our androcentric culture-第9章

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becoming　acquainted　with　a　far　wider　range　of　life　in　books　than　could
even　be　ours　in　person。　　Then　meeting　life　in　reality　we　should　be
wiseand　not　be　disappointed。

As　it　is；　our　great　sea　of　fiction　is　steeped　and　dyed　and　flavored　all
one　way。　　A　young　man　faces　lifethe　seventy　year　stretch；　remember；
and　is　given　book　upon　book　wherein　one　set　of　feelings　is　continually
vocalized　and　overestimated。　　He　reads　forever　of　love；　good　love　and
bad　love；　natural　and　unnatural；　legitimate　and　illegitimate；　with　the
unavoidable　inference　that　there　is　nothing　else　going　on。

If　he　is　a　healthy　young　man　he　breaks　loose　from　the　whole　thing；
despises　〃love　stories〃　and　takes　up　life　as　he　finds　it。　　But　what
impression　he　does　receive　from　fiction　is　a　false　one；　and　he　suffers
without　knowing　it　from　lack　of　the　truer　broader　views　of　life　it
failed　to　give　him。

A　young　woman　faces　lifethe　seventy　year　stretch　remember；　and　is
given　the　same　bookswith　restrictions。　　Remember　the　remark　of
Rochefoucauld；　〃There　are　thirty　good　stories　in　the　world　and
twenty…nine　cannot　be　told　to　women。〃　　There　is　a　certain　broad　field　of
literature　so　grossly　androcentric　that　for　very　shame　men　have　tried　to
keep　it　to　themselves。　　But　in　a　milder　form；　the　spades　all　named
teaspoons；　or　at　the　worst　appearing　as　trowelsthe　young　woman　is
given　the　same　fiction。　　Love　and　love　and　lovefrom　〃first　sight〃　to
marriage。　　There　it　stopsjust　the　fluttering　ribbon　of　announcement；
〃and　lived　happily　ever　after。〃

Is　that　kind　of　fiction　any　sort　of　picture　of　a　woman's　life？　　Fiction；
under　our　androcentric　culture；　has　not　given　any　true　picture　of
woman's　life；　very　little　of　human　life；　and　a　disproportioned　section
of　man's　life。

As　we　daily　grow　more　human；　both　of　us；　this　noble　art　is　changing　for
the　better　so　fast　that　a　short　lifetime　can　mark　the　growth。　　New
fields　are　opening　and　new　laborers　are　working　in　them。　　But　it　is　no
swift　and　easy　matter　to　disabuse　the　race　mind　from　attitudes　and
habits　inculcated　for　a　thousand　years。　　What　we　have　been　fed　upon　so
long　we　are　well　used　to；　what　we　are　used　to　we　like；　what　we　like　we
think　is　good　and　proper。

The　widening　demand　for　broader；　truer　fiction　is　disputed　by　the　slow
racial　mind：　and　opposed　by　the　marketers　of　literature　on　grounds　of
visible　self…interest；　as　well　as　lethargic　conservatism。

It　is　difficult　for　men；　heretofore　the　sole　producers　and　consumers　of
literature；　and　for　women；　new　to　the　field；　and　following　masculine
canons　because　all　the　canons　were　masculine；　to　stretch　their　minds　to
a　recognition　of　the　change　which　is　even　now　upon　us。

This　one　narrow　field　has　been　for　so　long　overworked；　our　minds　are　so
filled　with　heroes　and　heroes　continually　repeating　the　one…act　play；
that　when　a　book　like　David　Harum　is　offered　the　publisher　refuses　it
repeatedly；　and　finally　insists　on　a　〃heart　interest〃　being　injected　by
force。

Did　anyone　read　David　Harum　for　that　heart　interest？　　Does　anyone
remember　that　heart　interest？　　Has　humanity　no　interests　but　those　of
the　heart？

Robert　Ellesmere　was　a　popular　bookbut　not　because　of　its　heart
interest。

Uncle　Tom's　Cabin　appealed　to　the　entire　world；　more　widely　than　any
work　of　fiction　that　was　ever　written；　but　if　anybody　fell　in　love　and
married　in　it　they　have　been　forgotten。　　There　was　plenty　of　love　in
that　book；　love　of　family；　love　of　friends；　love　of　master　for　servant
and　servant　for　master；　love　of　mother　for　child；　love　of　married　people
for　each　other；　love　of　humanity　and　love　of　God。

It　was　extremely　popular。　　Some　say　it　was　not　literature。　　That　opinion
will　live；　like　the　name　of　Empedocles。

The　art　of　fiction　is　being　re…born　in　these　days。　　Life　is　discovered
to　be　longer；　wider；　deeper；　richer；　than　these　monotonous　players　of
one　June　would　have　us　believe。

The　humanizing　of　woman　of　itself　opens　five　distinctly　fresh　fields　of
fiction：　First　the　position　of　the　young　woman　who　is　called　upon　to
give　up　her　〃career〃her　humannessfor　marriage；　and　who　objects　to
it；　second；　the　middle…aged　woman　who　at　last　discovers　that　her
discontent　is　social　starvationthat　it　is　not　more　love　that　she
wants；　but　more　business　in　life：　Third　the　interrelation　of　women　with
womena　thing　we　could　never　write　about　before　because　we　never　had　it
before：　except　in　harems　and　convents：　Fourth　the　inter…action　between
mothers　and　children；　this　not　the　eternal　〃mother　and　child；〃　wherein
the　child　is　always　a　baby；　but　the　long　drama　of　personal　relationship；
the　love　and　hope；　the　patience　and　power；　the　lasting　joy　and　triumph；
the　slow　eating　disappointment　which　must　never　be　owned　to　a　living
soulhere　are　grounds　for　novels　that　a　million　mothers　and　many
million　children　would　eagerly　read：　Fifth　the　new　attitude　of　the
full…grown　woman　who　faces　the　demands　of　love　with　the　high　standards
of　conscious　motherhood。

There　are　other　fields；　broad　and　brilliantly　promising；　but　this
chapter　is　meant　merely　to　show　that　our　one…sided　culture　has；　in　this
art；　most　disproportionately　overestimated　the　dominant　instincts　of　the
maleLove　and　Waran　offense　against　art　and　truth；　and　an　injury　to
life。



OUR　ANDROCENTRIC　CULTURE；　or；　THE　MAN…MADE　WORLD


VI。

GAMES　AND　SPORTS


One　of　the　sharpest　distinctions　both　between　the　essential　characters
and　the　artificial　positions　of　men　and　women；　is　in　the　matter　of　games
and　sports。　　By　far　the　greater　proportion　of　them　are　essentially
masculine；　and　as　such　alien　to　women；　while　from　those　which　are
humanly　interesting；　women　have　been　largely　debarred　by　their　arbitrary
restrictions。

The　play　instinct　is　common　to　girls　and　boys　alike；　and　endures　in　some
measure　throughout　life。　　As　other　young　animals　express　their　abounding
energies　in　capricious　activities　similar　to　those　followed　in　the
business　of　living；　so　small　children　gambol；　physically；　like　lambs　and
kids；　and　as　the　young　of　higher　kinds　of　animals　imitate　in　their　play
the　more　complex　activities　of　their　elders；　so　do　children　imitate
whatever　activities　they　see　about　them。　　In　this　field　of　playing　there
is　no　sex。

Similarly　in　adult　life　healthy　and　happy　persons；　men　and　women；
naturally　express　surplus　energy　in　various　forms　of　sport。　　We　have
here　one　of　the　most　distinctively　human　manifestations。　　The　great
accumulation　of　social　energy；　and　the　necessary　limitations　of　one　kind
of　work；　leave　a　human　being　tired　of　one　form　of　action；　yet　still
uneasy　for　lack　of　full　expression；　and　this　social　need　has　been　met　by
our　great　safety　valve　of　games　and　sports。

In　a　society　of　either　sex；　or　in　a　society　without　sex；　there　would
still　be　both　pleasure　and　use　in　games；　they　are　vitally　essential　to
human　life。　　In　a　society　of　two　sexes；　wherein　one　has　dictated　all　the
terms　of　life；　and　the　other　has　been　confined　to　an　extremely　limited
fraction　of　human　living；　we　may　look　to　see　this　great　field　of
enjoyment　as　disproportionately　divided。

It　is　not　only　that　we　have　reduced　the　play　impulse　in　women　by
restricting　them　to　one　set　of　occupations；　and　overtaxing　their
energies　with　mother…work　and　housework　combined；　and　not　only　that　by
our　androcentric　conventions　we　further　restrict　their　amusements；　but
we　begin　in　infancy；　and　forcibly　differentiate　their　methods　of　play
long　before　any　natural　distinction　would　appear。

Take　that　universal　joy　the　doll；　or　puppet；　as　an　instance。　　A　small
imitation　of　a　large　known　object　carries　delight　to　the　heart　of　a
child　of　either　sex。　　The　worsted　cat；　the　wooden　horse；　the　little
wagon；　the　tin　soldier；　the　wax　doll；　the　toy　village；　the　〃Noah's　Ark；〃
the　omnipresent　〃Teddy　Bear；〃　any　and　every　small　model　of　a　real　thing
is　a　delight　to　the　young　human　being。　　Of　all　things　the　puppet　is　the
most　intimate；　the　little　image　of　another　human　being　to　play　with。　
The　fancy　of　the　child；　making　endless　combinations　with　these　visible
types；　plays　as　freely　as　a　kitten　in　the　leaves；　or　gravely　carries　out
some　observed　forms　of　life；　as　the　kitten　imitates　its　mother's
hunting。

So　far　all　is　natural　and　human。

Now　see　our　attitude　toward　child's　playunder　a　masculine　culture。　
Regarding　women　only　as　a　sex；　and　that　sex　as　manifest　from　infancy；　we
make　and　buy　for　our　little　girls　toys　suitable　to　this　view。　　Being
femaleswhich　means　mothers；　we　must　needs　provide　them　with　babies
before　they　cease　to　be　babies　themselves；　and　we　expect　their　play　to
consist　in　an　imitation　of　maternal　cares。　　The　doll；　the　puppet；　which
interests　all　children；　we　have　rendered　as　an　eternal　baby；　and　we
foist　them　upon　our　girl　children　by　ceaseless　millions。

The　doll；　as　such；　is　dear　to　the　little　boy　as　well　as　the　girl；　but
not　as　a　baby。　　He　likes　his　jumping…jack；　his　worsted　Sambo；　often　a
genuine　rag…doll；　but　he　is　discouraged　and　ridiculed　in　this。　　We　do
not　expect　the　little　boy　to　manifest　a　father's　love　and　care　for　an
imitation　childbut　we　do　expect　the　little　girl　to　show　maternal
feelings　for　her　imitation　baby。　　It　has　not　yet　occurred　to　us　that
this　is　monstrous。

Little　children　should　not　be　expected　to　show；　in　painful　precocity；
feelings　which　ought　never　to　be　experienced　till　they　come　at　the
proper　age。　　Our　kittens　play　at　cat…sports；　little　Tom　and　Tabby
together；　but　little　Tabby　does　not　play　she　is　a　mother！

Beyond　the　continuous　dolls　and　their　continuous　dressing；　we　provide
for　our　little　girls　tea　sets　and　kitchen　sets；　doll's　houses；　little
work…boxesthe　imitation　tools　of　their　narrow　trades。　　For　the　boy
there　is　a　larger　choice。　　We　make　for　them　not　only　the　essentially
masculine　toys　of　combatall　the　enginery　of　mimic　war；　but　also　the
models　of　human　things；　like　boats；　railroads；　wagons。　　For　them；　too；
are　the　comprehensive　toys　of　the　centuries；　the　kite；　the　top；　the
ball。　　As　the　boy　gets　old　enough　to　play　the　games　that　require　skill；
he　enters　the　world…lists；　and　the　little　sister；　left　inside；　with　her
everlasting　dolls；　learns　that　she　is　〃only　a　girl；〃　and　〃mustn't　play
with　boysboys　are　so　rough！〃　　She　has　her　doll　and　her　tea　set。　　She
〃plays　house。〃　　If　very　active　she　may　jump　rope；　in　solitary
enthusiasm；　or　in　combination　of　from　two　to　four。　　Her　brother　is
playing　games。　　From　this　time　on　he　plays　the　games　of　the　world。　　The
〃sporting　page〃　should　be　called　〃the　Man's　Page〃　as　that　array　of
recipes；　fashions　and　cheap　advice　is　called　〃the　Woman's　Page。〃

One　of　the　immediate　educational　advantages　of　the　boy's　position　is
that　he　learns　〃team　work。〃　　This　is　not　a　masculine　characteristic；　it
is　a　human　one；　a　social　power。　　Women　are　equally　capable　of　it　by
nature；　but　not　by　education。　　Tending　one's　imitation　baby　is　not
team…work；　nor　is　playing　house。　　The　little　girl　is　kept　forever　within
the　limitations　of　her　mother's　〃sphere〃　of　action；　while　the　boy　learns
life；　and　fancies　that　his　new　growth　is　due　to　his　superior　sex。

Now　there　are　certain　essential　distinctions　in　the　sexes；　which　would
manifest　themselves　to　some　degree　even　in　normally　reared　children；　as
for　instance　the　lit