A model:

There exist two multifarious, mutually opposite and mutually complementary ways of being. Let us say that they are 'divine': greater than us; inherently worthy; indefatigable. They are spirits to be possessed by; forces to channel.

(Epistemic status: vibing.)
We may call them anything. A and B. 1 and 2. Bouba and Kiki. Choose whichever names you like.

Regardless of your sex and gender, you are encouraged to inhabit either spirit; or even both, if you want. But let us nonetheless call them the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine.
They are wholly complementary; the world -- and to some extent, I suspect, any person, though I am not confident here -- would be incomplete in some sense if either were lacking. They balance each other; they need each other.

Here I give my own inexpert interpretation of them.
Again, I want to stress that masculine != men, and feminine != women. I do occasionally use this framework to understand the genders, but I aim not to be normative, not even to describe. Most people inhabit both forces, to different extents, at different times.
This model contradicts itself in many places. Qualities that seem masculine from one angle, seem feminine from another, and vice versa. And nowadays, many gender dynamics are in flux, and many conclusions will seem, and be, false.

So it goes.

Then, without further ado...
The Masculine is space-holding. The Feminine is space-filling.

The Masculine is attention-giving. The Feminine is attention-filling.

The Masculine is space-cleansing. The Feminine is space-enriching.
The Masculine cares about the goal. It values the achievement. Its love for competition is born from this.

The Feminine cares about the journey. It values the process. Its love for co-operation is born from this.
The Masculine is rational. The Feminine is emotional.

The Masculine is calm and stillness. The Feminine is intensity and eventfulness.
The Masculine is direct. It is text; content; words. It is the thing which gets done.

The Feminine is indirect. It is subtext; context; tone and gestures and body language. It is the way the thing gets done.
The Masculine is stable. The Feminine is dynamic.

The Masculine is structured. The Feminine is spontaneous.

The Masculine is Order. The Feminine is Chaos.
The Masculine is leading. The Feminine is following.

The Masculine is dominant. The Feminine is submissive.
The Masculine seeks out new optima. The Feminine safeguards existing optima.

The Masculine is to amass. The Feminine is to protect.

The Masculine explores. The Feminine exploits.
The Masculine approach is an ascent towards the mind, the universal, the abstract. It finds distance and safety from what is inside.

In this, the Masculine risks becoming disconnected from what is inside and around.
The Feminine approach is a descent into the body, the material, the real world. It expresses and releases what is inside.

In this, the Feminine risks becoming too attached to what is inside and around.
The Masculine controls others through violence: "Do this, and I will hurt you." Its weakness is that its power enforces responsibility.

The Feminine controls others through victimhood: "Do this, and you will hurt me." Its weakness is that its lack of agency robs it of freedom.
The Masculine takes and wields power. It is primarily comfortable when it has power itself.

The Feminine grants power and supports others. It is primarily comfortable when it can empower others.
The Masculine uses its own desires as the basis for its actions; it hereby risks caring too little about others, and may harm others.

The Feminine uses the desires of others as the basis for its actions; it hereby risks caring too little about itself, and may harm itself.
The Masculine probes and crosses boundaries. The Feminine sets and holds boundaries.

The Masculine failure mode here is to be too scared that probing boundaries will cause harm. The Feminine failure mode here is to be too scared that setting boundaries will cause harm.
In a solely Masculine world, nobody can trust that their boundaries won't get crossed, and everyone lives in fear of getting hurt.

In a solely Feminine world, nobody's boundaries are clarified, and everyone lives in fear of hurting others.
Masculine support is entoughening and abrasive. It hardens but sometimes breaks others.

Feminine support is soothing and coddling. It softens but sometimes disempowers others.
The Masculine resolves problems through solving them. It supports others by giving solutions. It seeks to grant agency.

The Feminine resolves problems through sharing and expressing them. It supports others by validating. It seeks to take away the burden of responsibility.
Masculine is to love and want.

Feminine is to be loved and be wanted.
The Masculine cares about improving oneself. It seeks enlightenment first.

The Feminine cares about improving the world. It seeks heaven first.
The Masculine despairs in feeling like one will never be virtuous enough for the world.

The Feminine despairs in feeling like the world will never be virtuous enough for oneself.
I invite you to hold these definitions side by side, to see how many of these aspects interrelate and inter-cohere. Many traits seem in truth to be different expressions of either of two greater underlying modes.

Let us call these modes Divine Masculinity and Divine Femininity.
I encourage you to discover which of these modes is most natural to you; and how far you can reach out, in different contexts, towards either mode. I encourage you to find your comfort zone, and to experiment with exploring whichever side feels most new to you.

Play. Discover.
Or, as indeed it is said:

Fuck around, and find out.
You can follow @ElodesNL.
Tip: mention @twtextapp on a Twitter thread with the keyword “unroll” to get a link to it.

Latest Threads Unrolled: