Oppressing the Tiger

Queen Mother of the West; earthenware,
Han Dynasty

"Nobody knows her beginning or her end" the Zhuang.



“She was a hurt animal- a tiger willing to destroy the whole jungle to get a thorn out of its paw. And he knew she would destroy him, too, if he got in her way.” Kit Alloway, Dreamfire.




“Such an angry little Kitten, with such sad eyes. Who hurt you, Georgia? Who took the light out of those pretty blue eyes, ehh?” Lesley Jones, The Story of Us






In her essay about Xi Wangmu, Max Dashu describes the attempt to strip the goddess of her power. Courtly writers during the Han dynasty airbrushed her tiger looks. They transformed a strong goddess with wild hair, tiger teeth and a tail into a young demure aristocratic woman whose agency came from finding a “prince.” Powerful men perceived that Xi Wangmu had been assigned too much governance in weaving the universe. When the public didn’t buy these changes, officials stated that Xi Wangmu was a slut who preyed on men to build up her power (Chi). She lured men into her peach garden with promises of immorality and zapped them.       

Propaganda has power. By the late Ming dynasty, the public believed the new stories told about Xi Wangmu. She became a minor character in her narratives. Her tiger power attributes were re-assigned to another goddess. Xi Wangmu's Seventh Night Festival welcoming fall now emphasized the weaver girl’s quest to find a husband. Xi Wangmu became an enduring Auntie or Godmother who assisted the weaver girl's journey and she became an intercessor assisting unmarried women find husbands. 

Aunt Jennifer's Tigers
by Adrienne Rich (1929 - 2012)

Aunt Jennifer's tigers prance across a screen,
Bright topaz denizens of a world of green.
They do not fear the men beneath the tree;
They pace in sleek chivalric certainty.

Aunt Jennifer's finger fluttering through her wool
Find even the ivory needle hard to pull.
The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band
Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand.

When Aunt is dead, her terrified hands will lie
Still ringed with ordeals she was mastered by.
The tigers in the panel that she made
Will go on prancing, proud and unafraid.

Eleanor Roosevelt statue at 72nd and Riverside Drive, NY, NY

by Penelope Jencks. 1996.

Photo by Katherine Weber, hat by Jessica Brockington,

This past weekend marked the one year anniversary of the women's marches. This year I headed south to Cincinnati for rehearsal. I am part of an Ohio V-Day (Vagina Monologue) production. I'll be reading my #Metoo poem. The women in my production are diverse in age, sexual orientation, single versus married, race and culture. We are a group of women who have written stories and poems around the theme of "what it means being a woman." It is a narrative on how to rise up.

Many of our stories are similar to Adrienne Rich's poem or the backlash Eleanor Roosevelt received for choosing to activate her power. This Ohio V-day program will have stories about how our tiger spirit has been taken away. There will be stories telling how women have been caged into spaces and how women have used self-blame for things others did to us. These V-Day stories also offer hope. They cultivate self-compassion and compassion towards other women. They narrate how to stop the blame game and how to listen with an open heart and offer empathy to other women.  And, how to become a sister.    


Artual: (Art plus ritual) a phrase coined by Whitney Freya

Homelights definition is: Anything you do or make is creating, and ultimately is Art. When you connect art with ritual it becomes Artual.

Weeping Tiger Salad

Grilled Steak Marinade:

Juice of 2 limes
1/8 ground coriander
1/8 red pepper
1/8 ground ginger
1/4 cup of soy sauce

Mix together marinade.  Marinate steaks for 30 minutes.  Grill both sides of steaks until done.

Salad dressing:

1 Tbsp: Vegetarian or non-fish fish sauce substitute: "In a saucepan, simmer 3 cups of water, 1/4 ounce of shiitake mushrooms, 3 Tbsp of salt, and 2 Tbs of soy sauce over medium heat until reduced by half. Strain, cool, and store in refrigerator for up to three weeks" Cooks Illustrated.

Juice from 2 limes
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Thai chili chopped finely (I put mine in the food processor)
1/8 tsp of ground coriander 
splash of olive oil

Mix salad dressing together and toss salad.  Serve the grilled steak on the side.