www.jayarama.us/archives/trash-7000.txt (rev. 120417) Practice Writings of Monkey and Piggy ANJANA SUTA ACADEMY WORLD CLASSICAL CULTURES: India, the Sixth Sex Chapter Two – The Second Sex “This then brings us to the next question. What is the role of women in such a society? Yet, before that this seems to also tend toward a general solution to the problem of over population”, we asked and proffered. He smiled fiendishly and continued, “My dear Doctor, now you will find the plot becomes even thicker. First, we are suggested to incline to a Monastic society for men but on the other hand his suggestion is that all girls should be married. They should be promised, engaged, even before their minds start to go crazy with the onset of puberty, then live with their husbands and get their first child rather young, like 16-years of so.” It did not sound so unreasonable, “But what about the high sex ratio, women to men, as all the men are rushing into the Monasteries and closing their doors to women, except Saturday through Tuesday, nine-five? Even in Morocco or so many countries there are naturally several girls for each boy.” He looked at me slyly and sipped his drink, and I queried, “Polygamy?!” He laughed and almost spilled his glass. “Oh, my goodness”, I responded as I helped to blot up some of the water that had sloshed from his glass, “but again, we are certainly in no position to reject any solution as too radical. We seem to be facing racial extinction following our present social and ontological fallacies -- One man with several wives.” We both looked off into space for a few moments savoring the prospect and thinking of so many jokes that people have about the problem with even a man having one wife. “Hmm”, I commented, “this certainly gets back to the problem of understanding what marriage is in general!” “Here, here”, replied the Advocate, “traditionally in so many cultures men could make vows of friendship that were as binding and, socially and legally integrated with society, inheritance rights and so forth as the marriage vows. What is marriage, what is friendship? “His perspective is that marriage is an austerity entered into by a man and women within the scientific structure of theology, family and society for the mutual progress of husband and wife to compete spiritual perfection.” “Woof”, I commented, “enormous, even more questions come up than before!” “Yes, but examples too: I guess we can both agree that monogamy has never been a complete success in the Western world. Formally the Catholic tradition is monogamy yet the Nobility regularly had respected bastard sons who, with the Bar Sinister, were allowed to their father’s Coat-of-Arms, and to take up the rights and responsibilities of the noble order. Beyond this, the Prophet Mohammed, may his name be blessed, dealt with the difficult situation of desert tribes by establishing polygamy. I can agree, it could only be institutionalized with a very large number of Block-buster movies on the subject being viewed by a large audience for some time. “I know Mormons who live that way under guise of friendship”, I commented. “The ladies seem happy.” “It’s their culture”, he replied. The stewardess refreshed our Schweps tonic waters. “Usually several sisters marry the same fellow. They have a real girl’s round-a-bout on who their older sister is going to marry because they know that they are going to all be stuck with the same fellow, and the idea is not so un-natural. They grow up together, they have their dreams and aspirations together, they have their children together”, pleaded the Advocate. “Hmmmf”, I laughed, “Just might work, there is more to life than sack-time”. “I think there is”, he replied, “The ethos of any loving relation, hetero-sexual or homo-sexual, has always been both Eros and Agape. Eros is lust. O.K., satisfy it, pacify it, have a nice meal. Yet, isn’t there more to life than just eating like a beast or loving another human.” He wiped his eyes. “Eros was lust and Agape was what our good Hindu friend styles as Prema. It is a higher aspiration that the couple has for living together. If we consider that the ultimate form of divinity is conjugal such as Mary and Jehovah or Plato’s Jova and Joventa then we should be able to learn a little bit about it living as friends and husbands in this world. “He made a funny comment: If a man debauches five different women in the course of his life it is O.K., but if he agrees to love and protect even two of them he is arrested and goes to jail”. We had a sound laugh at that incongruity. “O.K.”, I raised my glass, “Here’s to the new millennium -- celibate queers, polygamous Dukes, and jolly monasteries!” CHAPTER THREE The Third Sex “But what about polyandry”, said the young women to my right, raising her glass to the general salute! “Huh”, responded the Advocate and the Doctor (Quick access to our higher male intellects -- poly, “many”, andro, “men”, one girl with several husbands). Hmmmmf, what can you say to that? Hmmmf, good God, if you are to allow polygamy then what can you say to polyandry?! Hmmmf! All eyes to the left. The Hare Krsna was zipping through the inflight magazine like a sea-gull looking for water in the desert. He sensed that three pairs of eyes were looking at him with curiosity and humorous sarcasm. Allan said, “O.K. we’ve swallowed polygamy, but then the young lady on your extreme right has asked the $64,000 question, ‘What about polyandry’”