Theos-Talk Archives (May 1996 Message tl00399)

On Sat, 4 May 1996 16:24:35 -0400 liesel f. deutsch wrote:

>I interpret the ladies saying "man","he", to mean all humankind,
>but they were so used to thinking of men as the big shots, as the
>only ones who really counted, that they just automatically said
>"he". I know that I still, to this day, when I hear about a person
>in charge, an authority figure, automatically picture the person
>as a man. As for instance, our head building maintenance mechanic
>is retiring, & I heard that he was being replaced by a woman. My
>first reaction was "A woman can't do that job!" Very
>automatically, very ingrained. I think it's more that which we
>find in the older literature. Women just didn't count for much in
>the way of authority, and so even they tended to think of
>"humanity" as "man".

Liesel and all others,

My comment had been fairly extreme, I admit, but I wanted to
express the feeling coming on me when reading the "message behind
the words" of earlier female (occult, esoteric) authors.  You have
articulated that message wonderfully above.  It is a subtle, almost
unconscious orientation towards the position that females are "less
than".  I guess, when it comes to people as spiritual beings
relating to each other down here I have never seen myself, though
female, as "less than" in any way.  Therefore, I don't see any
other females that way either.  But I recognize, alas, that among
females seeing this way is distinctly in the minority.

Virginia