Rikki Gill on mon 2 feb 04
Do you remember the Billy Joel song, We didn't start the fire."?" It was
always burning, since the world's been turning. "
Clever song.
I'd like to add that because we are not aware of struggles that took place
long ago, such as early woman's rights movements, doesn't mean they didn't
happen. The witch hunts in the middle ages in Europe are a good example.
Role models are all well and good, providing the people involved want those
roles. It is when they are too confining for too many people that true
upheavals occur.
Rikki in Berkeley
rikigil@cwnet.com
www.rikkigillceramics.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Earl Krueger"
To:
Sent: Sunday, February 01, 2004 10:38 PM
Subject: Re: was the first potter a woman?
> The one fact that we almost certainly know to be true
> is that the first intentionally fired clay pot was made
> by a person. It is extremely unlikely that humankind
> will ever be able to prove which sex that person was.
>
> But, does it matter?
>
> Was there a competition, back then, between the sexes
> to see which could come up with the first durable pot?
> Did the winners get to lounge around the campfire
> while the losers had to traipse all over the countryside,
> risking their lives, in order to kill something to put in the
> pot? Or, did the winners get to travel about and meet
> adventure while the losers had to stay home and
> raise more of their kind so the tribe could survive?
>
> I grew up in an environment where the roles of men
> and women were very well defined. My mother
> cooked, washed, cleaned and hoed the garden
> while my dad plowed, planted and cultivated the fields.
> When needed they were not hesitant to take on jobs
> normally accomplished by the other. They both worked
> extremely hard. They both knew that their jobs were
> important. They shared equally in the wealth and
> suffered equally in the poverty. They were equals.
> This was the only way I knew.
>
> Then, in the late 1960's, along came the feminist
> movement and the bra burnings (which at the
> time I considered to be an admirable form of protest
> as I found the "movement" to be quite stimulating.)
> During this period, as a male of the species, I was
> automatically classified as an MCP (Male Chauvinistic
> Pig for those who weren't around in those days).
> I was stunned. How could total strangers who knew
> absolutely nothing about me or my attitudes form
> such a derogatory opinion of me based solely on my
> gender? The battle of the sexes began.
>
> Almost 40 years later the battle still rages on. I am
> weary of this war. Will it never end?
>
> So, I ask again.
> Does it really matter which sex made the first pot?
>
> Isn't the important point the fact that SOMEONE
> made the first ceramic pot which then provided a
> better life for the people?
>
> Earl...
> Bothell, WA, USA
> Celebrate the differences.
> Don't pit them against each other.
>
>
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