Chapter 3: How did we get here?

At one time our cultural beliefs reflected our real lives. Women brought forth new life long before we ever understood how this process worked. Honoring this power of the female was a natural reflection of what actually happened in life. Over time, however, male values, based on a testosterone –fueled, masculinized ego, usurped this most essential truth. Males created stories of a powerful male God who brought forth new life with word or breath.  Patriarchal values – the basis of the present imbalance and an insured way to control women – were present in the first written words.  Feminists realized that to enter the world beyond the home, they had no option other than to deny any essential difference between males and females. The second wave of feminism adopted the position that females are just like males and difference was the product of culturally determined roles. On some deep level, males must have loved this ironic turn of events, recognizing that if women themselves denigrated the feminine, there would be even fewer questions about the status quo. Research during the 1970 and 80’s supported the view that the only differences between men and women were culturally-based. A climate of political correctness then ensured that emerging biological findings, revealing strong differences between the sexes, remained unquestioned.