Yin and Yang: a guest blog by Charlie Crummer
Perhaps the most dangerous power a woman has is the power to make any man look like a fool. And at a very deep level, every man knows that. For some men, fear of arousing that power is primordial, a threat that they can only answer with dominant force. For others it is an invitation to the dance. The Tango is a good place to start. Any dance worthy of the name is to glorify the beauty of the woman. In classical ballet the man is used for his physical strength. He is only there to facilitate the presentation of glorious feminine beauty.
With vain attempts to make up for the fact that he is merely a brief moment in the process of procreation, the man struts, he preens and erects great spires and obelisks. He climbs mountains and descends to the deepest part of the sea. In George Melies 1902 film, "A Trip to the Moon," he violates that symbol of glorious femininity, the moon. In that famous still of the rocket sticking out of the moon's eye you can almost hear her: WTF? Loosely translated: "What? The Fuck?"
To avoid arousing the poor man, who might lose control and spoil the beauty of a woman, she must chastely cover herself. Otherwise the man will have to be excused for his inappropriate actions. After all, how can he be expected to curb them? The soft, curvaceous beauty of a woman overpowers any attempts by the man to act in a respectful manner. Poor man!
In Isaac Asimov's book, "The Sensuous Dirty Old Man," a woman in a brief bikini enters a hardware store. In the presence of this blinding glory all the men pretend not to notice. "Nothing to see here; I'm cool." All, that is, except those who steal glances when they think she doesn't see them. And I'm talking about burly, hairy guys too, the manly men.
Asimov's advice? "Don't insult this woman by ignoring her. She just wants men to appreciate her body." Polly Platt, in her book, "French or Foe," has a suggestion that works well in France, at least. She calls it, "The Look." When a man encounters a beautiful woman, or a woman a handsome man for that matter, he can openly look at her and enjoy her loveliness and then, frankly meeting her gaze, can smile and give a nod of acknowledgement. The ball is in her court and that could end the encounter. In any case, she knows that her careful attention to her appearance has been appreciated by a man. Maybe if everyone did this the race would die out in a generation...but that would be unlikely. Respect is the key.
Many mighty men are falling these days (December 2017) because of lack of respect and their penchant for domination. Physical force or the power of their positions seem to have dazzled these men like Narcissus. They look into the pool and convince themselves that all live in the powerful glare of their magnificience. And then they encounter someone who has what they will eternally lack. She is a woman. She is where life begins. She is yin, with just a little yang, just a little, just enough.
She envelopes the primal thrusts of the blade and transforms them into new life while he who wields the blade can only step back, get out of the way and watch as the miracle unfolds. Those two, in concert, struck the flint. Those two. But the fire is kept by her.
Meanwhile, not to be upstaged, the Great Warrior sallies forth with his intrepid blade, continuing on his Quest to prove his relevance.
"Put that thing away, Howard, you might hurt yourself," she says, "and bring our hungry baby over here to me."
"And then what should I do?"
"Do those dishes while I nurse him."
Charlie Crummer lives in Paris. He's a retired physicist and sometime writer. Mr. Crummer was born in Ohio, raised in Southern California, and has a B.A. from Pomona College and a PhD from UC Riverside.