Amazons Unite!

Last night, as I watched my fabulous Friday night fizzle into non-existence, I flipped on the television. Oh the excitement of being over 30, and married with children. *yawn*

*snore*

What?

There was a program on the real Amazon Warrior Women (no, I'm not talk about Zena, The Warrior Princess. Though you have to admit, there was a brief moment where we all pictured ourselves in that leather outfit, and then giggled inanely over it.) This was on the real Amazons;

"A tribe of bloodthirsty blond women thundering across arid battlefields to the horror of their male foes, has lingered for centuries. Their exploits seized the imagination of the Greek scribes Homer, Hippocrates, and Herodotus."

The focus of the program was on trying to prove that Amazons actually existed. What surprised me was the vehemence of the men who denied that they did. I mean, it wasn't a simple matter of disagreement over the fact, they were downright livid over it.

So, that set me to thinking (I know, I know. It happens every now and then. Watch out!) It truly does amaze me that some men are that upset about whether a culture of strong women who excluded men existed or not. When I did some poking around on the internet, the opposition was really quite vicious.

Now, granted, the various descriptions out there of Amazons and their descendants don't bode well for those bearing a Y chromosome;

"From 7,000 years ago women started to organize small empires in the northern villages of Iran. These women always chose their husbands from out of their villages and after one year living with them, they usually beheaded those poor men and used their bloods to fertilize their farms."

"In Greek Mythology, a race of warlike women who excluded men from their society. The Amazons occasionally had sexual relations with men of neighboring states, and all male children born to them were sent to their fathers or killed. The girls were trained as archers for war, and the custom of burning off the right breast was practiced to facilitate bending the bow, hence the name Amazon, derived from the Greek word for breastless. In art, however, they are depicted as beautiful with no apparent mutilation. Ancient art, such as that on temple friezes, vases, and sarcophagi, usually presents them in battle scenes. According to legend, they were almost constantly at war with Greece and fought other nations as well. According to one version, they were allied with the Trojans, and during the siege of Troy their queen was slain by the Greek warrior Achilles. Some scholars who attribute a historical foundation to the legends identify the country of the Amazons with Scythia or Asia Minor on the shores of the Black Sea."


I have to admit, I didn't realize the word Amazon was derived from the whole "no breast" thing. Does that mean my bra is a mazon-holder? *ahem* Nevermind...

Anyway, it seems the opposition was more into protesting that the women had little use for men, and just as much drive and ambition for power, than it was over whether they actually existed. I mean, how dare they not think men were the answer to all their problems back then, and act like the cattle they were! The nerve!

I'm sorry, were my feminism undies showing? Pardon me.

This brought me around to thinking about how a lot of men perceive strong women today. Not just in a power position, but physically. How many women have been told that muscle is disgusting? That to be thin and fragile is your goal?

I am not a muscle-goddess by any stretch of the word, but even I get little nasty comments whenever I post a picture of myself flexing. Or when I post what my current weightlifting stats are (i.e. I can bench over 200 pounds- 1RM, etc.) These comments tend to run the gambit of how disgusting that is/I am. How ugly I look. How women aren't supposed to look and/or be strong, and what a bitch I am.

Bitch

Yep, that is me. That, I will freely admit. Because in this day and age anyone who has a strong enough opinion that they stand up for, and who will defend themselves, is considered a "bitch". I'm not talking about those people who bulldoze over everyone in the quest of getting their own way. I'm just talking about the women who are strong in themselves. I wish they would have kept the term bitch exclusively to the women who really don't care about other people, because we need one for them. But instead, every strong willed woman has been inducted into the Bitch-club.

Strong? Yeah, I'm that too. I'm strong because I can be. Because it serves me in my life. My children are five and eight years old, and I can still lift them into my arms and carry them if I want. Both, at the same time, even. In my daughter's class I have not seen a single other mother pick up her child, but I have seen them tell their child that they're too heavy to pick up and to stop asking. I'm also strong of mind and opinion, just incase you had missed that up until now.

How disgusting that makes me. How horrible.

And I have muscles. That show. Yes I do, there isn't any use in denying it. I wouldn't want to. I worked hard dammit. I don't compete, and NO, I don't want to look like a man (so the person who sent that comment can go choke on it.) Men don't have the exclusive right to muscularity, and neither do fitness models.

I realize that the general school of thought is that women should be as tiny as possible. Frail. Fragile. Made out of spun glass. Subdued. Genteel. Heck, judging from the tabloids, if they look as if they are hovering on the brink of death due to starvation - kudos, baby!

I was never a small girl. I was never frail. I'm 5'10, and I have towered over the majority of people for most of my life. I remember a boy in my sixth grade class who was smidgenon shorter than I was, and often they patted him on the head saying "what a tall man he's going to grow up to be. How wonderful!" In my case, I inevitably got something to the tune of "Wow, you are a tall girl. What a shame. But you know, if you can keep your weight to about 100 lbs, there are some girls with your unfortunate height who used it to their advantage."

Even to this day, I use the term Amazon in regards to myself in chagrin. Because I am tall. Because I am strong. And because neither one of those things seems acceptable.

Maybe it's time for a new kind of Amazon. A redefinition of the term, into today's society. I'm not a bitch. I'm not disgusting.

I am strong, of mind and body.

I'm an Amazon.

Hmm... it has a rather nice ring to it.

Yes, I just made my own button. If you want to use it for this purpose, go ahead. (Your height doesn't matter, it's not about that.) If you do use it, link it back to this post (so people get the point.) I've decided I really like the term Amazon. Of course, if enough women use it, we might scare the men into thinking we're plotting world domination... wouldn't want to let them in on that little secret...