Γεια σας παιδιά,
(Hi, friends)
Phew, that was a long one. We just spent nearly three months looking at motherhood in myth, and what a ride it’s been! The next cycle was going to look at narratives that shift blame onto women. Going to. We will still get there, but I realized that first we need to spend some time with The Dudes.
Which can feel antithetical to the purpose of Partheneia—aren’t we supposed to be reclaiming stories and space for women? Well, yes and no. What I’m really trying to do here at the end of the day is move the societal needle on how we understand ourselves and our world, and how we move through it.
And we can’t forget that “we” includes men.
The late, great bell hooks pointed out repeatedly that feminism can’t exclude men. In short, a patriarchy can’t change until men are willing to change.
Now, before a bunch of dudes—and maybe women too—come after me with digital pitchforks, let’s clear the air a bit and get on the same page. For those of you who know this already, feel free to skip ahead.
Dismantling patriarchy does not mean hating on men.
It means reevaluating and replacing a system built on dominance and enforced by violence, which hurts men as well as women.
Deconstructing patriarchal masculinity doesn’t mean we want to turn men into women.
It means (for me) reevaluating our conception of what masculinity and femininity mean and exploring how both can be integrated into a whole person, without strangling parts of our souls that need to breathe and grow in order to live fully.
Okay. I’m sure I’m missing some nuance or important points, but I think those are the two most important. My original conception of these cycles was just “don’t be that guy” but deep down I knew going that route would be both unkind and unhelpful. So what we’re going to do is look at different versions of masculinity as they appear in the stories—as received, it should be noted, by us living in today’s world.
Quick reminder: Partheneia is about how stories impact our culture and our values, not the ancients’.
So, with that in mind, we’ll look at different visions and expressions of masculinity, how they reflect patriarchal values, and how the stories might be reimagined or reinterpreted to help us construct a healthier image of masculinity for a healthier society.
For the next few months, we’ll be looking specifically at fathers in myth. Only fitting, I think, since we just looked at motherhood. Should be fun. I hope.
See you soon!
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Άντε πάμε.
I absolutely love your two clarifications!! <3