Hysterectomy Myths

[athenegenia]

Something that came up in my preliminary Putting On My Big Girl Pants And Thinking About How The Hysterectomy Will Affect My Self-Image is the lack of stories or myths or figures I can draw on or look up to.

I do not feel any draw to the role or stories of the Crone, stories about women who cannot have children tend to be defined by their bareness,

Comments

[athenegenia]

Thank you very much for your reply *hugs*

Erk, I'm sorry to hear about the PMS still hanging around :(

I am looking forward to having it done, and to the life that I can live being (hopefully) free of pain. My ability to bear children isn't something that affects me or how I see myself as a woman now, but I am aware that having a hysterectomy is going to make an impact.

[sarahlascelles]

I'm about to do a new trawl of mythology to find suitable material for a new lorekeeper/skald type character so I will keep an eye open.

Also, "general supportive comments I can't work out how to phrase" from me, someone who has made a positive choice not have children, and therefore does understand to a very limited extent where you are coming from about the way women are traditionally defined. Isn't odd how women who have children never have to justify themselves but women who don't do have to?

[athenegenia]

Thanks!

Isn't odd how women who have children never have to justify themselves but women who don't do have to?
Oh my gods, yes, this! It drives me up the wall that we have to constantly justify our choice but even then people often don't "believe" us!

[anotherusedpage]

I have a half memory of a Jewish cultural story about a woman who was barren and who because she couldn't have children decided to read that Talmud and become wise. In some versions, God grants her the miracle of a white beard, so that the men will take her seriously. I usually brain this story as either a trans story or a woman-in-a-man's-world story, but I think it's also central that she can't have kids and so chooses wisdom.

To find the kind of rolemodels and mythic figures you're looking for hidden elsewhere in the cultural baggage, I would suggest taking a look around stories of gender varient women-who-dress-as / take-on-the-roles-of men in history. I think it's actually quite feministly empowering to read these women as women-who-want-to-be-childfree (or even women-who-have-no-choice-but-to-be-childfree) rather than women-who-want-to-be-men.

I will see what I can do with 'The Woman Who Ripped Out The Moon'. :)

[athenegenia]

That's a lovely story :)

I hadn't thought of reading stories like that. I will have a look though my mythologies with that in mind.
My favourite Shakespearian character has always been Viola from '12th Night', who dressed as a man and was all the sons and daughters of her father's house...

Thank you :)

[itew]

there's a couple of Christabel (Zeitgeist character, queer spinster authoress/poetess who is a massive catholic and was lovely) written fairytales I can tweak (The Girl Who Sailed To The Moon in A Boat and a "fuck you, Tir Na Nog" story about a woman who walked into a fairy fort, came back after 7 years/decades/centuries and decided to go back to Faerie and stayed there, because it was better that way

[athenegenia]

Those sound great, thank you :)