Happy Women's Day!

I've been reading this book, The Fall, recently, in which Steve Taylor presents a convincing case that the insanity behind our current culture started with a giant "ego explosion" 6,000 years ago and is not, as usually supposed, due to "human nature." According to him, societies were cooperative and egalitarian before this event. It was only when the ego developed — mostly in men — as the result of a radical environmental change in a large geographic area that the world began to see the ugliness of war, social inequality, patriarchy, materialistic greed, alienation from nature, lack of empathy, and a general dissatisfaction with human life. The book really could have used a good copy editor, but the thesis is so fascinating that I almost don't mind the many, many syntax errors throughout it.

I like the idea that all these terrible problems have the same root cause. And I especially like the idea that they're not an inevitable feature of human beings. I was beginning to think that there's just something biologically wrong with men, causing them to orchestrate the destruction of their own species. Like maybe that Y chromosome is a malignant mutation that we might want to start categorizing as a dangerous virus. But if the problem is just a cultural one, albeit one that's been around for six millennia, it means there's still hope for us, and the feminist project is more than just a frustrating waste of time.

Here are some songs I like lately by women I would consider not only "female positive," but musically worth your time as well. I.e., no Indigo Girls in the bunch. Enjoy!