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by Yves de Morsier (Author)
This book is different from other studies that talk about gender. It will go far beyond the gender issue, delving into the deeper meaning of what femininity and masculinity mean as qualities. It will illustrate how our personal aptitudes and attitudes are often linked with our gender. Not because we are defined by our gender but because the experience of our gender provides us with special skills and qualities. For instance, the ability to give birth fosters in women a special disposition for being caring and compassionate. Motherhood nourishes aptitudes for listening, dialogue and peace. This represents a potential our gender offers us rather than a constraint it forces upon us. This predisposition is the path to freedom because it is not deterministic. Men can be tender. Women can be strong. A whole range of attitudes is open to each of us. We must learn the freedom of spirit to follow this inestimable potential and to express it in the way that suits us best. Gender is then more a potential than a constraint. Femininity and masculinity urgently need to be rediscovered as qualities that can mix and combine endlessly, creating in this way a richer range of opportunities. The number of combinations is infinite. We should rather talk in terms of Yin and Yang, as the two poles that influence our lives, no longer so narrowly linked with gender. It remains our responsibility to choose which qualities we will nurture and which ones we will oppose. Out of these many choices ensues the quality of our life and of the world we live in. All attitudes are not equal. Some foster compassion and life, while others foster hatred, violence and destruction. Finally, the most precious qualities in life need to be protected if we want them to thrive. Compassion, care, listening, dialogue and inclusiveness can only develop if we are committed to providing the right conditions for them to flourish. Because their quality is fragile, they are said to be RECESSIVE, while the antagonistic forces are said to be DOMINANT (like genes in biology). This understanding traces a new path of liberation from false representations. Whether women or men, we all become free to act in a creative way
