Our Androcentric Culture | Page 4

the sheep-dog (and dog-ess), the shepherd (and shepherd-ess),

of the ferocious sheep-eating bird of New Zealand, the Kea (and
Kea-ess), all these herd, guard, or kill the sheep, both rams and ewes
alike. In regard to mutton, to wool, to general character, we think only
of their sheepishness, not at all of their ramishness or eweishness. That
which is ovine or bovine, canine, feline or equine, is easily recognized
as distinguishing that particular species of animal, and has no relation
whatever to the sex thereof.
Returning to our muttons, let us consider the ram, and wherein his
character differs from the sheep. We find he has a more quarrelsome
disposition. He paws the earth and makes a noise. He has a tendency to
butt. So has a goat--Mr. Goat. So has Mr. Buffalo, and Mr. Moose, and
Mr. Antelope. This tendency to plunge head foremost at an
adversary--and to find any other gentleman an adversary on
sight--evidently does not pertain to sheep, to _genus ovis;_ but to any
male creature with horns.
As "function comes before organ," we may even give a reminiscent
glance down the long path of evolution, and see how the mere act of
butting--passionately and perpetually repeated--born of the beliggerent
spirit of the male--produced horns!
The ewe, on the other hand, exhibits love and care for her little ones,
gives them milk and tries to guard them. But so does a goat--Mrs. Goat.
So does Mrs. Buffalo and the rest. Evidently this mother instinct is no
peculiarity of _genus ovis,_ but of any female creature.
Even the bird, though not a mammal, shows the same mother-love and
mother-care, while the father bird, though not a butter, fights with beak
and wing and spur. His competition is more effective through display.
The wish to please, the need to please, the overmastering necessity
upon him that he secure the favor of the female, has made the male bird
blossom like a butterfly. He blazes in gorgeous plumage, rears haughty
crests and combs, shows drooping wattles and dangling blobs such as
the turkey-cock affords; long splendid feathers for pure ornament
appear upon him; what in her is a mere tail-effect becomes in him a
mass of glittering drapery.
Partridge-cock, farmyard-cock, peacock, from sparrow to ostrich,
observe his mien! To strut and languish; to exhibit every beauteous lure;
to sacrifice ease, comfort, speed, everything--to beauty--for her
sake--this is the nature of the he-bird of any species; the characteristic,

not of the turkey, but of the cock! With drumming of loud wings, with
crow and quack and bursts of glorious song, he woos his mate; displays
his splendors before her; fights fiercely with his rivals. To butt--to
strut--to make a noise--all for love's sake; these acts are common to the
male.
We may now generalize and clearly state: That is masculine which
belongs to the male--to any or all males, irrespective of species. That is
feminine which belongs to the female, to any or all females,
irrespective of species. That is ovine, bovine, feline, canine, equine or
asinine which belongs to that species, irrespective of sex.
In our own species all this is changed. We have been so taken up with
the phenomena of masculinity and femininity, that our common
humanity has largely escaped notice. We know we are human, naturally,
and are very proud of it; but we do not consider in what our humanness
consists; nor how men and women may fall short of it, or overstep its
bounds, in continual insistence upon their special differences. It is
"manly" to do this; it is "womanly" to do that; but what a human being
should do under the circumstances is not thought of.
The only time when we do recognize what we call "common humanity"
is in extreme cases, matters of life and death; when either man or
woman is expected to behave as if they were also human creatures.
Since the range of feeling and action proper to humanity, as such, is far
wider than that proper to either sex, it seems at first somewhat
remarkable that we have given it so little recognition.
A little classification will help us here. We have certain qualities in
common with inanimate matter, such as weight, opacity, resilience. It is
clear that these are not human. We have other qualities in common with
all forms of life; cellular construction, for instance, the reproduction of
cells and the need of nutrition. These again are not human. We have
others, many others, common to the higher mammals; which are not
exclusively ours--are not distinctively "human." What then are true
human characteristics? In what way is the human species distinguished
from all other species?
Our human-ness is seen most clearly in three main lines: it is
mechanical, psychical and social. Our power to make and use things