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SwastikaGirl S
SwastikaGirl Sep 29, 2006 13:28:32
Replying to Mr Hamhead

Goodness me! I do appear to have caused somewhat of a rumpus. Sorry. But if you could only be patient.

My listing of the numerous sacred wells on TMA was due simply to the fact that on the drop-down list of sites to add to this website is the category or site “Sacred Well”. Does this mean only certain people can add such sites to this website, or relative newcomers as well? I ask this, because I was going to add many of the details to the wells last week, but when I came to look at the spots I’d included was bemused to find that all of them had been listed as not valid sites. This actually upset me, as I checked the posts of holy wells from your more regular, male contributors, and found none of them had been invalidated.

Afterwards I wasn’t too surprised by the “disputed antiquity” listing. Wells are predominantly female in nature, while most of the contributors here are male and don’t relate to the nature of healing springs. They predate megaliths in sanctity for very obvious reasons and those which have been sainted, or at least the great majority of such named wells, were previously pagan places. If this needs explaining in further depth, I suggest people do a bit of reading and meditating If holy wells are not welcome on this site it would be a good idea to get rid of the others posted by your other, MALE contribuitors, and delete “Sacred Wells” from the sites eligible for inclusion on TMA.

Alternatively – and I’m not joking – get one of your regular MALE contributors to add the holy wells, and then I’ll add my fieldnotes and folklore. Then I’m sure some of you won’t get as annoyed. It should be of no surprise that many of the modern surveys of holy wells are by female writers, and the male writers in this field tend to be effeminate.

Anyway, aren’t holy wells primers in antiquarianism?

Thanks - SG

L Littlestone
Littlestone Sep 29, 2006 15:19:20
Replying to SwastikaGirl

Putting aside whether or not wells merit a mention here (and for what it's worth I think they do) you might be unaware that people using the swastika (in one way or another) have caused considerable offence and disruption on TMA over the last year or so - to the point when they were finally banned. If you want to incorporate that word in your name that's your prerogative, just don't be surprised if you find that it causes offence, negative feelings and possible confusion with others. It may be a sacred symbol but in my humble opinion it is not a sacred word - my advice to you is to change it to one of its variants - FylfotGirl springs to mind.

As for your comment that, "Wells are predominantly female in nature, while most of the contributors here are male and don’t relate to the nature of healing springs." I find that comment both ridiculous and sexist. "Wells are predominately female"? Please explain. And, "...most of the contributors here are male and don’t relate to the nature of healing springs."

Oh dear, I think I must resort to a male-ism - bollocks.

F FourWinds
FourWinds Sep 29, 2006 16:53:49
Replying to SwastikaGirl

It's funny that in this male-driven society everyone know what a misogynist is, but few know the word misandrist.

R Rhiannon
Rhiannon Sep 29, 2006 17:15:05
Replying to SwastikaGirl

I don't mean to be a stirrer, SG, and I do very much like visiting holy wells, but you say "They predate megaliths in sanctity for very obvious reasons and those which have been sainted, or at least the great majority of such named wells, were previously pagan places".
By the first bit, do you mean that maybe in general, places where water comes out of the ground are special, because water is essential to life - but does it follow that people saw them all as sacred? Is it not just too general to say that? And your comment that because a place has a Christian saint connected with it implies a place of pagan significance - I suppose again that could be the case in some instances, but how do you know which ones? Besides, there are places of great Christian significance which probably had bugger-all pagan significance, eg Canterbury Cathedral (well I'm guessing anyway). Where do we decide to draw the line, because surely one has to be drawn somewhere?

And as another female poster, I would urge you to Stick About as there are few of us around here as it is. I'm sure a different viewpoint is useful, and it's not a matter of discouraging new posters - I think it's maybe a matter of proving your ideas, as anybody would have to do.

Erm. Anyway.

N nidge
nidge Sep 30, 2006 13:43:45
Replying to SwastikaGirl

Hello, Swastika girl nice to have women in here. I have not posted before and my knowledge of megaliths etc is shakey.I have watched this 'site' for a while but this is the first post, after seeing some of the short shrift others have recieved. I personally do not mind the name at all, I will read your words and thereby judge , is judge the right word? You can call yourself Adolf or Himmler if you want, it just don't matter to me. I for one love the wells and wait in anticipation of further notes and postings love nidge

J Jane
Jane Oct 1, 2006 09:59:54
Replying to SwastikaGirl

I've been trying to keep away from this thread as it's making my blood boil, but now I have to say something. (And I apologise to my TMA friends if this is construed as 'feeding the troll'). But there is a fundamental wrong here that needs righting.

When swastika girl says: "Wells are predominantly female in nature, while most of the contributors here are male and don’t relate to the nature of healing springs", I'd like to ask:
1 In what way are wells female exactly?
2 How is it that males can't relate to springs?
3 What are these healing properties?

As a woman who spends every day of her life fighting for women's rights, I have to say that unsubstantiated comments like this are highly counter productive and do the cause of true feminism (which is actually equalism) a massive disservice and turns many feminist/equalist men away from the cause - as if men can't be feminists! To say men can't be feminists is like saying anyone who isn't from an ethnic minority can't be anti-racist, or that heterosexual people are not qualified to fight homophobia, which is obviously a nonsense.

To keep up-to-date on evidence-based feminist thinking from around the world check out: http://feministcarnival.blogspot.com/

As a longstanding female member of TMA who's had the very good fortune to meet many of the regular contributors to this site, I can vouch for the fact that 99% of them are true feminist/equalists. Let's keep gender-based arguments out of TMA and concentrate on the stones and sites themselves.

As long as swastikagirl sticks to the TMA rules there should be no argument, except the healthy 'rough and tumble' debate which happens on this forum of course.
J
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