Reading Notes: Seven Secrets of the Goddess, Part B

        The concept that societies went from women and men being equals to men being superior is a really interesting one. It made me think about how I could write about a group of people who begin the story as equals. Women and men are able to do the same things and neither is viewed greater than the other. Then, some kind of catalyst causes the men to decide that women are not their equals. Women would be treated more as property as the video mentions happening in real life. This would condense thousands of years of gender evolution into a short time frame. The catalyst might be something/someone from outside society or a single individual from the group.

        Another thing that struck me was the idea that the more isolated a woman is, the more valuable she is. I can't imagine having to spend most of my life alone. It would be fun to write about this sort of life from the perspective of the woman. Her whole life she'd be told that her seclusion was for her own good and that this made her more valuable and what she thought about the situation didn't really matter. Can you imagine your father stowing you away in a room of your home, never able to leave, so that he might make the most money from you when selling you off to a husband?

        The common story/view of women being the damsel in distress and men being a knight in shining armor was also mentioned. What if these roles were reversed? I might write a story where the stereotypical gender roles are reversed. The man would be locked away in his tower, hopeless, while the woman was responsible for the saving.

        A humorous spin on the previously mentioned idea, would be for a damsel to save herself. She would be doing fine escaping her situation, and a man would arrive. He would be proud and claim he was there to save her. She would reject his help. Why would she trust a strange man if she was capable of saving herself?

Image Information: Damsel in Distress, Source: Wikimedia Commons

Bibliography: 7 Secrets of the Goddess by Devdutt Pattanaik