Editor:
It was me and 20 women attending a recent Federation of BC Writers weekend retreat in Gibsons. Where the heck are the men? Last year, of 10 presenters at a literary event at the Sechelt Arts Centre, all were women. Of new books advertised in the latest BC Bookworld, male authors are vastly outnumbered. Are men’s perspectives disappearing? And if so, is it a bad thing?
Men are stepping back. Where once it was women relegated to the background, now men are presented with that opportunity. My worry is that men won’t appreciate this situation for the blessing it is. It’s our turn! It’s our chance to disavow our innate lust for power and to retreat into lives of greater reflection. Let’s not blow it. It’s possible that women will try to reclaim the ground they’re so keen to abandon, and for that reason we must stand strong in our silence. We will behave as warrior monks serving our god and our families and society – just as women did for millennia, silently growing their best selves.
Outnumbered as I was at the weekend retreat, I found it easy to surrender my male urge to impress. What a relief! There’s something hugely liberating about being a nobody. At the risk of sounding all hifalutin, being a nobody feels like a portal to freedom. Does any of this make any sense?
P.J. Reece, Gibsons
