Why women are the downfall of humanity (don't threaten me with a good time!)

I can't wait to cause chaos and destruction with my curiosity and ambition, tbh

Hi, friend.

It’s Micah from Modern Hysteria, your newsletter (and podcast) exposing the taboo topics of women’s health so we can all feel seen and live without shame.

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In the way that children often have all-consuming (if fleeting) interests, my five-year-old is currently engrossed by mythology. Mostly Greek, but also Norse, and, really, anything with dragons.

We scoured the library for illustrated mythology books, and listen repeatedly to his favorite podcast (Nat Geo’s Greeking Out) about about Odin, Zeus, and, his favorites: Thor and Hermes.

As a child I was also fascinated by Greek myths, but it wasn’t until I re-read recently that I started to see the common threads in stories about women:

Curious, ambitious, and unrestrained women have been cast as villains throughout history because they challenge the system (patriarchy) that benefits from their submission.

Take a look at the Bible, or any number of other mythologies, and you’ll see the refrain: Women who seek knowledge, power, or freedom cause the downfall of humanity.

These stories serve to suppress female agency and maintain control, an immortal reminder that we shouldn’t ask for more than we are given.

Zeus assaults and kidnaps women. Odysseus slayed, like, a bajillion of his wife’s suitors. Cain murdered Abel. Agamemnon sacrificed his firstborn (there’s a startling amount of child-swallowing in Greek mythology!?). Gilgamesh did a whole bunch of bad shit. And the great Hercules murdered his whole family.

But whoooo is responsible for the downfall of humanity?

Pandora. And, separately(?), Eve.

Pandora is the first human woman in Greek mythology, is gifted a jar (mistranslated as a "box") containing all the ills of humanity — disease, death — and, overcome by curiosity, she opens the jar, lets it all out into the world, and gets blamed for all misfortune.

In the Book of Genesis, Eve is persuaded by the serpent to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge. She shares it with Adam, and they're expelled from Eden. Like Pandora, she is blamed for the fall of humanity (bummer).

Of all the crimes committed in our most famous mythologies, it’s these two women who bear the brunt of the blame for our downfall. Their worst offenses?

• Curiosity

• Ambition

• Temptation

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Curious women = bad women.

Many religious stories, like those of Eve or Pandora, depict curiosity as leading to chaos, suffering, or punishment. Why? To discourage questioning and promote obedience.

With curiosity comes a lack of control and a threat to social order. Framing curiosity as sinful is a powerful way to keep women in their “place.” When women get curious, they may question authority and look beyond the powers that be for something … more.

Ambitious women = bad women.

In a patriarchy, men hold a disproportionate amount of the social, political, and economic power. Ambitious women pose a direct threat to that setup, because … what is ambition if not a reach for more power and control?

When Eve ate the forbidden fruit she sought knowledge of good and evil, a realm that was supposed to belong only to God. Making the association between women’s curiosity and the downfall of humanity makes it easy to justify limiting their education and autonomy. Right?

I have an apple tattoo inspired by my apple orchard and the story of Eve (I wanna munch that forbidden fruit). Photo by Jenna Nord.

Christian tradition posits that, above all else, women are supposed to be selfless. A good woman is self-sacrificing and other-centered and puts no one above the family she’s supposed to serve. Ambitious women, however, want too much. Their hubris, or overstepping of their divine roles, makes them responsible for destruction and chaos.

Lilith — Adam’s first wife in Jewish mythology — is seen dangerous and destabilizing because she was ambitious. In what I consider an admirable act of radical feminism, she refused to submit to Adam (“I will not lie below,”) and was cast out as a demon.

Unrestrained women = bad women.

Religions often emphasize self-restraint and obedience as virtues, particularly for women, who are supposed to be the pillars that uphold morality. If they are not restrained they are susceptible to temptation, which signifies weakness. Eve and Pandora are the embodiments of that weakness and temptation.

Delilah, similarly, is unrestrained in that she seduces Samson and betrays him by cutting his hair, which gave him his strength.

Often, in Christian tales and patriarchal culture, we see women as inherently flawed and needing control and protection (from others and from ourselves). Casting women as the source of temptation means men can be absolved of their bad choices, like when Adam blames Eve for eating the “apple” in the Garden of Eden.

The cautionary tales of Eve and Pandora, and the dozens like them, remind women to stay in their lanes. We see the trickle-down effect of these narratives now, though, in:

• expectations for women’s modesty

• purity culture

• reinforcing traditional gender roles

• weaponizing shame for women’s sexuality and assertiveness

Maybe this is why I was so taken with the portrayal of Sky Woman in the introduction to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s book, Braiding Sweetgrass. She describes the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) creation story, in whish Sky Woman fell from her celestial realm through a hole in the sky with a bundle of seeds. The animals below gathered to help cushion her fall, and the birds lowered her onto the back of the Great Turtle, which became the earth.

In an act of great sacrifice, Muskrat dove into the water and returned with mud into which Sky Woman planted her seeds. Her seeds grew into our first life-sustaining plants and tress.

Sky Woman’s story is one of creation and harmony, not destruction. Rather than being blamed for the fall of humanity, she is known for sparking the reciprocal relationship we share with nature.

This is much more in alignment with my views on womanhood: We are not destroyers but creators. We’re not born flawed; we flourish despite forces that oppose us.

Anyway, if woman are credited with being the downfall of humanity, let’s make it a party. You bring the wine, and I’ll bring the destruction. K?

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Thanks for reading, pal.

I’m gonna take a holiday break from publishing a podcast episode next week for the holiday, but I’m about to record a bunch of awesome episodes about:

• What do we need to heal from birth trauma (and how can we show up for people afterward)?

• How does our childhood relationship with our parents or caregivers affect our health as adults?

• Is it “normal” to be incontinent after giving birth or going into menopause (and what can we do about it)?

… and a bunch of other taboo topics in women’s health.

If you haven’t heard the latest episode — about why we have such baggage about our sexuality — catch it here (I think it’s the best one yet!):

🎙️ S1E4 Virgin to vixen on your wedding night (Pt 2) with

Tiffany Torres Williams

Have a good Monday!

— Micah

P.S. I shared last week that I just finished The Women by Kristin Hannah and, WOW, a lot of you said you loved it as much as I did! Here’s what I’m reading now:

→ All The Beauty In The World