Archive for June 27th, 2009
Valuing the Feminine
I took this photo in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, India in January 2008. This woman was trying to sell cheap jewelry to passing tourists. Well, she was sort of selling as there wasn’t much energy evident. It was as if she was resigned to be there but wasn’t expecting to sell anything. There was competition in the guise of younger women and girls. The value of the feminine is low in Rajasthan, a stark contrast to the modern western world where the value is much higher and rising.
There is no doubt in my mind that in societies where the value for women is higher, the quality of life is proportionately higher as well. It’s all about balance, a balance of yin and yang. Tilt the balance towards either patriarchy or matriarchy and society is accordingly impovershed.
Taken in terms of the psyche, the work of making the self more conscious of shadow contents, the repressed feminine or masculine allows the individual a fuller life, a more conscious life where one stops being a victim.
