Vincent Truman's Blog - Posts Tagged "suffrage"
Putting The High Heel on the Other Foot: Writing "Venus Envy"
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“Never trust an animal that doesn’t know how to bleed.”
This was the first line I wrote for “Venus Envy.” That must have been 2009 or 2010 and was an off-hand comment I had made while playing a character in a game/virtual world called Second Life. In that game, I had taken on the persona of an English woman by the name of Madelyn Writer. She was far more witty than I am.
Started as a lark (my wife at the time enjoyed herself being herself in Second Life, while I preferred to play a character), I was soon fascinated by being a woman. Not because of the attention that would be lavished on me by male avatars (although that did net me some brilliant jewelry and designer dresses), but because of the friendships I struck up with (what I believed to be) other women. An early experience had a profound impact on me: while at a virtual coffee shop with three other virtual women, we were discussing our various outfits. The woman to my left remarked to the woman on my right: “Nice dress!” Moments later, the woman on my left instant-messaged me: “I bet it was a freebie. Yuck!”
The idea occurred to me then: what if women had been dominant since before the advent of the three monotheisms that we now have in our midst? What if hunter/gatherers were kept on a lower rung of society, with keepers of the home retaining their higher status?
From there, I embarked on a half-dozen rivers of research, from the sociological to the metaphysical to the sexual. I researched how make-up became so readily acceptable, how rights of one sex could be limited by other, how religion informed the strengths and weaknesses based on gender, how both halves of the species equated strength with power but how each viewed both strength and power differently.
Fused with this research, which went on for over two years, was an odd memory I had of a television show developed by Norman Lear entitled “All That Glitters”, which envisioned a woman-dominated society. The actual show itself I cannot remember, as I was too young and it was on too late, so the idea presented itself to me to create my own vision of such a world.
The first thing I dismissed was the notion that a female-led world would be just like the male-led world we find ourselves in. While certain attributes would easily be grafted (for example, the suppression of those not in charge, a trait that can be found in every “strong” culture, from England to Portugal to Israel), several others couldn’t. For instance, the desperate competitiveness of men didn’t quite fit in “Venus Envy.” In my version of a female-led society, there are only fifty kinds of cheese. There’s really no need for more than that. And there’s only been one global war in all of history, the downside being that half of the planet remains uninhabitable. For this latter example, my character Madelyn explains it thusly: “Just goes to my point. Women don’t fuck about. Especially in war. Can you imagine if men ruled the world? We’d probably have a war every few years because someone hurt someone else’s feelings.” My experience as a man, and a feminist, suggests that this could quite likely be the case if men hadn’t asserted themselves so ruthlessly thousands of years ago.
I found a great deal of information about theology, which I had to insert into the script. Combining pagan rituals and Christianity for this world, I created a female god who, quite logically, created a creature who herself could create life – woman. Truly, “in her own image.” Men were created by the removal of a vertebrae from the woman, thus explaining for all generations to come why men were always slightly taller. The story, much like the story of any of the three monotheisms we have today, was edited and massaged to explain the world the best it could at the time.
Finally, I wanted to write “Venus Envy” because of what I view to be the dire state of feminism in this day and age. I find most women I know, almost all of which are younger than me admittedly, are not aware of when women were granted the right to vote. While I find the homosexual, Latino and black cultures to be keenly aware of their history, I find myself appalled that women have a limited awareness of their own roots. It is no wonder that, of the four groups mentioned above, that women’s rights are the ones, in 2012, are the victim of mass legislative erosion.
I find it abhorrent that, in the Chicago theater scene, women seem to link being “empowered” with performing lazy burlesque. Firstly, the idea of “being empowered” misses the mark by miles. Women have power; they needn’t be “empowered.” Further, of the shows I am familiar with, there is usually a man making the most money. This I find to be nothing short of outrageous, but many female artists I know will defend the practice until they’re red in the face. This, to me, is neither an empowered nor powerful stance to take.
“Venus Envy”, although the most fantastical, is my most personal statement I’ve publicly made about my view of the world as it is. There is a long road for all of us to go, and, viewing the planet and its people as journalistically as I can, this is my attempt to nudge it the right way. Not from arrogance or superiority, but from kindness.
* * *
Venus Envy Script
Venus Envy Facebook Page
Venus Envy Tickets for September 2012 Performances
“Never trust an animal that doesn’t know how to bleed.”
This was the first line I wrote for “Venus Envy.” That must have been 2009 or 2010 and was an off-hand comment I had made while playing a character in a game/virtual world called Second Life. In that game, I had taken on the persona of an English woman by the name of Madelyn Writer. She was far more witty than I am.
Started as a lark (my wife at the time enjoyed herself being herself in Second Life, while I preferred to play a character), I was soon fascinated by being a woman. Not because of the attention that would be lavished on me by male avatars (although that did net me some brilliant jewelry and designer dresses), but because of the friendships I struck up with (what I believed to be) other women. An early experience had a profound impact on me: while at a virtual coffee shop with three other virtual women, we were discussing our various outfits. The woman to my left remarked to the woman on my right: “Nice dress!” Moments later, the woman on my left instant-messaged me: “I bet it was a freebie. Yuck!”
The idea occurred to me then: what if women had been dominant since before the advent of the three monotheisms that we now have in our midst? What if hunter/gatherers were kept on a lower rung of society, with keepers of the home retaining their higher status?
From there, I embarked on a half-dozen rivers of research, from the sociological to the metaphysical to the sexual. I researched how make-up became so readily acceptable, how rights of one sex could be limited by other, how religion informed the strengths and weaknesses based on gender, how both halves of the species equated strength with power but how each viewed both strength and power differently.
Fused with this research, which went on for over two years, was an odd memory I had of a television show developed by Norman Lear entitled “All That Glitters”, which envisioned a woman-dominated society. The actual show itself I cannot remember, as I was too young and it was on too late, so the idea presented itself to me to create my own vision of such a world.
The first thing I dismissed was the notion that a female-led world would be just like the male-led world we find ourselves in. While certain attributes would easily be grafted (for example, the suppression of those not in charge, a trait that can be found in every “strong” culture, from England to Portugal to Israel), several others couldn’t. For instance, the desperate competitiveness of men didn’t quite fit in “Venus Envy.” In my version of a female-led society, there are only fifty kinds of cheese. There’s really no need for more than that. And there’s only been one global war in all of history, the downside being that half of the planet remains uninhabitable. For this latter example, my character Madelyn explains it thusly: “Just goes to my point. Women don’t fuck about. Especially in war. Can you imagine if men ruled the world? We’d probably have a war every few years because someone hurt someone else’s feelings.” My experience as a man, and a feminist, suggests that this could quite likely be the case if men hadn’t asserted themselves so ruthlessly thousands of years ago.
I found a great deal of information about theology, which I had to insert into the script. Combining pagan rituals and Christianity for this world, I created a female god who, quite logically, created a creature who herself could create life – woman. Truly, “in her own image.” Men were created by the removal of a vertebrae from the woman, thus explaining for all generations to come why men were always slightly taller. The story, much like the story of any of the three monotheisms we have today, was edited and massaged to explain the world the best it could at the time.
Finally, I wanted to write “Venus Envy” because of what I view to be the dire state of feminism in this day and age. I find most women I know, almost all of which are younger than me admittedly, are not aware of when women were granted the right to vote. While I find the homosexual, Latino and black cultures to be keenly aware of their history, I find myself appalled that women have a limited awareness of their own roots. It is no wonder that, of the four groups mentioned above, that women’s rights are the ones, in 2012, are the victim of mass legislative erosion.
I find it abhorrent that, in the Chicago theater scene, women seem to link being “empowered” with performing lazy burlesque. Firstly, the idea of “being empowered” misses the mark by miles. Women have power; they needn’t be “empowered.” Further, of the shows I am familiar with, there is usually a man making the most money. This I find to be nothing short of outrageous, but many female artists I know will defend the practice until they’re red in the face. This, to me, is neither an empowered nor powerful stance to take.
“Venus Envy”, although the most fantastical, is my most personal statement I’ve publicly made about my view of the world as it is. There is a long road for all of us to go, and, viewing the planet and its people as journalistically as I can, this is my attempt to nudge it the right way. Not from arrogance or superiority, but from kindness.
* * *
Venus Envy Script
Venus Envy Facebook Page
Venus Envy Tickets for September 2012 Performances
