Book: Witches An Extraordinary Expression Of Misogyny In The 16th And 17th Centuries by Stephanie Du Barry
Woman hating during the 16th and 17th Centuries was far from being a new phenomenon - it was rooted deep in the male psyche where it had been since primitive man. Woman hating, according to anthropological studies, stems from an innate fear which is still now evident among most pre-literate societies. Part of this fear stems from the life-bearing and menstruating capacities of women which to men indicated strange and Mysterious powers in the opposite sex.In the sexual act itself, too, women are to be feared. Woman during sex is receptive, not potent and can receive indefinitely, whether willingly and pleasurably or not and this has generated the myth of woman as insatiable. Castration and loss of potency were symbolised by intercourse because the loss of control over the penis reinforced the impression of feminine power and masculine weakness6. Men believed that women, through this insatiability, would either lead men astray, highlight their own incapacities, or deceive them (with the full implications of deception already mentioned above) and these three fears were later to become evident in the allegations made Against Witches, ie. that they satisfied their lusts in orgies and with demons at regular "sabbats" (paternal uncertainty again) and that they could cause impotence in men.
Books in PDF format to read:
Diane Purkiss - The Witch In History Early Modern And Twentieth Century RepresentationsAnonymous - The Teachings Of The Rosicrucians Of The 16th And 17th Centuries
Stephanie Du Barry - Witches An Extraordinary Expression Of Misogyny In The 16th And 17th Centuries
