I put a vote in for covering the stepmother / aunt / foster mother of the historical Buddha who basically bullied him into ordaining her as a nun and including women in monasteries.
There’s a tendency to try to cover up Buddhism’s misogyny, especially these days with Buddhist-modernism running rampant in the West. What most people hear is that the Buddha was unusually accepting of women (and maybe he was for his time), but they gloss over all his misogyny, or the fact that he was essentially forced into accepting women by a woman rather than being so open-minded that he included women from the start.
Yeah, there’s a lot of misogyny buried in Buddhism. It’s very much a product of its times and modern westerners who venerate Buddhism as any kind of model piss me off as a result. It’s pretty clear these faux-Buddhists have never read anything past maybe the Heart Sutra.
100% always welcome!! They’re really interesting and the comments and upvotes shows other people think so too. I personally really like that you’re shining a light on the ones not many people have heard of.
The “ones not many people have heard of” thing is very deliberate. Everybody knows Cleopatra (even if only by that horrifically ahistorical film). Many have heard of Nefertiti (even if only because of that famous bust that shows her gorgeous face).
Yet probably the most influential woman in Egyptian history, Hapshetsup, is a name most people haven’t even heard, not to mention know anything of. She’s way more interesting (to me at any rate) than Cleopatra or Nefertiti (though both may show up in later entries because both of them have some intriguing bits to their stories) and more of an inspiration as well. Nefertiti, though influential, got all of her influence from her husband. Cleopatra is more defined by the men in her life than by her own agency. But Hapshetsup? She ruled. Both literally and figuratively.
Absolutely! You’re giving these women the recognition they deserve, and may well have got if they were male. You make a really good point about the women being defined by their men… Cleopatra is famous for being a femme fatale and relationships with famous men. Most people couldn’t tell you many stories outside of that!
I’ve selected my next one. We’re going to the Americas for this one. You’ll have no idea who she is until I’m finished with the story. Then you’ll wonder WHY you had no idea because she’s AWESOME!
You knew there was another “Kick-Ass Women” thread coming, right?
Just some general questions:
I put a vote in for covering the stepmother / aunt / foster mother of the historical Buddha who basically bullied him into ordaining her as a nun and including women in monasteries.
There’s a bit on this here: https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/questions/9905/why-the-buddha-didnt-originally-allow-ordination-of-women
There’s a tendency to try to cover up Buddhism’s misogyny, especially these days with Buddhist-modernism running rampant in the West. What most people hear is that the Buddha was unusually accepting of women (and maybe he was for his time), but they gloss over all his misogyny, or the fact that he was essentially forced into accepting women by a woman rather than being so open-minded that he included women from the start.
Yeah, there’s a lot of misogyny buried in Buddhism. It’s very much a product of its times and modern westerners who venerate Buddhism as any kind of model piss me off as a result. It’s pretty clear these faux-Buddhists have never read anything past maybe the Heart Sutra.
A lot of Western white women who are into yoga and alternative medicine are also “into Buddhism” and could use a history lesson, lol
100% always welcome!! They’re really interesting and the comments and upvotes shows other people think so too. I personally really like that you’re shining a light on the ones not many people have heard of.
The “ones not many people have heard of” thing is very deliberate. Everybody knows Cleopatra (even if only by that horrifically ahistorical film). Many have heard of Nefertiti (even if only because of that famous bust that shows her gorgeous face).
Yet probably the most influential woman in Egyptian history, Hapshetsup, is a name most people haven’t even heard, not to mention know anything of. She’s way more interesting (to me at any rate) than Cleopatra or Nefertiti (though both may show up in later entries because both of them have some intriguing bits to their stories) and more of an inspiration as well. Nefertiti, though influential, got all of her influence from her husband. Cleopatra is more defined by the men in her life than by her own agency. But Hapshetsup? She ruled. Both literally and figuratively.
might be fun when covering well-known women of history to focus on myth-busting and showing the lesser-known side
I will eventually get around to Cleopatra and hoo boy howdy are there myths to bust there. Like:
And so on. She’s a good example of a strong woman (just not as strong as Hapshetsup was) whose history was rewritten.
Absolutely! You’re giving these women the recognition they deserve, and may well have got if they were male. You make a really good point about the women being defined by their men… Cleopatra is famous for being a femme fatale and relationships with famous men. Most people couldn’t tell you many stories outside of that!
I’ve selected my next one. We’re going to the Americas for this one. You’ll have no idea who she is until I’m finished with the story. Then you’ll wonder WHY you had no idea because she’s AWESOME!
Sounds perfect!! Can’t wait to read it