It is the most insidious patriarchal division ever invented. A woman must identify by way of speaking, thinking, dressing and acting whether she is a Madonna or a Whore. Whatever the group according to the patriarchy, the two cannot blur or have traits of the other. It is literal black or white. In order to proceed, historical definitions need to be laid out.

Word History: Derivatives of Indo-European roots have often acquired starkly contrasting meanings. A prime example is the case of the root *k-, “to like, desire.” From it was derived a stem *kro-, from which came the prehistoric Common Germanic word *hraz with the underlying meaning “one who desires” and the effective meaning “adulterer.” The feminine of this, *hrn-, became hre in Old English, the ancestor of Modern English whore. In another branch of the Indo-European family, the same stem *kro- produced the Latin word crus, “dear.” This word has several derivatives borrowed into English, including caress, cherish, and charity, in Christian doctrine the highest form of love and the greatest of the theological virtues. ·Another derivative of the root *k- in Indo-European was *kmo-, a descendant of which is the Sanskrit word for “love,” kma, appearing in the name of the most famous treatise on love and lovemaking, the Kamasutra.

Also:

ORIGINS OF THE WORD "WHORE"

The word whore is an English corruption of the Old Semitic word hor, meaning "hole," "cave," or "pit." Hor, in turn, is a derivation of the pre-Judaic Indo-European word, hora, meaning "hour." In fact, our modern English word "hour" derives from hora. In ancient Greece, for instance, prostitutes were called horae; in Persia, houri; in Babylon, harines; and in Israel, hors. What is the connection between "hour" and "whore"?

ANCIENT WHORES OF MYTH & LEGEND

Ancient cultures and civilizations practiced commercial and sacred prostitution, both necessary to the functioning and stability of patriarchal marriage (i.e., heterosexual monogamy) and of society itself. In ancient Egypt, whores were known as the "Ladies of the Hour," and in present day India, where prostitute-priestesses still dispense the grace of Goddess in Hindu temples, they are called "Devadasis." Early myths are rife with examples of the vital roles that whores once played in all human cultures. In Hindu mythology, sacred whores appear as the famed "Apsaras"; in Persian myth they are the celebrated "Peris"; and in Greek mythology they are known as the "Charites," or "Horae." In Roman myth they are referred to as the "Charis," or Three "Graces," a personification of the Great Triple Goddess (called Mari-Anna-Ishtar), whose sacred sign was the three-pointed star, a symbol of Goddess's magic (inverted) pubic triangle, out of which her procreative powers flow.

FUNCTIONS OF THE ANCIENT PROSTITUTE

The chief roles of the ancient (female) whore were to school men in the sexual mysteries (called by mystics, "The Whore Wisdom"), act as a transmitter of the all-powerful female energy, and keep track of the passage of the seasons, and of time itself. In their role as temple-priestesses, the Horae or Holy Whores would perform a magic ceremony, then anoint a man's penis with sacred oil (called in Greek, chrism), and mount him to orgasm. This allowed for the transfer of procreative power from female to male, since, according to Goddess tradition, men lack the ability to generate the life force. As the "caretakers of time," the whore's role was primarily to aid in the construction of astrological charts, which were called "Whore-Scopes," or rather, "horoscopes" (which literally means, "watcher of time"), named after the temple priestesses-the Horae-who guarded the "heavenly spheres of time" kept inside Goddess's Temples. So honored were the Horae, that in ancient Graeco-Roman times, a festival, called the Horaea, was held every year in their name. Each temple had 12 Holy Harlots (all called "Hora"), headed by a 13th member: the Great Mother-Goddess. The number 13 was considered holy in accordance with Goddess's Lunar Calendar which has thirteen 28-day months in its year. (The Moon was held to be a personification of Goddess since its monthly 28-day phases correspond with a woman's monthly 28-day menstrual cycle.) In this way, the number 13 became one of Goddess's sacred lucky numbers.

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So you see the intense campaign that had to be undertaken to pervert all of that history into a debased meaning. It is vitally important to those men and women of the patriarchy that such history is not learned or at least not taken seriously. Think of the transformation! The above was an excerpt of Dr. Gabriel Loch-Lainn Seabrook's essay 'The Authentic Herstory of Prostitution'.

Veronica Monet talks about how the Madonna/Whore dichotomy affects prostitution laws. This rift that divides the female sex into two halves has stunning consequences for any that drift. Women who look like the stereotypical whore is subject to harrassment and/or arrest by law enforcement authorities. If she is in the wrong part of town and the wrong part of the night then a woman, whore or not, may be arrested for soliciting.

As far as the effect on female sexuality, Madonna/Whore turn women against their sisters. Literally, since all women are descendent from the same female millions of years ago. Madonna/Whore is the epitome of sexual double standard. After all, there is no male equivalent. While sexual women are most notably assumed to be seen as sexual objects (read: objectified), so are chaste women.

Madonna or chaste women in my opinion are seen more as sexual objects than we sluts. You see, many Madonnas are wanted by certain men (quite often domineering, inferior types) because of their lack of sexual experience. They turn into an object seemingly made for only one owner: her husband. Madonnas who want to have sex but are deeply brainwashed by the Judeo-Christian-Islamic belief systems will rush into marriage just to satisfy a natural urge that could've been experienced with a boyfriend or casual acquaintence.

What is more natural is a blending of the two. Women should be able to have as much or as little sex as they want without community or social censure, without being labelled a 'dicktease' or a 'slut' (negative connotation). This holds not only some of the branches of the feminist movement back but also our entire society.

I never refer to a person's essence as 'inner beauty'. In my opinion, it's shortsighted and shallow. Essence or personality is fluid and while everyone has a baseline to their personality that probably won't change much, there are other aspects that are constantly changing. That is if the person allows themselves to grow as human beings. Through the course of one's life a variety of experiences occur that can change a person's outlook on life. It's human.

Beauty is definable. Beauty is about the right balance and combination and this covers art and humans. We humans don't like to see plain or ugly art. We truly love to see, hear, taste, feel, smell beauty. To deny this is to ignore certain facts of life. There are some things that are appreciated no matter what personal preferences are.

I see beauty in two aspects: classic or true beauty and conventional beauty. First, I'll talk about classic beauty.


Classic Beauty

Classic beauty is beauty that doesn't change drastically with age. Wrinkles, sagging, all the signs of aging can occur on a classic beauty but does not change the facial landscape. Classic beauty has nothing to do with hair, skin or eye color, narrow nose or wide nose, long hair or short hair, fat, skinny or in-between, curly or straight. The features of a classic beauty are well proportioned. They are easy on the eyes. Unfortunately, not all classic beauties are given attention because they are not conventional beauties.

Conventional Beauty

Conventional beauty is created by society and is always changing. The constant conventional beauty, however, is blonde, blue-eyes, straight hair and white skin, regardless of whether the person (especially women) is actually physically attractive. Usually conventional beauty is only beautiful in their youth and very rarely over the age of 30. 

Conventional beauty is race based. Mainstream America have trends where certain minority ethnicities are considered 'cool' enough and are seen as attractive for the time being. Right now Latinos of various shades and mixed race people have moved into this category when in years passed they were never acknowledged as having such beauty. Latinos were only cast as the 'help' along with blacks and mixed race women especially were seen as dangerous.

Now Latinos are being given love-interest parts opposite a white lead. As much as I'd like to see this as an improvement in America's race relations, I know it's temporary and superficial. In the 1980s everything Asian was popular, but, when was the last time you've seen a significant Asian character on a television show that wasn't fulfilling a stereotype? It's been a long time.

Does being out of favor with current racial trends have to mean that those within such groups are not beautiful? Of course not, but they're ignored all the same. This, I think, is where society runs into problems; with conventional beauty.

Most people are average looking. Nothing exceptional about their beauty but they can look good or look bad depending on the day. There's also nothing wrong with this. Beauty can easily be gained through the use of cosmetics, which has been done for thousands of years. Once again, nothing wrong with this. On the contrary, the application of cosmetics can display a talent and individual expression, despite the feelings of some feminists.

There is pressure in this society to conform beauty to the mainstream acceptance as I denoted above. Once again, this is where we run into trouble. We as a society assume that beauty=good and plain/ugly=bad. Some women killed during the Inquisition witch hunts were amazingly beautiful or incredibly ugly, both thought to be witchy trademarks and signs of being in congress with the beast.

Sex Worker School opened during the Sex Worker Art Festival in San Francisco. Only briefly, but the women and men traded tips and networked and expanded their carnal knowledge. Very cool! See, this is why I just adore Carol Leigh, aka Scarlot Harlot. I'd love to see a permanent school open up, like a Courtesan Academy. Caroline 'La Belle' Otero, the last great courtesan, said she had dreams of opening a school for prostitutes if she didn't decide, instead, to gamble it away. If I get the chance, I would definitely have La Belle Otero's dream come to fruition posthumously.

I got the link about the sex worker school from one of my brother's female friends who thought it was pretty good (seconded by my brother). But the other of his female friend thought such a place was 'sick and wrong'. No comment. I woulda fired back but stupid SBC Yahoo always crapping things up for me! Argh! Anyway, a good story despite the fact that the author referred to it as 'Whore College' when it's not just whores that the temporary school was opened for. Win some and lose some.

As in the Artist. I can't express how depressed I was when I was informed of his conversion to the Jehovah's Witness branch of Christianity. Furthermore, that Prince wasn't going to be performing any of his sex-positive songs anymore because he's become a bit sex-negative, as in only monogamous sex within a 'committed' relationship or marriage. Excuse me while I gag violently.

So, I decided today I am going to write an open letter to His Royal Purpleness, Prince.

Dear Prince:

I am one of your many loyal fans from the 80s. I grew up listening to your mellifluous melodies, lovely lyrics and body-rocking beats. More than that, I have you, Prince, to thank, in part for my open, accepting and comfortable outlook on sex. Despite the ravings of people who hate sex and can't stand to see themselves in the buff, you never once objectified women to only being your chattle. You love women, their sexuality, their fiery independence, their stunning intelligence. Never once did I hear you only pursue women who's minds were as empty as a Kosher deli on a Friday night. Or those who are sexually inexperienced so that they wouldn't have anyone to compare you to or leave you knowing there's better out there.

Furthermore you wrote the only song I can think of that truly touches on what makes a woman a true seductress: Sexy Motherfucker. Those words spoke to me and other young women who fell in love with you through song: "In a word or two, it's you I wanna do. No not your body, your mind you fool." You see, Prince, this is why you're a living legend. No one else, to my recollection, has been able to even approach such sentiments. The women of the song 'Pussy Control' were those fully aware and fully appreciative of their feminine wiles, sexuality and the power of said sexuality.

What other song does that? All we see these days are women who look sexy, who sing sexy lyrics and men who like how they look, but where are the sexy women? They still sing about not being quite comfortable with expressing their sexuality because of what society or their boyfriend might say. You, however, always encouraged and praised women who thumbed their noses at convention. That positive reinforcement through your sensual songs inspired and continues to do so. Not a day goes by when I don't listen to 'Sexy MF' or 'Pussy Control' or 'Erotic City'. Your sexy songs had the power to seduce women without us feeling as though we've been taken advantage of.

And what's sexier than a man secure enough in his masculinity to wear purple, high-heeled boots, on occasion eyeliner and not give one damn about shouts from men with less masculine resolution? You're sexy, Prince. Very sexy!

So, your Royal Purpleness, you Prince of Pulchritude, I hope my words of respect and reverence helps you remember that your sex-positive past is something of which you should never be ashamed.

A thousand thank-yous,

~La Libertine

It is a time of year that contain a pagan holiday known by many names: Floralia, May Day, Beltaine (Beltane), Walpurgisnacht... Whatever the name, May 1 is a fertility ritual. Summer is coming soon, flowers are blooming, Mama Nature is fertile.

I, personally, prefer Floralia, which begins today (according to some sources) and continues to May 3. It is an ancient Roman holiday honoring the Goddess Flora, believed by many to have been a deified mortal woman who was a sacred prostitute. Floralia was delightfully licentious, rowdy, salacious, and hedonistic. Of course certain texts betray a strong, rigid, anti-sex moral tone to said words. Nevertheless it was a party. So do yourself a favor this weekend and be delightfully licentious, rowdy, salacious, and hedonistic. Drink wine and sing songs. Frolick, put flowers in your hair (if applicable), dance around a May pole. For a Beltaine rite of ensuring success in the coming year, jump over a bonfire, literally a Beltaine. Or if you can't manage that, a candle or some flame. Be safe of course, because I won't be responsible for burns. :)

Beltane Coven
About.com- Floralia