Plato and the Spartan Woman

There is this theory that is hypothetically linked to Plato that he felt men and women are no different, except for the fact that women bear children. However he made the comment that women shouldn't be given a break from duty just because of the ability to become pregnant and have kids. To start it sounded fine but I continued to read with a hint of pessimism.

Yet as the details wear on, the expectations of what he feels women are capable of and not capable of become very limited. Matter of fact, he slightly contradicted himself assuming women just weren't as capable as men in many areas. Added to the fact that he did not connect intellectually or romantically with women. This is probably someone (although I do have a close place in my heart to Plato, no offense) that I will take with a grain of salt.

However, women in Athens were not treated equal. Though they were given lavish rites and ceremonies, they were not given power, freedom, or respect. The women in Sparta were given freedoms and even ownership of property but their childhood was cruel and tough. Their "marriages" were...well...shaving their heads and laying on a mat just for procreation as well as letting the child be raised by a nanny...I don't know about that.

I have been the Spartan wife with the Athens ceremonies and fanfare marriage and childbirth/rearing. I've had the tough childhood and suffered through the backwards thinking of unequal treatment. I've stood behind several powers that be and given massive altering advice to where I am respected and revered but never officially acknowledged or given the status I would be qualified of had I been born of a different gender. I've protected my home and family as any warrior would. I've fought and scraped when I've had to. I've intellectually worked my way around as many bits of conflict as I can to avoid unnecessary violence.

Through my education and experience, I've learned one thing. Social status roles mean nothing to what you make of your own life. Never let a gender prejudice make you fear your own potential.

I've made my Spartan baby warrior and I will have another. I have fought and bled to protect my own. And I will not let any ancient text coerce me into giving up my rights to education, ownership, freedom, and the ability to nurture, comfort and educate my young.

Men have men to look up to. Women have little. However, I can bypass all of this and become my own. Thick and rough is the path that has not been taken. This I've always believed. It's boring to walk down someone else's road unless you are visiting.

I believe my life has been and will be fighting and scraping through this unpaved path. Every step will be new and tough, but I can look back and see the clearing I've made behind me. At the end of my path lies my biggest task, to clear the way to make my own home. To have the path of experience that leads to my place of dwelling. This is where I want to live out my last days. This is my fit of inspiration amidst the darkness.