Hey guys, I didn't say that we have complete worldwide equality of the sexes...not on your nelly!!! (to quote the infamous Frank Burns) There is still horrendous suppression of women, and I have struggled against it all my life...as a man. I am delighted that much progress has been made, and that women are expressing themselves more in all arenas of life.

What I did mean to suggest was that all issues are essentially human issues, and that we should not be divided over gender, that's all. We should seek unity, not exclusivity.

Now, if I may wax a bit mystical, here...I believe that all humans are both male and female in their soul or their spirit self. The truly balanced human is one who utilizes the male and female archetypes in harmony and equality within him/herself. If so, she/he will not see any reason to divide humanity up into competitive gender camps, nor will he/she see any reason for a "war between the sexes" (what a ludicrous idea!).

Have you tried to use a teeter totter that has only one end...or only one rider? Doesn't work.

A man shows his male aspect outwardly, and has his female aspect hidden within, unseen. A woman is the reverse image of that. They fall in love with each other partly because they are seeking unity with their own inner self all their lives, and generally not finding it. They make the mistake of looking outside themselves all the time for it, but personal completion is found within. That's why it says "Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, which is within, and unto you will be added all things". When you have done that...freed your inner, then you can love others in a truly effective and harmless manner, without staking a claim of ownership on them.

Aside from that, of course, there are the obvious biological imperatives to reproduce the race, and there's a hormonal charge to drive that imperative. All well and good...vive la difference!

The male and female spiritual aspects I spoke of previously are not hormonal in nature, and they are found in a potential form in all individuals. From them arise all forms of behaviour and attitude archetypes.

It's clear that far more men are songwriters, producers, arrangers, and guitar players than women. This is partly cultural in nature, and it's partly a result of the typical male archetype...which wants to express outwardly into the world, in what may be termed an aggressive (or a creative or an adventurous) fashion. The female archetype wants to nurture inwardly, in an unseen fashion, receive and take inwardly from the world of outward manifestation. All well and good.

The fact is, most people are heavily influenced to not be aware of their inner, their other self. So, most men deny and suppress their female aspect, and most women deny and suppress their male aspect. They are taught to do that from an early age by parents and society. Accordingly, most females are denying their male inner aspect to the point that it gets in the way of them expressing outwardly as writer/poet/musician/producer/etc., while to the males it simply comes naturally to do that. What males have trouble doing is internalizing, empathizing, feeling, and nurturing.

But when the women do get free of their learned social conditioning and do start to express themselves....ay-ay-ay...ARE THEY EVER GOOD AT IT!!!

I admire them like I admire the stars in the sky.

Hey, sophocleese! How ya doin' anyway? Some women are better singers than their male counterparts, but I agree it's debatable...we'll have to chew it over sometime, if ya can spare the time from your busy lifestyle. Come on out to Finnegan's next week and see Rick Kane perform.