The Adrogynous Soul: Androgyny, Divinity and The Secrets of Self By Emily Imani

Thanks for joining me on this journey to explore androgyny. 

 Although you may at first think it is about identity, it is actually about the energies we all posses, so let's begin tapping In. 

Different Aspects of The Same Divinity

This is nothing new, this  is ancient news.  

 This is for all of us on a journey to accept both our masculine and feminine polarities.
 Thanks for joining me

 Emily Imani Rose Quartz 

Androgyny is when both masculine and feminine parts exist in the same individual. The stronger those parts are and the more they are in equilibrium with each other, the more androgynous the person is.  Androgyny is not gay. Alot of people don't understand this but many of us have strong masculine AND Feminine sides and it's not really something we can hide ...

To be clear, this is not a blog about homosexuality. I  don't know alot about homosexuality. Therefore I feel it's not my place to write about it. I guess I want to point out as well, that this is not a blog about trans-genderism or asexuality. Nor is this a blog about the feminization of men or any modern political topic related to people switching up genders.
Actually, androgyny is the opposite of all the confusion related to the sexualization of gender. I think you will love this blog. Check out the dance video at the bottom featuring the dance Bamaya which I have performed here in Seattle with Awal Alhassan. I want to show you how culture and spirituality embrace the energy of androgyny. But first things first....what exactly does the word really mean ?

"An androgynous person is a female or male who has a high degree of both feminine (expressive) and masculine (instrumental) traits."   

Androgyny deals with the expressions of dual energies among Gods and humans. It's a topic of the most sublime sensuality within the esoteric sexual nature. It is not about gender or sex. If anything, the topic of androgyny is a open playing field where neither gender identification nor the act of sex or who you want to have sex with are important. Let's start with the Gods and see what we can learn about our selves. This is one of the most complex topics to write about. It is so easy to confuse and misconstrue this fairly simple information. 

Obatala, Yuroba Orisha 

 Obatalá can be either male or female, depending on his camino.  For example, Obatalá Ocha Griñán, Obatalá
 Obu Moró, and Obatalá Ayáguna are male; Obatalá Obanlá, Obatalá Ochanlá, and Obatalá Alaguema are female.  

Ardhanarishvara, Hindu God/Goddess

Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God. The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation.

Mawu-Lisa West African Dual Sex Diety 

 Mawu Lisa: A dual-sex West African divinity, offspring of another androgynous deity Nana Buluku, combining Mawu the female aspect and Lisa the male aspect. In some versions, Mawu is male and Lisa female. They were said to have produced the first humans, seven pairs of twins.

"Tantra homologizes the human body to the cosmos.

Sexual representations of uniting 

 male and female polarities, are endemic

 in tantric literature, ritual, and symbolic art. "

Male/Female Principles are Equal in One 

Being in a society where everything is over sexualized (assumed to be about or leading to the act of sex) its very common to associate topics of "gender" with the topic of sex. As soon as we determine gender in an adult, ( male or female ) we are curious about who that person is having sex with and what gender they are attracted to. These days people are claiming to be everything from gender free to transgender, as well as bi- sexual, asexual, homo- sexual,  gender -neutral, metro-sexual and way too many other names and labels  for me to list without offending someone or leaving something out. 

That is why I love the whole realm of androgyny. It has nothing to do with the sex act or who wants to fuck who. Instead it is an inward glance at human possibility as we can choose not only to balance our energies but to manage them in unique non-sexual ways.

 

 Growing up I was never a girly girl but at times I wished I was. I liked boys. I had crushes on boys. I always felt bad because I was not the type of girl, that knew how to be a "girl". Of course I was too busy riding my bike, getting chased  by dogs, falling out of  tree's and getting black eyes and having fun, to really worry about it.

 By middle school my interest in eye shadow and flavored lip gloss took over.  However my boyish feelings made me feel as if boys would find me unattractive.  In the end I became shy. I wasn't sure what part of myself to share or how. 

  As a teenage girl there was constant pressure not to be a "bald headed bitch" -  it seemed to me a pressure to constantly prove my femininity in visual ways in order to be pretty. The idea that I could appear masculine by not having long hair was a horrible stigma, sealing a fate of unacceptable unattractiveness which no Black girl should burden the world with- well that is the message we got. Pressure on top of pressure to be "acceptable".  And I'm sure boys go thru the exact same dynamic on the other side of the polarity.

 I noticed androgyny in certain pop stars. For example, Micheal Jackson, Prince and David Bowie were all men who had mastered a level of super masculinity that also embraced aspects of  the feminine ascetics. 

Prince, plenty make up but sexually dominant with women

Micheal Jackson  pretty and very masculine how did he manage that ?

These men ( Micheal Jackson, Prince, David Bowie,Bruno Mars etc.) were sexually appealing, and often completely mesmerizing to heterosexual women. Is androgyny the upper echelon of masculinity and male hetero-sexual expression? Or is androgyny  intriguing because it is closer to divinity than what is normally exhibited by humans . Most of us feel very out of place sampling and showcasing any aspect of our androgynous nature. Yet we all are made of both masculine and feminine energy.

Who was prettier..David Bowie or Wife Iman 

I'm starting to think our current beliefs around what is masculine and what is feminine is becoming like a prison to our souls. Men have become boxed in with no way to express themselves. Each and every day the old ways of male adornment are dying out in America. Depending on where you live you may never see a finely dressed men, smelling oh so good in polished shoes and tailored menswear, Did we forget that men actually enjoy the exoticism and the enhancement of their appeal thru beautiful clothes, accessories and skincare? Men have sensual rituals of adornment and preparation just as women do. Yet we tend to only associate this with the feminine nature.

Did we lose sight of the masculine nature so much that we confuse being a man with being a person who must not show any creativity in expressing himself ? This is so different from nature ( and what's in nature is. ..natural).

 Look at the male peacock, bright colorful eye catching and cocky all sure to attract a female mate! Male ducks are the ones that waddle with iridescence colors on their feather, while the female duck and peacock have much duller colors. In nature we see the energy of masculinity is not void of beauty but literally explodes with beauty.

 In the often referenced Masai Tribe  the men who are adorned to catch and keep the women's eyes. In its natural state the mating game is won thru the male being adroygynmous- meaning he is not just  a warrior he is also a beauty . The sensual applications apply to him and aid in his attraction.

Yes women want a "brute" "alpha male"- but we also want someone who is visually appealling,  enchanting, beautiful and not boxed into just acting like a "man".
No one has deeply explored what excites different women but apparently enough women have a taste for androgynous men. I'm not talking women who are attracted to  bisexual men or transgender men. Those are very different categories and topics, definitely not the same thing. Once again androgyny surpasses the compass of sexual orientation. For some reason it is not about sexual orientation, no matter how tempting it is to make it.

For me androgyny feels like mystery and a sort of rebellion. Like not wearing a bra under a wife-beater and wearing  my braids down to my hips or my letting my  afro be  a free halo of self organized choas. Its like being pregnant and refusing to tell anyone the sex of the baby. Androgyny says perceive me however you need me to be. And it is also says I am available for your fantasy but that does not mean you know me or ever will . Sexually a man and woman who can equally tap into their masculine and feminine energies will experience pleasure in the doubles. Especially if they create for each other  spaces for freedom and expression in all areas of their life.

The androgynous person has one gender, yet  is able to share the energy of both sexes. To me it is associated with an  internal confidence. A sort of middle finger to the world. On a divine level it is a  reference to someone who loves the powers of the  feminine and masculine  energies within themselves and  shrouds  neither in darkness.

 I tend to find it sexy even though it is an area that ducks away from the actual topic of having sex. To me its the part of sexiness that is sex (  the absolute intercourse of the self).  Androgyny is the level of sensuality that makes loves to itself.  I feel it is the place where  man and woman actually meet spiritually as one. So kissing becomes...more fun. It's a place where we stop acting out roles and  share our souls energy. Wild and free. Sublime deep eroticism comes to mind when I think of  sex and love play between those who tap into this nature within and dare to celebrate it. What are you thoughts on androgyny?

When I lived alone and would walk to the store at night  I dressed as a male  for safety. I walked like a guy. I felt safer and honestly I felt exactly like a part of myself. Interestingly enough back then alot of young women wore jerseys, white tee's, wife beaters, gold chains and Nike's or Tim's. The jeans were worn loose and shirts worn big to hide our shapes . The style was androgynous. Men were far less obsessed with our body parts because they couldn't see them all the time.

Aliyah did it best

Nowadays the female body is back to being on display almost as if it ( the body) is the sole expression of feminity  available to girls. Fashions are tight and expose not only our curves but our pussy lips. It seems women are stuck proving ourselves to men.  Our outspoken  body parts are the only way we are allowed say  " This is who I am" - we feel we must show everything to be a "girl". The true natural expression of  the feminine has been lost in the photoshop and our masculine energies are over utilized in ways that  cause problems in our personal lives.

This is unhealthy, as we all have our dual energy within  us battling for recognition. This has nothing to do with who we are attracted to to sexually. It has to do with the fact and  the human reality.. that we all embody both masculine and feminine energy. In essence this is our divinity. The true nature of any God is duality and the ability to create, to manifest, to build and destroy.

When society tells us that we are just one of these energies ( the more dominant one)  what happens to our self if we happen to be androgynous ?  We begin to repress the parts of our self we feel will not be accepted according to our gender and sexual orientation. For many people this leads to an entire shut down and feelings of shame, because the murky waters are so hard to navigate.  Yet,  it is  the full exploration and acceptance of the masculine and feminine that make us whole.

Boy Feelins in a Straight Girls World, SELF expressions

We become open and sexy and curious to everyone we meet when we engage our divine masculine and our divine feminine. Sometimes its better that way. This not to say, be gender free. I don't know anything about being gender free.
This is to say be gender-full any way you need to be .  Ultimately the more of yourself you can tap into and share with the world or your partner..means them more of you  that can be loved. As we each heal, accept and transmute inner energies we become complete .

Understanding androgyny as both human and divine helped me to better love myself.  It does not mean I will dress in a manly way, or that  I will walk in  a manly manner. My masculine side is more internal. I tap into into when I can't make a sane decision. I tap into it and act out of it as needed. It has nothing to do with sex, gender or my sexual preference. It is just a part of me I need as much as I need my feminine energy in order to survive. 

In what areas do you want \ to  Balance your Self  ?

West African dance from Ghana called Bamaya where the men dress and dance in a manner that allows them to tease and flirt and show their perception of the power of a woman's seductive nature. This dance was ordered after a husband mistreated his wife and hard times feel on the harvest so it was ordered to make amends that the men create this dance in celebration of the allure they feel in women. 

We have failed to see androgyny as a normal aspect of many heterosexual adults. We are stuck in a society that continually develops more and more humiliating body based definitions of what it means to be feminine. So much that people think a surgery can turn them into a woman. Our society has made men feel isolated when it comes to dealing with emotions. By tapping into the energy of androgyny we can become one within ourselves. We can learn to see our lovers, husbands,wives etc. with new awe. Instead of putting each other down let's recognize the variants of divinity at work. It's time to stop telling our men how to be "real" men. 

 We are reminded to balance and LOVE both our feminine and masculine sides. If you don't have an androgynous bone in your body, trust me, that is fine and quite normal. There is still the divine call for a deeper understanding of others and our selves. Of all people it is perhaps heterosexuals that fail to explore ourselves. As we seek love & happiness we must also seek within and thus remove the invisible bariers we tend to have with our partners.

Emily Imani Rose Quartz, Rose Quartz Counseling and Consulting

Speaker, Presenter, Facilitator, Writer, Dance by The Chakras Teacher  

My Dance Teacher Awal Alhassan performing his traditonal dance Bamaya where the men showcase their expression of female flirtuality, seduction and the  power of teasing hips