Ineke Vashon
01-19-2012, 04:28 PM
As a young boy one of my favorite comic strips was Prince Valiant, and his consort Aleta. *One day the strip showed a beautiful tropical underwater scene. Brightly colored fishes, other marine animals, vivid coral, and plants waving in the current. The scene showed beautiful Aleta, her long hair streaming, swimming gracefully in the water. Fishes and other marine animals, the strip added, smiled and watched her with pleasure and swam around her without fear.
The next picture was partially devoid of color, and the strip said: “Suddenly, a shadow darkened the water as Prince Valiant swam into view, vigorously pushing the water aside with powerful strokes. All the marine animals now fled and hid in fear”. This scene has stayed with me and impressed upon me that, even in a comic strip, even that long ago, the female was shown as embracing the environment and was welcomed in it, whereas the male was to be feared and avoided. This scene made such a strong impression on me that I can still visualize the strip almost seventy years later. And perhaps it has governed my outlook on life as well.
Early conditioning? For many reasons I’ve often disliked being part of the male gender. Makes me wonder if my attempt to approach the feminine is an excuse to distance myself from the stereotyped, macho, all-American male who measures everything in terms of football field length, which seems incompatible with a gentler, softer, dress wearing man. Perhaps they fear it. Perhaps I fear it. Perhaps I make too much out of it.
I don’t like beer anyway. Wine, yes :ms:
Ineke
The next picture was partially devoid of color, and the strip said: “Suddenly, a shadow darkened the water as Prince Valiant swam into view, vigorously pushing the water aside with powerful strokes. All the marine animals now fled and hid in fear”. This scene has stayed with me and impressed upon me that, even in a comic strip, even that long ago, the female was shown as embracing the environment and was welcomed in it, whereas the male was to be feared and avoided. This scene made such a strong impression on me that I can still visualize the strip almost seventy years later. And perhaps it has governed my outlook on life as well.
Early conditioning? For many reasons I’ve often disliked being part of the male gender. Makes me wonder if my attempt to approach the feminine is an excuse to distance myself from the stereotyped, macho, all-American male who measures everything in terms of football field length, which seems incompatible with a gentler, softer, dress wearing man. Perhaps they fear it. Perhaps I fear it. Perhaps I make too much out of it.
I don’t like beer anyway. Wine, yes :ms:
Ineke