
man and woman were evolved on the sixth day, the masculine and feminine
forces in the image of God, that must have existed eternally, in all
forms of matter and mind. All the persons in the Godhead are
represented in the Elohim the divine plurality taking counsel in regard
to this last and highest form of life. Who were the members of this
high council, and were they a duality or a trinity? Verse 27 declares
the image of God male and female. How then is it possible to make woman
an afterthought? We find in verses 5-16 the pronoun "he" used. Should
it not in harmony with verse 26 be "they," a dual pronoun? We may
attribute this to the same cause as the use of "his" in verse 11
instead of "it." The fruit tree yielding fruit after "his" kind instead
of after "its" kind. The paucity of a language may give rise to many
misunderstandings.
The above texts plainly show the simultaneous creation of man and
woman, and their equal importance in the development of the race. All
those theories based on the assumption that man was prior in the
creation, have no foundation in Scripture.
As to woman's subjection, on which both the canon and the civil law
delight to dwell, it is important to note that equal dominion is given
to woman over every living thing, but not one word is said giving man
dominion over woman.
Here is the first title deed to this green earth giving alike to the
sons and daughters of God. No lesson of woman's subjection can be
fairly drawn from the first chapter of the Old Testament
***
Commentary on the “Garden of Eden, temptation by the Serpent” story:
Note the significant fact that we always hear of the "fall of man,"
not the fall of woman, showing that the consensus of human thought has
been more unerring than masculine interpretation. Reading this
narrative carefully, it is amazing that any set of men ever claimed
that the dogma of the inferiority of woman is here set forth. The
conduct of Eve from the beginning to the end is so superior to that of
Adam. The command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of Knowledge was
given to the man alone before woman was formed. Genesis ii, 17.
Therefore the injunction was not brought to Eve with the impressive
solemnity of a Divine Voice, but whispered to her by her husband and
equal. It was a serpent supernaturally endowed, a seraphim as Scott and
other commentators have claimed, who talked with Eve, and whose words
might reasonably seem superior to the second-hand story of her
companion nor does the woman yield at once. She quotes the command not
to eat of the fruit to which the serpent replies "Dying ye shall not
die," v. 4, literal translation. In other words telling her that if the
mortal body does perish, the immortal part shall live forever, and
offering as the reward of her act the attainment of Knowledge.
Then the woman fearless of death if she can gain wisdom takes of the
fruit; and all this time Adam standing beside her interposes no word of
objection. "Her husband with her" are the words of v. 6. Had he been
the representative of the divinely appointed head in married life, he
assuredly would have taken upon himself the burden of the discussion
with the serpent, but no, he is silent in this crisis of their fate.
Having had the command from God himself he interposes no word of
warning or remonstrance, but takes the fruit from the hand of his wife
without a protest. It takes six verses to describe the "fall" of
woman, the fall of man is contemptuously dismissed in a line and a half.
The subsequent conduct of Adam was to the last degree dastardly. When
the awful time of reckoning comes, and the Jehovah God appears to
demand why his command has been disobeyed, Adam endeavors to shield
himself behind the gentle being he has declared to be so dear. "The
woman thou gavest to be with me, she gave me and I did eat," he whines—
trying to shield himself at his wife's expense! Again we are amazed
that upon such a story men have built up a theory of their superiority!
Femdom Day Writing
Written and Read By Violet Darkstone
From the time when we are born, we are told how girls should and should not behave, and it's made very clear to us that the rules that society sets down for women are very different than the rules that are set down for men. We're told that girls don't run fast, we don't climb trees, we don't talk back, and to dream of growing up to be president is something that just can't be taken seriously. In order to be beautiful, we must be as thin and svelte as the models that are portrayed to us in magazines. And, even in this day and age, we are expected to be demure in our sexuality.
And yet, every day at the Dominion, and other femdom sims throughout sl, I see women who have dared to step outside of the box that we were told that we must fit into as we were growing up. Women who have claimed their own power and their own sexuality and who proudly call themselves Mistress... Domina... Goddess.
For some women, it is still only here in this virtual world that they allow themselves the freedom of being the unexpected. For others, it carries over into their first lives and first relationships. But, either way, I know that with every person who allows themselves to see, or to experience or to become a part of a community where women make their own rules and take control of their sexuality.. that the world gains a little more understanding and acceptance.... not just for Dominant women, but for all of us who dare to be something different.
During this weekend of celebrating Dominant women, I want to encourage each and every one of you to remember that it is up to us to teach our daughters and our grand daughters that they can forge their own paths and become who and what they want in their hearts to be.. not just in their professional lives, but in their personal relationships as well. It is up to us to teach them that there can be pride in being different and that beauty is more than skin deep.
Helen Of Troy Does Countertop Dancing
By Margaret Atwood
Read By Evangeline Eames
The world is full of women
who'd tell me I should be ashamed of myself
if they had the chance. Quit dancing.
Get some self-respect
and a day job.
Right. And minimum wage,
and varicose veins, just standing
in one place for eight hours
behind a glass counter
bundled up to the neck, instead of
naked as a meat sandwich.
Selling gloves, or something.
Instead of what I do sell.
You have to have talent
to peddle a thing so nebulous
and without material form.
Exploited, they'd say. Yes, any way
you cut it, but I've a choice
of how, and I'll take the money.
I do give value.
Like preachers, I sell vision,
like perfume ads, desire
or its facsimile. Like jokes
or war, it's all in the timing.
I sell men back their worse suspicions:
that everything's for sale,
and piecemeal. They gaze at me and see
a chain-saw murder just before it happens,
when thigh, ass, inkblot, crevice, tit, and nipple
are still connected.
Such hatred leaps in them,
my beery worshippers! That, or a bleary
hopeless love. Seeing the rows of heads
and upturned eyes, imploring
but ready to snap at my ankles,
I understand floods and earthquakes, and the urge
to step on ants. I keep the beat,
and dance for them because
they can't. The music smells like foxes,
crisp as heated metal
searing the nostrils
or humid as August, hazy and languorous
as a looted city the day after,
when all the rape's been done
already, and the killing,
and the survivors wander around
looking for garbage
to eat, and there's only a bleak exhaustion.
Speaking of which, it's the smiling
tires me out the most.
This, and the pretence
that I can't hear them.
And I can't, because I'm after all
a foreigner to them.
The speech here is all warty gutturals,
obvious as a slab of ham,
but I come from the province of the gods
where meanings are lilting and oblique.
I don't let on to everyone,
but lean close, and I'll whisper:
My mother was raped by a holy swan.
You believe that? You can take me out to dinner.
That's what we tell all the husbands.
There sure are a lot of dangerous birds around.
Not that anyone here
but you would understand.
The rest of them would like to watch me
and feel nothing. Reduce me to components
as in a clock factory or abattoir.
Crush out the mystery.
Wall me up alive
in my own body.
They'd like to see through me,
but nothing is more opaque
than absolute transparency.
Look--my feet don't hit the marble!
Like breath or a balloon, I'm rising,
I hover six inches in the air
in my blazing swan-egg of light.
You think I'm not a goddess?
Try me.
This is a torch song.
Touch me and you'll burn.
Phenomenal Woman
By Maya Angelou
Read By Destiny Teardrop
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing of my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them,
They say they still can't see.
I say
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
The palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me
