25,000 Year Old Venus Figurine Knocks Barbie Out For Female Inspiration

Imagine A World Where Strong Female Figures Were Made Into Art

Image made by LeonardoAI

Barbie is 66 years old.

Everything about Barbie culture was poison.

She reflected the negative female stereotype for decades.

I never knew self-confidence being female.

Stick figures are ideal females

I played with Barbie dolls.

My Barbie’s were big busted, white, thin, blonde hair and blue eyes. There were fashion clothes galore. All the accessories were things to play in- pool, mansion, van, corvette. There was nothing that showed her even having a job or career.

I guess that is what Ken was for.

He had a subculture of his own. He wore business suits or other trendy outfits. They always looked rich.

Sadly, they reflected societies values of women.

Even though in the 70’s there was Nurse Barbie, Astronaut Barbie and Surgeon Barbie. I never saw it. Just the normal Barbie.

I certainly never saw Barbie with an opinion or thought for herself.

The clothes were the only thing making a statement.

"Barbie teaches girls that self-worth is measured by material possessions, an unattainable body, and an obsession with fashion”-Carolyn Meritt

Society said women didn’t have thoughts in their heads either.

Keep women as homemakers and nurturers. Or the role of arm candy with no thoughts of their own. Women need to be guided, never sovereigns of their own lives.

I half accepted and half rejected Barbie’s message.

Everything changed my first year in college.

I took a college course called 'Goddess in History'.

My First Goddess

I thought this course was going to be how goddess effected history.

The class was literally the Goddess and the history of her.

The first image I saw was the Venus of Willendorf.

She is an ancient figurine discovered in the town of Willendorf, Austria in 1908. She is about 25,000 years old. She is small and she has exaggerated breasts, hips, thighs and butt. She is one of the oldest piece of human art created.

Originally, theories around her were male-centric. At this time, archeologist were mostly men and their bias of the time formed the theories.

No one could prove conclusively what she was or represented and how she was used. 25,000 years erases a lot.

Here are some of the early male-centric theories:

• She represents fertility. Like a talisman. She was used superstitiously to make sure the species survived.

• She was used during rituals to represent the female body. Again like a talisman because women would never be included in such rituals. Men only.

• She is carried about with men as an idealized image of a woman. (Like carrying Playboy in your pocket.)

• It was assumed that the figurines were made by men.

“In The Dominant Sex, (M. and M. Vaerting, writing in Germany in 1923), asserted that the sex of the deity was determined by the sex of those who were in power: The ruling sex, having the power to diffuse its own outlooks, tends to generalize its specific ideology. Should the trends of the subordinate sex run counter, they are likely to be suppressed all the more forcibly in proportion as the dominant sex is more overwhelming. ”
― Merlin Stone

Luckily my teacher went with more current theories. These include:

• She was made by women. She was associated or used by women to honor their own reproductive system. (Some of the figures were painted red like blood.). Or used in their own rituals.

• She was a goddess figurine that was carried around for any number of reasons. From protection to worship. She is part of the spiritual needs of the people.

• She is a fertility symbol. She was used beyond the fertility for humans and could also be attached to the land for growing food and the harvest. The Earth is female.

• She was a magical talisman for some purpose.

Venus for a healthier role model

Again, everything about her use is a theory. We don't even know what the actual society was like that she came from.

But the theories were intriguing. Women were defining their own roles in a society and supporting that role.

When I first saw these figurines in class, I was shocked.

There was a time when women were revered. ‘When God Was A Woman’ is the name of the book that opened this up to me. Female can be a divine being.

“At the very dawn of religion, God was a woman. Do you remember?”
― Merlin Stone

Women were treated better than what I was seeing in current life.

I had chosen science as a major. It was a very male dominated world and I was constantly having to prove myself because no one ever took me seriously. I didn’t really ever take myself seriously either. Society images and stereotypes emphasized this.

I wasn’t stick thin. I have a pretty face that got me noticed, but when they go to my body I was treated poorly. I never measured up to the body ideal.

In the 1980’s, women were expected to be machines.

Women had demanding careers, children to raise to be upstanding citizens, and a wide range of relationships to build and maintain. Nothing mentioned of taking care of her health and maintain an ideal weight.

She wasn’t supposed to be overwhelmed, tired, or angry while she was starving.

Venus means whatever you want

Here is a figure that is full bodied with breast and thighs and butt that were more like normal women like. We don’t have to look like stick figures.

This makes female spirituality a thing.

Female spirit isn’t an offshoot of a man. Women or female sprit has its own beauty and power.

As the class continued, I saw Goddesses of other cultures through out history. The were strong women archetypes and showed me the strength of being a woman. She thinks for herself, does for herself and she doesn’t need a  man to stand or validate her.

Everyone needs strong female pirit

Female spirituality gives us strength.

It revere’s what it means to be a women. We honor intuition, our blood cycles as connected to the moon, and our minds. Instead of it being a woman as a curse, it is something we can cherish.

Our intuition is honored. Instead of  making fun of things that we just might know, we can use this part of ourselves with pride. We can take our body sizes and feel good about ourselves instead of trying to force it into what ever the current beauty trend is.

Men benefit because they now have strong partners, role models and their inner female is treasured.

We can honor all aspects of ourselves. Maiden, Mother and Crone.

Women’s value grows

Women are valued members of society.

All the years later, I am still exploring the power of being a woman. It has taken a few decades, but I have learned to think for myself and become a sovereign in my own life. I make decisions for myself

The Goddess is important to me as well as female spirituality.

This small figurine shows us that we have a vital and important part of nature and the world. We can show that we are a vital part of society as well as value ourselves.

Barbie is catching onto this though.

There are now all shapes and colors for her. She has roles beyond Ken and even the LGBTQ society is represented.

She is n

ow a doll we can proudly give our daughters.