Who's Afraid of the Divine Feminine?

So what brought on my latest soap box moment? It's really quite simple-our recent political race! I'm talking about the climate that was created (and still lurks) by the notion that a woman had not only decided to run for president, but she also had the nerve to be the woman who beat the embarrassment and pain of her husband's peccadilloes! Seriously? That's what constitutes political discourse worthy of a presidential run for office?!

To those who claim ignorance regarding the level of intolerance and discrimination more than half of our population faces on a daily basis, I offer the following response: privilege knows no suffering or differential access to power. Special privilege (which by extension, is imbued with a special access to power) often renders those "with it" a type of willful blindness to the suffering faced by those who have been denied access (i.e. the glass ceiling, etc) and discriminated against for decades. Similarly, it is same myopia that allows a modern society to be unmoved by the fact that every second of every day women and girls are discriminated against, assaulted, and undervalued.

Some of this has its origins in fear of the feminine, a false sense of "entitlement", the belief that the feminine equals "lesser" and weaker (a.k.a. prey). The year is 2016, yet this global tragedy continues as "we" point fingers at one another claiming ignorance. Yes we've all heard about the countries and regions of the world where this sort of treatment of women and girls is often overlooked and even tacitly approved or tolerated (i.e. "honor" killings, sex slaves, etc). But the sad truth is that we here in the West have our own special brand that we "dress up" in "acceptable " attire.

While in some instances our "brand" may be wearing a different mask or appear more sophisticated (or simply better tailored to fit into our cultural infrastructure), we also carry the same shame of treating the feminine as other and by extension deem it worthy of "unworthy" treatment. We only need look at the inadequate statics for rape and sexual assault (i.e. under reported, or compromised evidence collection, etc) on the grounds of our U.S. college campuses, to get a small glimpse of this ugly truth we continue to shelter. Need a reminder? I'm sure many can recall the controversial Stanford University sexual assault case in which an unconscious woman was raped by a male student athlete (former swimmer). To add insult to injury, the offender was given what amounted to a slap on the wrist by the judge overseeing the case.

Yet we tell our young girls, daughters, and sisters, that they are "free" to reach for the stars? Seriously?! Until we drag out bigotry, hate, and the intolerance lurking in the shadows, things will not only remain the same, they will get worse; especially for women and the rest of the "other". The harsh reality is that women, girls, transgender,etc, face the daily threat of violence and or discrimination at all levels of our society-it is simply a matter of degrees in terms of how this reality is expressed.

Why are women so "incapable" of reigning over their own bodies and decisions? Why are "some" men determined to suppress and oppress women and those they deem inferior to them? I don't really give a flying you-know-what! The bottom line is that there will always be predators and evil among us, but it is up to us to shine a light on the darkness and root it out. I have my own views of sexuality and gender but being the evolved Homo Sapiens that I am, I recognize that there is both beauty and balance in diversity, that I rule over no other human being, and WE ARE ALL EQUALLY valuable in this space. Let's not hide the ugly motivations and machinations beneath the guises of what constitutes "sociocultural" definitions of gender and sexuality in "our versions of society.

I stumbled upon a powerful piece of art featured in a news publication entitled "Truth is Beauty" created by Marco Cochrane and his wife (both artists are associated with the Bliss Project). The work and the sentiment behind it were so powerful that I was moved at my very core. I had to speak about it and share my thoughts as another woman who stands in solidarity with any and all who have been oppressed, victimized and violated because they are "other" (only I'm the minds of the oppressor, I might add).

We ALL have a role to play on the world's stage, and it's time that we ALL say ENOUGH is ENOUGH, and NO it's NOT OK to victimize others on YOUR altar of bigotry, misogyny and hate! That's right! SAY NOTHING and the world will continue to ignore and tacitly enable this sickness, while this poison continues to whittle away at our humanity and civilization. In the words of Edmund Burke more than 100 years ago: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil was that good men should do nothing"