on Dominion on masculinity & femininity
“I am the all-devouring death, and also the origin of future beings. Among the feminine nouns I am fame, prosperity, speech, memory, intellect, resolve, and forgiveness.� (Bhagavad Gita,
10.33-34)
One Report is spiritually-minded content for and by young people. This publication is borne from a reflection of the teachings of the Baha’i Faith and many of our contributors are Baha’is, but not all. The goal is for One Report to offer space for people from all faith backgrounds and beliefs to discuss issues of faith and spirituality. In a time of turmoil, One Report hopes to be a source of unity and collaboration. It is an opportunity for young people to learn from one another and share reflections that feel relevant, pressing, stirring, and elevated. Thank you.
One Report is edited by Anisa Tavangar with Maya Mansour. Images in this issue are by Defne Inhan.
the river and the rock Written by Samira Saunders
As I grow through and into myself, I discover that life thus far has been a practice of how to be soft and vulnerable, yet firm and unshakable. It isn’t as simple as wanting to be a rock in a river. I want to be the rock and the river around it. Through the Baha’i Faith I have learned to reject dichotomies and to seek synchronicity in all things. For every call, there is and must be a response. We are primarily spiritual beings, developing qualities in a material existence, but just for now. When I think of the dynamics of gender expression, my mind immediately jumps to the plane of the soul. We are souls within bodies, and these beautiful bodies will turn to dust. Masculine energy and feminine energy exist within each and every one of us. Perhaps the search for truth is also a quest to bring these two energies within each of us into balance. If men and women are two wings of a bird, then masculinity and femininity are the two wings of the bird of our souls. Traditionally, the male has been the provider, the muscle, action first, while reflection is a feminine quality. Reflection is the river that flows around the rock, keeping it sharp, allowing it to change. Rather than trying to rephrase, I want to leave you with a passage from my favorite author, Bahiyyih Nakhjavani. I’ve read it a hundred times and find new meaning in it each day:
“We must turn and rediscover the Eve within ourselves, who has for so many centuries suffered from a literal interpretation. For she is that instrument of receptivity within all of us, endowed with the capacity to accept and then impart. She is the ‘feminine’ response to the creative Word of God, the sensitivity with which we redact the openness with which we approach each other, the trust we have in our institutions, the humility which needs to attend our acts and words, the vulnerability with which we admit to partial understanding and incomplete knowledge of each other as well as of the mysteries of the Cause. Unless the Eve within is recognized, renamed and honored, how can the bounties conferred upon us in this Revelation bear fruit in the continual advancement of civilization?“
"The woman has greater moral courage than the man; she has also special gifts which enable her to govern in moments of danger and crisis." A
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a father's masculinity Written by Jonah Hemphill
I’ve been growing into a man my entire life. Throughout that journey, I’ve picked up many messages from the world on how to become one. These sources held up masculinity as what I should be and femininity as the opposite. As a child, the playground compelled me to be as dominant and athletic as I could be. As a teenager, the locker room compelled me to always react violently when challenged and to never shrink myself. As a young man, the night club compelled me to be socially bold and aggressive. The material world I inhabit confers upon me a masculinity to embrace. Yet, if I am to acknowledge the existence of a higher power, and I do, I can follow in footsteps beyond what my physical environment shows me. There are heavenly examples to draw upon of what does, and what does not, make a man. When I turned eighteen, I asked my role model of masculinity, my Dad, what it means to be a man. He told me it was the ability to take care of your family. I replied to him that, clearly, he’s only described what being a father is. He then said, “Yeah. I guess to me, the characteristics of being a good man are exactly the same characteristics of being a good father.” I was perplexed. This means, when I think of the ultimate Father to us all, and the qualities that describe Him in the Bible, I can find the footsteps to good masculinity. These qualities
are wisdom, kindness, bravery, a deep selflessness, and the provision of mentorship to others. However, through this lens, boundaries of masculinity and femininity are complicated. Can a woman not be wise? Can a woman not be kind? Selfless? Can women not provide mentorship to others? And if they do, does this suddenly make them men? If all genders can follow in His footsteps, if all genders can reflect His characteristics, then it follows that, under God, no gender can have exclusive ownership over any characteristic. There can be no hard difference between the qualities that make a good man and the qualities that make a good woman. This contrasts the messages we receive in the material world. Even beyond bodily concerns, the material lives of the genders differ. Society pushes us to take on different roles and values along gender lines. I encourage not to mistake these differences for any sort of naturally ordained laws. In His eyes, we are all made in His image, without exception. And to live in accordance with Him, it is my responsibility to lean not on society’s lens of masculinity and femininity, but from a higher one. I now seek to measure how good of a man, I am not by how far from feminine I’m considered, but by how wise, kind, brave, selfless, and mentoring I act.
"And unto God belongs the dominion over the heavens and the earth: and God has the power to will anything." [Quran,
3:189]
"The world in the past has been ruled by force, and man has dominated over woman by reason of his more forceful and aggressive qualities both of body and mind. But the balance is already shifting; force is losing its dominance, and mental alertness, intuition, and the spiritual qualities of love and service, in which woman is strong, are gaining ascendancy. Hence the new age will be an age less masculine and more permeated with the feminine ideals, or, to speak more exactly, will be an age in which the masculine and feminine elements of civilization will be more evenly balanced." A
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the moon and the sun Written by Oomung Varma
“…I can be emotional or stoic. I can be empathetic or dissociative.” That doesn’t make you any different from me. “I wear silk, I wear denim, I wear suits, I wear nothing at all.” So do I. “I run fast, I jump high. I fall and I get hurt really bad, but I just get stronger.” You’re young. “I can speak up in a quiet room, I can spit on someone’s face, I’ll write a million pages and argue my case.” You’re just extra. “Dare me, I’ll do anything. I’m on the edge.” One day, something really bad is gonna happen, and then what? “I’ve been to the other side, but what would you do without me?” “Who would feed you?” “Who would make you feel all the things I make you feel?” I don’t know if I want to feel the way you make me feel, I just don’t have anything better. Everything you do for me, I can do for myself. You’re not helping me, you’re making me need you. I don’t need you. “I’m the best thing that’ll ever happen to you.” You’re just falling; over and over again. Falling while you’re running; falling while you’re getting up. Falling into love, and getting hurt.
You’re racking up a bill; who’s gonna pay? You’re not getting stronger, you’re just putting the hurt on other people, on other parts of yourself. “So you’re saying you don’t fall into traps? You’re always clawing your way out of a mess.” “You used to need me, now you’ve just found me in you.” “What if I need you?” “What if I need more time with you?” I don’t owe you anything. “But all the things I did for you…” …you did for yourself. I didn’t ask for you to do all that. “Yeah but I did it anyways.” You did it because you want me. You did it because you want me to need you. You think me becoming part of you will make you complete. Does a child need a mother? Does a mother need her child? “Not after they grow up?” Are you asking me? Because I don’t know anything… not a single thing. See you tomorrow.
"For as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God." [Corinthians,
11:12]
“There are four qualities which I love to see manifested in people: first, enthusiasm and courage; second, a face wreathed in smiles and a radiant countenance; third, that they see with their own eyes and not through the eyes of others; fourth, the ability to carry a task once begun, through to its end.” B
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like other women Written by Nadia Kardan
February 2010 I’m nineteen. I’m majoring in English Literature. I roll out of bed in the mornings twenty minutes before I need to leave and put on a hoodie. I like to talk about current events, women’s issues, and religion. I like to read. I don’t like dresses. I’ve recently discovered my indie music obsession in Sufjan Stevens. I’m working on a novel. I make fun of sorority girls. I drive a blue Toyota Corolla and am thinking about interning at a literary agency in the summer. I can’t walk in high heels. I don’t even moisturize, and I’m not like the other girls: I’m intelligent, and I’m interesting. February 2020 I’m twenty-nine. I live alone in Manhattan. I have a cat. I wake up an hour and a half before I have to leave in the morning. I take long showers, careful to lather, rinse, and repeat with my purple shampoo so my $300 balayage looks fresh. I listen to the New York Times Daily podcast while the water splatters against the bathtub. I apply five hair products after I’m done, blow dry it straight, and embark on my skincare routine before taking thirty minutes to put my makeup on while I listen to a Sufjan playlist. I stroll through my closet, picking out my favorite sweaters or jumpsuits or dresses and layering before I slip into my heeled booties and put on a vintage fur coat.
I pack a book to read on the subway. I’m a teacher. I drink my Starbucks as students trickle into my classroom. My girls compliment my makeup. I like their pink hair and sparkle backpacks. I talk to my students about current events, religion, history, and feminism. I’m taking off next week to finish my novel, and I’m a woman—like any other woman—with every other woman, proud of being a woman, whatever being a woman means to anyone who will call themselves a woman. I’m intelligent, and I’m interesting, suddenly finding my heels, intellect, mascara, and spirit at ease together, finally confident.
“The friends of God must be adorned with the ornament of justice, equity, kindness and love. As they do not allow themselves to be the object of cruelty and transgression, in like manner they should not allow such tyranny to visit the handmaidens of God. He, verily, speaketh the truth and commandeth that which benefitteth His servants and handmaidens. He is the Protector of all in this world and the next.” B
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