patriarchy hurts men too
There is so much talk today of the RISE of The Feminine. Hallelujah! She has risen and after so many years of Feminine oppression, it’s about time we remember her within ourselves and on the planet.
While I wholeheartedly support The Feminine movement, there are parts of it I struggle to embrace. I understand there is a lot of anger towards men due to what women have endured at the hands of men and are still enduring right now on the planet, however, I believe it is important to distinguish the difference between men and Patriarchy.
I often see the two used interchangeably and this is something that not only is inaccurate but is also creating further division between the sexes at a time when unity on the planet is deeply needed. I believe the recent Barbie Movie has further added to that confusion! (That said, I very much enjoyed the movie but can see how it could be detrimental for those who don’t understand the differentiation between men and Patriarchy).
Patriarchy literally means "the rule of the father" so we aren’t referring to men here but rather a social system where men control a majority of social, economic, political and religious power.
This is also a social system that values The Masculine Energy over The Feminine Energy. All of us, regardless of our gender possess both Masculine and Feminine energies, however, most people born male will possess a more dominant Masculine Energy core. Masculine Energy traits include “Doing”, achieving, intellect, assertiveness, dominance and control. Feminine energy traits include “Being”, nurturing, creativity, collaboration and vulnerability.
While Feminine Energy has been suppressed in women AND men over many centuries of patriarchal influence, it’s important to note that this shut-down of The Feminine not only affects women but it also affects men too.
Men are conditioned from a young age to believe that they need to be strong and not show emotion. Perhaps as a boy he was bullied in the playground or told “not to be a girl” if he cried or showed his soft side. Vulnerability is something that is not even encouraged among young girls today, let alone in young boys. It is often deemed as a sign of weakness which couldn’t be further from the truth. This conditioning is Patriarchy.
According to the Australian Men’s Health Forum (AMHF), “Men account for 3 in 4 suicides in Australia” and research conducted in 2021 found that “a total of 3,134 people in Australia took their own lives and precisely 75% were men (2,358 male suicides and 786 female suicides).”
Having witnessed a lot of men in my life struggle with mental health issues, low self-esteem and self-sabotaging behaviour, I can see how these heavily ingrained patriarchal beliefs can completely derail men and leave them feeling lost and emasculated. While we are living in a Patriarchy, we are also living in a system that wants to produce “weak” men. By “weak” I mean a man who is cut off from his divinity and has not fully stepped into his King embodiment.
The King archetype is present within the psyche of all men (regardless of whether he is aware of it or not). I believe if we lived in a society of true Kings, we wouldn’t see so much control and oppression on the planet as we see today. I believe our land would be well-cared for and the vulnerable (such as women, children and animals) would always be protected and accounted for. Just reflect on the kind of corruption that took place during the global pandemic a few years back. The system relies on keeping men “weak” in order to preserve control of the general population of humanity.
We are living in an age of broken families and so many men are forced to grow up either without a father or even a healthy masculine role model in their life to model after. This is fundamental for the male psyche to transition from boy to man. When a boy reaches his teen years, he instinctively searches for affirmation of his manhood.
In ancient societies around the world, rites of passage were important for men and women to step into their maturity. For teen boys, that would look like a formal ceremony where his manhood is publicly affirmed by the elder men in the community. From that day forward he receives more freedom but also more responsibility for taking care of himself and those around him.
Unfortunately, this is a tradition that has been lost in Western Culture and due to the breakdown of many family units, more men than ever before don’t have a father figure to initiate them and show them the way into manhood. Without guidance and affirmation of his important transition, he then will look to affirm his manhood from alternative methods. This is worrying when a lot of the cultural influences as mentioned, are set up to produce “weak” men. These methods unknowingly may be detrimental to a man’s health and well-being even though he may feel a sense of power when partaking in them. Some of these alternative methods might look like porn and sex addictions, violence or aggressive behaviour, stuffing down emotions and shutting down his heart.
The Earth is going through major shifts at the moment, and I believe what we truly need to focus on at this time, is creating more unity amongst one another. Yes, we need The Feminine to RISE, but we also need The HEALTHY Masculine to RISE in society. Women can not fight this battle alone and we need Warrior-Kings to protect us, to keep us safe, and to create a container for The Feminine to truly flourish in her wild expression.
If we go back in history, we always see the KING and QUEEN ruling side-by-side on the throne. In Ancient Egypt, we saw Isis and Orisis ruling the kingdom, both sovereign in their own right.
I just came back from a Mary Magdalene Retreat in the South of France, and for those of you who are unaware, Mary Magdalene is the wife of Jesus. She not only worked alongside him as a High Priestess and Spiritual Teacher in her own right but also carried his child. Jesus and Mary represented The Divine Masculine and Divine Feminine in Sacred Union.
Unfortunately, the Catholic Church hid Mary from the people, they even tried to label her a prostitute in order for the Patriarchy to rise and for women to not be seen as equal to men. Finally, after many centuries, the truth is coming out and more people are uncovering the lies spread by the Catholic Church and the false teachings of Christianity… but that’s a whole other conversation for another day!
I guess what I truly want to get across in this blog post is that both the Masculine and Feminine are equal and that there is no need to outdo one another or compete with the other for power.
Instead, let’s learn to appreciate one another’s differences and understand that our true power comes when we unite the Masculine and Feminine and we bring those two energies into harmony and balance.
Both Masculine and Feminine Energy are needed on the planet right now and we need to honour and respect both in order to create a balanced society for the benefit of all beings. We can’t have one without the other and in order for the Divine Feminine to truly RISE in all her glory, so too does the Divine Masculine.
