An interesting idea about the Southwest

 Paula Gunn Allen, a poet of the Southwest, points out that nature is almost always seen as feminine. Almost all cultures speak of Mother Nature or Gaia.

In Western thought, the feminine was to be subdued and subjugated. In Europe, for example, men looked on the natural world and imposed agriculture on it. In the Southwest, that kind of domineering approach is just not possible. The landscape is not hospitable. It won’t be subdued. If you are not careful it will kill you.

Those of us who live in the Southwest are forced to take a different view or nature, and those who are in touch with the landscape come away with a different — more realistic, more respectful — view of what’s feminine.

Of course there are countless men who are not really connected to anything besides their own egos. Still, this is an interesting idea. I believe we can learn things by looking at the landscape.