March (as well as being my natal month) is Women�s History Month . Like Black History Month which precedes it, I find the concept of a certain month set aside to celebrate specific portions of the human population vaguely depressing. I suppose this is because I am unrealistic, an idealist in regards to the human condition. I would like to see all of humanity � regardless of gender, race, religion, etc. etc. � recognized all the time. As I say - I am unrealistic. I ought to be glad that the Androcratic system we have lived in for the past few millenia even allows such pockets of celebration and recognition. In fact, perhaps it is a sign that things are changing for the better. Anything that raises awareness, after all, is a good thing.

Speaking of good things, I would direct your awareness to Blog Sisters and advise you to decide for yourself if this new blog - "where men can link, but they can't touch" - is one or not. I must admit that my initial reaction is one of dismay.Besides an obvious question such as how, through the nebulous channels of cyberspace, does one verify the gender of anybody you are linking to or allowing to post in one's blog, I find myself asking if we really need more division of people in this world? Perhaps I am over reacting or misinterpreting their intentions, perhaps I need to give this new blog more time to see exactly what it can and will do, but it seems to me that by excluding contributions from one half ( more or less ) of the human population, they are engaging in the same oppressive practice that the Androcracy has used to keep all of us in our separate places.

I can certainly understand why women, blogging or otherwise, would want to form their own club. As John Lennon and Yoko Ono so plainly pointed out, "Woman is the Nigger of the World" . My sisters out there in cyberspace (where men also seem to dominate ) are probably just seeking a place to call their own. While this may in the short run seem to be empowering women, I fear that in the long run this type of exclusion - whether practised by men or women - is harmful to humanity as a whole.

Inclusion is what we need - across the board sharing, mutual support. Riane Eisler provides models for just such a system - referred to as Gylany , in her books The Chalice and the Blade and The Partnership Way (co-authored with David Loye) .

I post the above observations well aware that I run the risk of alienating and/or angering some of the people I have had the pleasure of communicating with since I joined the blog community. It is not my intention to do so. My intention is simply to point out the fallacy of thinking at the same level as the enemy - assuming, of course, that you feminists out there percieve the Patriarchy/Androcracy as a nemesis. I certainly do.