The Madonna & the Whore

In a previous comment (Oct. 26), ursa says this about how to ditch the patriarchy:

“The first thing we are going to have to heal is the Madonna/Whore rift, men’s version of divide and conquer. And we have to learn to put our loyalty to each other above our loyalty to our men, then our alliance will equal theirs….”

Good points to ponder. How debilitating is the Madonna/Whore split, the patriarchy’s view of women as either ice-goddess or evil dead-meat, with no one inbetween? How badly do we women drink in this damaged view of ourselves? How could we not drink it, when it’s built into almost every film ever made (up until a few years ago)?

I think ursa’s right when she says we must put our loyalty to each other first. I still, however, like to include feminist men in “our” group, and patriarchal women in the “other.”

What do you think?

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thnx to naraosga & stock.xchng for the foto, "Helena wannabe misfits"