Is The Sexual Double Standard Finally Dead?

At least in Norway, it sure seems to be.

A Norwegian study from 2023 basically found that the age-old sexual double standard (which I thoroughly oppose, for the record) is currently either dead or nearly so, and sometimes even a bit reversed, at least in Norway and some other countries.  Basically, most people think others will judge them far more harshly than they actually do, so the belief in such is only because others believe it, and so on.  And that is true for both genders, surprisingly.  It is now a ghost and hangover of patriarchal history that is sustained only through "pluralistic ignorance" currently.  Looks like, far from being "natural" per evolutionary psychology, the double standard was socially constructed all along.

(Note that the largely null results of this study in terms of how people judge one another also imply as a corollary that so-called "hookup culture" is NOT really the "collective action trap" or zero-sum game that some reactionaries seem to think it is, at least not in sexually liberal societies.)

Of course, this is clearly not true in every country in the world, nor in every social circle.  But generally, in the more socially and sexually liberal countries like the Nordic countries, and even perhaps some parts of the historically stuffy Anglosphere such as the USA and UK to some extent, it is indeed trending that way, and should be a cause for celebration.  Let the planetary healing begin!

Happy Mothers Day!

First, I would like to wish a Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful Mothers out there.  You are, after all, literally the reason why the human race even exists at all, despite the fact that the work you do is grossly undervalued in so many way by our twisted capitalistic and patriarchal society.  In other words, your beautiful feminine energy is essentially what keeps the rest of us alive.  

Thank you.

I would also like to note and lament how, for all the shallow platitudes America likes to throw around about "Mothers and apple pie", we are still a nation that perpetually continues to screw over Mothers and pregnant Women in so many ways.  Years ago, the legendary Guru Rasa Von Werder shared with us a poignant and in-depth article from Vox (see here) with us that illustrates the various ways in which that is true.  This article should truly be food for thought indeed.  Our patriarchal and capitalistic society clearly has a "cult of motherhood", in which the "ideal" of motherhood is so highly vaunted, worshipped even, but in practice actual Mothers themselves get about as much genuine respect as Rodney Dangerfield.  Both during and after pregnancy, so many Mothers are routinely discriminated against, overworked, underpaid, and even outright criminalized in many cases.  And meanwhile, there is to this day a powerful faction of mostly male politicians that is doing everything in their power to deny Women their right to choose whether or not to get (or stay) pregnant in the first place.  Indeed, the rank hypocrisy of our utterly misogynistic, hypocritical, and pharisaical system is so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Meanwhile, old Buckminster Fuller (who, not coincidentally, believed that Women should rule the world) must be spinning in his grave right now.  With today's technology and innovation, there is literally no legitimate reason why we as a society need "everybody and their mother" (literally!) to "work for a living" unless they really wanted to.  There are more than enough resources in the world for everyone on this planet to live like a millionaire, but the greedy oligarchs who control such resources apparently don't want to share.  Combined with the outdated scarcity mentality that men tend to favor (as opposed to the abundance mentality that Women tend to favor), those same oligarchs have also done everything in their power to sabotage any alternatives (i.e. free and renewable energy) to their own evil system that they force upon the rest of us.  So why make them even richer?

Additionally, just as we should "dispense with the absolutely specious notion that everybody needs to earn a living" (in Bucky's words), so too should we jettison the equally specious and outdated idea that "everybody must procreate" as though it were a civic duty.  Not only does today's technology make much useful human labor redundant, but the world is grossly overpopulated and will only get more so in the coming decades, and despite the abundance of the world's resources we are chewing through them like there is no tomorrow while destroying the planet.  And the main cause of that overpopulation is--wait for it--MEN.  Because they are the ones who, both historically and today, force, coerce, deceive, and/or brainwash Women to have kids that they otherwise would not want or are not yet ready for.  Men like to "get 'em while they're young" and then use them as serial breeding slaves, essentially, and all the euphemisms in the world do not change that fact.  It is really no coincidence that the two most effective (and ethical) ways to reduce overpopulation and excessively high birthrates are 1) female empowerment and 2) poverty reduction, while everything else is a mere sideshow.  Because when Women actually have a free and genuine choice on when or whether or not to reproduce, they usually make the right choices overall.  After all, they are the ones who have the most "skin in the game".  So let the planetary healing begin!

(And ICYMI, all of this applies a fortiori in the wake of the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which is now fully in the rearview mirror and rapidly fading from view.  Mothers have clearly faced a whopping triple burden thanks to all the lockdowns, school closures, job losses and stuff like that, followed by persistent shortages in, and high prices for, childcare availability after reopening.  Don't ever let the powers that be try to gaslight anyone into thinking otherwise, or memory-hole it.)

MAMASTE

Reactionaries Coming Full Circle

At this moment in history, it is safe to say that we are currently living through a counterrevolution (both sexual and otherwise) of epic proportions.  Most of the "conservatives" of today are actually reactionaries, and it goes way beyond Trump.  The overturning of Roe v. Wade was just the beginning, alas.  In 2021, and perhaps even earlier, some pundits and commentators were already predicting this trend, but now it is becoming increasingly obvious.  And if left unchecked, it will very easily lead to Margaret Atwood's worst nightmare.  Slopes are MUCH slippery than they appear.

Read this piece of writing, for example.  It looks like it could easily have been written by any one of today's increasingly regressive reactionaries, but it was actually written by a famous pastor, theologian, and Confederate soldier and chaplain in 1871. The similarities are truly uncanny!

People often say that voting doesn't matter since all elections are rigged. While they are rigged to one degree or another, the fact remains that if enough people vote, it becomes that much HARDER to rig.  If nothing else, voting is one of many ways to put positive energy and vibrations out into the Universe.  Keep that in mind this (and every) November. 

Still More New Videos From Guru Rasa Von Werder

Here are some more new videos from the legendary Guru Rasa Von Werder:

Happy May Day / Beltaine, Everyone!

Today, May 1, is May Day, also known as the Celtic and Neopagan holiday of Beltane.  It has a rather long history and symbolizes many things, but it is most notably a day to honor the Goddess, which includes the Goddess in every Woman.  Elephant Journal describes it rather nicely in their article a few years ago about the holiday:

Halfway between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice falls May Day—the original holiday of sex and abundance.  If you’ve ever wondered, as I used to, what the hype was around May Day—as in why I always heard about ‘May Day’ but never seemed to witness anyone actually celebrating, here’s why. It’s deeply rooted in pagan nature and hedonistic sex worship and celebrations. As Christianity spread and the Church extended its reach and control, these pagan and Divine worships of masculine and feminine equality had to be forgotten.  May 1st is Beltane in the Northern Hemisphere, the day we honor nature’s oldest love story.  And we all love a love story.   This is a holiday of union, between man and woman, God and Goddess—a celebration of the divine balance in the union of Divine masculine and feminine. Because once upon a time, the two were honored as sacred parts of the one Divine balance.

Indeed.  And among Neopagans today, Beltane is (usually) primarily about honoring the Divine Feminine, where as Samhain (October 31) is primarily about honoring the Divine Masculine.  Thus, I propose that we shift International Women's Day (currently March 8) to May 1, and shift International Men's Day (November 19, coinciding with World Toilet Day, lol) to November 1.  The latter, of course, should not be seen as a day to celebrate men, but rather as a day of atonement for the evil that men do, and have done for thousands of years now--a sort of all-male equivalent of the Jewish holy day Yom Kippur to essentially apologize to the Divine Feminine.  

Honestly, it's the least us fellas could do.

Another holiday I would like to propose is Waterloo Day, on April 30, the day before May Day.  That would symbolize the (hopefully) eventual surrender of men to Women, which I had once personally predicted will occur on April 30, 2030--the end of an error.  (Current events have made me far less sanguine about that prediction,  and it is most likely much farther away than 2030, at least 2040 or 2050.)  Just as that day symbolizes the end of the "darker half" of the year and the beginning of the "lighter half", so too shall it symbolize the end of the 7000 years of darkness known as patriarchy and the beginning of the new earthly paradise known as Matriarchy.  Note too that April 30, 1975 was also when the Vietnam War officially ended, and also in 1945 when a certain little painter from Austria did the world a huge favor by offing himself.  And the song "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath was originally going to be called "Walpurgisnacht", which is another name for May Eve, or April 30.  One idea for how to celebrate Waterloo Day would be for the men to get up on a platform or podium, give a concession speech as though stepping down from power, and have all the Women heckle and throw rotten tomatoes at them.  

It also happens to be International Worker's Day as well.  Workers of the world.....relax.