King – man + woman is queen; but why? (2017)
https://p.migdal.pl/blog/2017/01/king-man-woman-queen-why/
#HackerNews #King #man #woman #queen #why #2017 #relationships #gender #roles
#PennedPossibilities 907 — Does your MC have any phobias or irrational fears? What is the origin of this?
Had.
Bolt is a day angel. This means she was born looking like any other girl, except she started with a third pair of limbs: wings. Her kind are meant to fly, sometimes learning how before 2, almost certainly by 3. When she developed a fear of heights that even prevented her mother from carrying her through the sky, it looked hopeless that she'd even live amongst her kind. She was strong though. She climbed the massive tall home tree that comprised her neighborhood, something her peers could fly into, as well as the cliffs where much of the town was built, too. It helped that there were ladders because the angelic also live with a minority population of humans without wings. At school she got taunted for never having fledged. This didn't mean she didn't like using her wings, or disliked the feel of the wind in her feathers. Her blue feathered wings were beautiful. Seeing them out stretched, nobody could understand why she refused to fly.
It wasn't refusal.
Heights.
Looking down made her stomach twist. She'd sweat even thinking about it. Her racing palpitating heart would throw her to the floor, screaming, panicked.
She eventually fledged; not part of this question to say how, is it? Instead, what was the origin of her phobia?
Hypnotherapy aged 30 would take her back to her second year. Home is a terribly hot world. People sleep in beds made of netting and use miracle fans worked by daemons to keep cool, if they can afford the price. Bolt had a hammock early because she grew too fast for what served day angels as a cradle.
Aged 1½, her long wings spun her; in her sleep, her hammock dumped her. While home tree branches grow together to form chambers, no floors are flat, nor is any space disconnected. Her mother heard her scream and found her having slid halfway down the tree to a crotch of branches, upside down, bruised, scratched by bark, crying. It happened often enough to fledglings, though usually not whilst sleeping. Bolt got comforted, lulled back to sleep with her mother, sleeping with her for days. The night terrors came not long after…
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory
#HybridEvent | Edith Pick, PhD, "Mothers and Nation: Maternal Politics in Israel and the Jewish Diaspora" | Jan. 26, 2026 07:00 PM | Registration: https://brandeis.zoom.us/meeting/register/2iCIWnwkSOmLgT2AXBJQfA#/registration
#EroticMusings 2026.01.18 — Week 34 (January 18-24) Characters: Are you especially fond of how any of your characters met? Share their meeting! CW: Wordplay.
I'm fond of how most of my characters met, but were those meetings meet-cutes or arguably erotic? No, except maybe in Mars Needed Women, which may be both. 22-year-old May Ri—a brainy engineer who is sexually experienced despite having lived in an oppressive religious society—has arrived on colonial Mars, having signed a contract promising that she will marry within a year. She's attending a meeting someone jokes is a "meat market" to choose a husband who is by contract also on the "market." Redacted for length.
The door monitor said, "Show confidence, girl, or he'll say 'No.'"
May Ri jumped, her heart bouncing off her sternum. [] She rushed in, another worry blooming: Men got to say no?
Auditorium was too grandiose a word.
Seven men in greenish formfitting EM Mars jumpsuits stood on a raised stage of artfully epoxied regolith inside a small up-lit shroom dome of pastel greens, reds, and black dusting.[]
People on Mars were different.
Since most Martians squatted thanks to the low gravity, the younger Earth women congregated together crosslegged on square pillows, talking lowly and pointing. The ethnicities of the contract colonist women confirmed what she knew: Oppressed women, or women with poor prospects, across the world, across Earth, had signed colonist contracts as they represented a fabulous opportunity for a better life. []Their accents sounded musical, even their laughter.[]
A movement; she looked left. Six men on stage talked quietly between themselves. Hispanic, African, Asian, northern European.
The seventh...
May Ri inhaled sharply, holding it, walking forward slowly, scanning the "meat" on sale. Very tasty. It wasn't entirely that she'd had little contact with men during the last months. Intra-dome meetings, vid-downlink, or watching across a field while weeding in a farm dome.
Focus! She needed to focus.
Look at each. Evaluate. Use logic!
But…
She looked at the seventh again. Stopping only when she barked her shins on the knee-high stage… Quietly, she said, "Ow?" and she might have sounded drunk had she been overheard.
Looked tasty. Definitely.
The seventh: He had coffee-color skin diluted with []delicious oat milk. Long fingers with well-manicured nails poked furiously at his book plate. Bedroom hands. While the other men looked preoccupied by the gaze of their audience, the sandy-haired guy with adorable cowlicks poked rapidly at his device, then touched his ear implant, turning away to talk lowly in a pleasant voice…
Providing her a view of his squared-off rear. That was a magnetic sight!
Warning herself of her long abstinence, she took a few moments to judge the rest of his exterior, up and down and midway, lingering… instantly noting his smile and happy nod when he finished. A glance at the competition confirmed the women had noticed, too.
May Ri said loudly, "I choose him," pointing.
A woman jumped to her feet, bowling over five others. []"Can she do that?"
A hand on May Ri's shoulder made her glance back to see red hair and freckles. Her half-pouting teenage tutor, Reina said, "I was going to choose him, too."
"I—" May Ri sputtered, flushing.
Reina shook her, giggling[]. "Take him. Please."
[]May Ri sensed a double entendre, then blurted, "Wait, What about Roger? You're married[]!"
Reina directed her grey eyes at the other group of men. ["Roger died a month ago in an airlock accident…,"] she whispered. "[]I get to choose again. [And…] I'm choosing Rodriguez!" A short swarthy man with short-cropped black hair stood bolt upright.
A shadow made May Ri look left. Her gaze met deep brown eyes and a tentative smile.
"I'm Randolf," he said in a West European Conglomerate accent. He offered one of his bedroom hands, and it was fine indeed. Like him. Not a day under 30 Earth, maybe 35. "What's your name?"
She blinked, but didn't turn away. She met his gaze. She couldn't interpret his nod. She tried warning herself, Lust at First Sight. She failed, for all the reasons.[]
Reina cut in. "May Ri is training to become an engineer. She never gives up. She's fun, too."
Fun? May Ri scoffed, looking at Reina. Randolf took her hand.[]
They locked gazes again. Her heart raced. Her face warmed.
Reina whispered in her ear, mischievously, "I hacked the showers and Rodriguez's cabin cam. His nickname, The Rod, is well deserved. As for Randolf, he's—"
"Randy?" May Ri returned reflexively, then giggled.
Randy answered, "Yes?" looking confused.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSMarsNeededWomen
#microfiction #flashfiction #tootfic #smallstory
#Writephant 20260119 — A4 What’s the one thing you wish you were better at tracking in your writing/publishing?
Character aspects like eye, hair and skin color, body features like scars and beards, clothing and food preferences, associated names, bits'o'backstory—basically things that I come up with on the spur of the moment and continue writing. Pantser, yay! It still burns that on the first galley pages I received that the editor asked me what the actual eye color of the character was; it changed from chapter to chapter.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#Writephant 20260119 — A3 Does your writing space reflect how organized you are?
Checks with the Magic 8 Ball (a fortune teller toy).
Are you kidding me?
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#Writephant 20260119 — A2 Do you use any tools (apps, notebooks, spreadsheets) to keep track of plot lines, character details, research, future ideas?
I currently use Scrivener, which syncs to all my Apple devices. While it can be used to generate anything from a manuscript to an eBook from a collection of files, it is mostly a system for organizing all the disparate documentary elements of author's efforts. It does so using a tree structure that has a trunk (called the binder) that can grow branches (folders) and leaves (files). One branch can have as leaves the chapters of a story. Another branch can sprout the front and back matter shared by different eBook formats. Another can be research, which can include images, note files, webpages, and so forth. Part of the binder can also hold search criteria, which allows me to store RegEx searches I use to find hedge words, misused words, and words that I need to check for proper negative or positive aspect (e.g., with and without mean different things, and I often get that wrong). I use one tree (a project file) for my Mastodon replies, another for a standalone novel such as my Mars Needed Women, and one for all the novels and short stories in the reluctance series. I have one for ideas, but do I use it? Am I organized? No.
BTW, I recommend OneNote if you only need to keep notes. Use it standalone, only.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
Universal Law of Gender: The Creative Balance Within All Things
January 15, 2026Ashley Marie
This article is written as part a series exploring the 12 Universal Laws, timeless principles that guide the flow of energy and influence the fabric of our reality. Each law, from the Law of Divine Oneness to the Law of Gender, represents a fundamental truth about how the universe operates and how we can harmonize with its rhythms to enhance our lives.
In this series, we will delve into each law, unraveling its significance, real-world applications, and practical insights that can help you align with these cosmic principles.
Whether you’re new to these metaphysical concepts or seeking to deepen your understanding, welcome to this journey of inner and outer transformation.
I invite you to share your perspectives in the comments — your experience may illuminate a new layer of insight for others.
The Twelve Universal Laws
Before we explore this specific principle, it’s helpful to remember that these laws are part of a larger whole — a system of interconnected principles that describe how energy behaves in all realms of existence.
Based on the Seven Hermetic Principles of Hermes TrismegistusA quick search engine query will land you with results listing a wide array of universal laws and authors from a myriad of scholarly disciplines. I watched a video posted to YouTube that outlined FIFTY universal laws!
While the information included in the video was valid and relevant, they are mere extensions of a list that was first published in 1908 in a sacred esoteric text titled, The Kybalion.
The most popular occult work of the twentieth century–now in a hardbound CENTENARY edition!! *paid linkThe authors, identified only as the “Three Initiates,” reportedly documented divine revelations of Hermes Trimegistus of ancient Egypt that had before only been passed verbally to initiates.
Known as the Hermetic Principles, these immutable and eternal laws of the universe influence everything around us, every detail and circumstance in our lives. Our ignorance of their existence is not an accident. They have been kept hidden from us because, without them, we can’t comprehend the hidden connections between our internal and external worlds, and we are subject to the volatile nature of our emotions. This makes us much easier to control and manipulate.
Start at the beginning and learn more about the Twelve Universal Laws.
Together, the Twelve Universal Laws form a cohesive framework that reveals the mechanics of existence — from vibration and attraction to rhythm and polarity.
As the final principle in this series, the Law of Gender invites us to return inward — to recognize the creative balance that exists within all things, including ourselves. The Law serves as a unifying force, reminding us that creation is not driven by one energy alone, but by the harmonious interplay of complementary forces.
Thank you for walking this path of reflection and awareness. Your presence here is part of the unfolding. ✨
What Is the Law of Gender?
The Universal Law of Gender states that everything contains both masculine and feminine energies. These energies are not tied to biological sex, but to modes of expression and creation.
In its simplest form:
Creation requires balance between receptive and expressive energy.
Masculine energy is often associated with action, structure, logic, and direction. Feminine energy is associated with intuition, receptivity, nurturing, and flow. Neither is superior — both are essential.
Creation occurs when these energies collaborate.
How the Law of Gender Operates in Life
This law is visible everywhere — in nature, consciousness, and creative expression.
Creation Begins Within
Every idea is conceived through feminine energy — intuition, imagination, inspiration — and brought into form through masculine energy — action, planning, execution. Without one, creation remains incomplete.
Imbalance Leads to Stagnation
Overemphasis on doing without being leads to burnout. Excess receptivity without action leads to stagnation. The Law of Gender teaches us that sustainable growth requires both movement and stillness.
Inner Harmony Shapes Outer Reality
When we honor both energies within ourselves, our external experiences reflect greater alignment. Relationships, creativity, and purpose flourish when inner balance is restored.
Living in Alignment With the Law of Gender
The Law of Gender invites us to integrate the masculine and feminine energies within ourselves — action and receptivity, logic and intuition, structure and flow. When these energies are balanced, creation becomes effortless and aligned.
1. Balance Doing With Being
Modern life often emphasizes constant action. The Law of Gender reminds us that being is just as essential as doing. Before taking action, allow space for reflection and intuition.
Ask yourself:
Creation begins in stillness and is fulfilled through action.
2. Listen to Intuition Without Abandoning Logic
Feminine energy speaks through intuition, emotion, and subtle awareness. Masculine energy provides structure, discernment, and execution. Honoring both allows decisions to feel both inspired and grounded.
Practice:
When these energies collaborate, clarity emerges naturally.
3. Honor Cycles of Creation
Every creation — an idea, relationship, or project — follows a gestation period. Pushing too quickly can disrupt natural development.
Instead, allow:
Patience is not delay — it is fertile ground.
4. Release Gendered Conditioning
This law invites us to move beyond societal expectations around gender expression. Strength does not negate softness, and receptivity does not diminish power.
Ask:
Wholeness emerges when all aspects are honored.
5. Create From Inner Balance
When something feels forced, it often signals energetic imbalance. Pause and check in:
Creation flows most freely when masculine and feminine energies are in harmony.
Conclusion: Wholeness Is the Final Teaching
The Law of Gender teaches us that creation is not about dominance or passivity — it is about cooperation. The Law brings us full circle — reminding us that the universe does not create through division, but through union.
When we integrate both masculine and feminine energies within ourselves, we become conscious creators — grounded, intuitive, purposeful, and whole — aligned with the natural intelligence of life.
✨ Balance is not something we seek — it is something we remember.
A Final Invitation
As this series comes to a close, take a moment to reflect:
Share your reflections in the comments — your voice completes the circle.
And if this journey has resonated, consider sharing the series with others seeking deeper understanding of universal flow and inner alignment.
Thank you for exploring the Twelve Universal Laws. May your path continue with clarity, balance, and intention
#gender #hermeticPrinciples #lawOfGender #SpiritualAlchemy #SpiritualAwakening #Spirituality #universalLaws
#Writephant 20260119 — A1 Do you consider yourself to be an organized person or not really?
Organized? Organized!? [Laugh, chortles, begins to rock in the chair, snorting, falling on the floor, seized up and rolling about, sounding quite thoroughly having gone mad.]
No.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
STOP talking about "#Autogynephilia"
START talking about "#Autogynephobia"
Cismen be terrified Obama gonna give them a free sex change without consent. :neoraccoon_pensive:
Vorgestern habe ich hier was zu Geschlechtsidentität gepostet und schwupps trudelte eine ganze Handvoll von Beiträgen ein, die in relativ knapper Form ein paar mir neue Sichtweisen und Aspekte aufzeigten. Ich vermute, alles von queeren Menschen.
Ich erinnere mich dagegen an mehrere stundenlange Podcasts mit cis hetero Gästen aus "Männergruppen", in denen alles für immer auf dem Stand von vor 40 Jahren eingefroren schien. Erkenntnisgewinn gleich null.
Das entsprechende Meme kennt ihr sicher. Es stimmt einfach.
AEA Code of Conduct: (I can't answer "no" to all of the screening questions) #EconTwitter #controversialmarkets #gender #religion #sex
http://marketdesigner.blogspot.com/2026/01/aea-code-of-conduct-i-cant-answer-no-to.html
"Drawing on decades of scholarship, Spectrum of Desire opens up new ways of seeing the past through stirring works of art that inspire us to think more expansively about people who lived in the Middle Ages, their relationships, and the artworks they produced."
Just when I'm trying not to buy any more art books.
Oh well... What's one more at this point?
https://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/spectrum-of-desire-love-sex-and-gender-in-the-middle-ages
Interessanter Artikel aus dem Magazin "Neue Narrative":
“Warum uns allen ein bisschen weniger Gender-Dogmatismus guttun würde”
von Louka Goetzke
(Mit Gender-Dogmatismus ist hier der Dogmatismus über die angebliche Zweigeschlechtlichkeit gemeint.)
#WritersCoffeeClub #WCC 2026.01.19 — Talk about something (even if very small!) from your own life which made it onto the page.
My mother was a bailbondswoman in the midwest in the 1960s, when I was growing up. Contrary to popular media and conceptions of good guys and bad guys, people still ended up being people. I was brought up in the company of bank robbers, thieves, mafioso, ex-convicts, as well law enforcement. People out on bond that Mom knew. Some I referred to as uncle or aunt (a polite honorific that children were taught to use). It would be hypocritical of me not to paint such people in shades of grey when they appear in my stories; I knew them, and their families, visited their homes. Not saying they weren't criminal or dangerous, or that they were victims of the system or privilege. Each person has their reasons. And there are reasons not to trust certain people without verifying. Even the good guys. Verisimilitude can be a bitch, too.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#BoostingIsSharing
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#WordWeavers 2026.01.19 — Who is the most moral character in your story?
...morals usually connotes an element of subjective preference, while ethics tends to suggest aspects of universal fairness and the question of whether or not an action is responsible...
—Merriam Webster
Because in most cultures, the subjective preference of what is or isn't moral is predicated on scripture or other religious doctrine, all the characters in my current WIP are by definition either immoral or amoral.
However, most are ethical and principled. Bolt, my MC, has a sense of what is right or wrong. She treats people fairly and kindly, and works to prevent them being hurt as best as her restricted freedom allows her to; she's even risked her safety to help those she dislikes. Regardless, she's serially immoral by the traditional standards ascribed to by the majority of Earth's population. Doubly so because she's female. Women are killed for her behavior in our world even today, or at very least shamed, shunned, and imprisoned.
I suggest considering the semantics of using the words moral and ethical very carefully.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#PennedPossibilities 906 — What is your SC’s response to stress?
There's a reason why The Director of Home decided to send her new praetorian to leadership classes, even though he's male: He acts better under pressure than he does when he is allowed to plan ahead. He worries when he has time to think, an attribute which might run in his family. He's helped raise his sister, who's incredibly smart but lacks all common sense and often requires saving. He's held down many jobs where he's dealt with children or guided adults through difficult times by consoling, entertaining, protecting, or making decisions for them. He's Bolt's casual boyfriend (she's the MC). She enjoys him a lot, but he's often her bulwark when her (secret) life working for the mob becomes too difficult to deal with. We meet Blue when he shows up to help handle a "disaster" in town, which Bolt is photographing.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#ScribesAndMakers 2026.01.18 — Vinyl, compact disc, digital, or radio?
The civilization depicted in the reluctance series is an interstellar one, however they don't have much use or need for electricity—and they certainly don't have electronics. They do have telegraphs, also light semaphores. No way they could have compact discs, digital anything, or radio. This doesn't mean they lack computers; it simply isn't what you think it is.
They do have vinyl records (and metal ones), as well as photography and motion pictures with sound.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
photographer chef cooking
#cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
#WordWeavers 2026.01.18 — Your antagonist gets a call or message from their mother. How do they respond?
Three antagonists, briefly:
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
† Mob, not mafia. Crime as a business model. His isn't a family business, and as its CEO, he certainly doesn't want any of his family involved with what he knows is wrong but feels he is trapped (mostly by inertia) into doing.
[Author retains copyright (c)2026 R.S.]
#gender #fiction #writer #author
#Cozy #mystery #sf #sff #sciencefiction
#writing #writingcommunity #writersOfMastodon #writers
#RSdiscussion
#RSstory #RSReluctanceStory
