by Beth Cohen
Her Destiny Is Change
Beth Cohen
DEDICATION To Dawn, Yair, Iyal and Rita -the ones who love and continuously push me forward to be who I am today. To Euge, who gave me my first blank book.
APPRECIATION This book has been birthing for many years. I owe much to the women in my life who have loved and guided me without hesitation.
DEEPEST GRATITUDE Dawn Dalia, who never stopped believing. Sharon Baker, my friend and the best editor ever. Donna Marie Cohen, original painting, book cover. Andrew Jason Cohen, my sounding board and rock.
Copyright © 2017 Beth Cohen All rights reserved. ISBN-13: 978-1546551805 ISBN-10:1546551808
CONTENTS Acknowledgements 1
Prologue page 5 Part 1 page 13
Jane Double D
The Intersex Meet
One-Eyed Ike
Back to the Intersex Meet
Part 2 page 45 Life Before the Great Split Gabrielle, First Cowander-in-Chief Jane Double D
Dally Blyth
Kay King Junior
The Women Before the Great Split Anna and the Green Shrine
The Daily Deed – In the Wideness The Absolute Man
The Daily Deed – Stepping Out to Resist! Resistance, Persistence
Part 3 page 107 The Great Split
The Leaving -A Time to Resist
Dally Blyth’s First Speech After the Great Split
Part 4 page 119 The Women’s Forward Movement -The Realm of the Womeness
Without the Men
Multies as Well
And Then, Lil and Joy
And It Was Good
The Men Visit
Part 5 page 159 Life in the Realm Gabrielle
Gabrielle’s Dream
Love in the Realm
Part 6 page 175 Life -Hard but Good Wombitee
Templets
Part 7 page 185
Senshii Jane Double D
The Judoshiiks
Judoshii-Juniors, Judoshiiks and the Great
Defense
Jane Double D at Home
The Walking ‘Accident’
Zana
Zana and Jane Double D
The New Couple and Their Unknown
Shared Shestory
The Four Part 8 page 244
The Bad Air
The Conversation That Changed Things
Part 9 page 259 The Grateful Homecoming The Green Shrine of Deep Thought and One-Eye Ike…
All Is as It Is Meant to Be
And Now It Is
Glossary page 266
Prologue
There are moments of happiness and moments of sadness. Now, I know that you think I have had a bit too much early lunershine, but it is ShElder’s day. I have decided to sit myself down and write down some shestory before it is forgotten. Why don’t you come sit down and listen while I jot some notes. These stories are your shestory — I haven’t been able to figure out those new-fangled writing machines that write down every thought and memory once you focus them into your frontal cortex. Never did trust machines that wanted to see behind my own eyes, see the things that I couldn’t even see! But if you’ll sit here, I will tell you the ShGod’s honest truth as I lived to see it. Maybe one day these stories of our beginnings as the Women’s Forward Movement will be taught properly in your schools — even the bad and painful stuff! Your actual and real shestory ought to be stored and remembered. Remembered and told in the way it deserves to be remembered. After all, it is our life shestory — our beginnings…and these beginnings and shestories have a way of repeating themselves, especially the awful violent parts, if we don’t remember them the way they actually happened, without hiding away all the sorrow. Pay proper attention to what I am about to tell you, even as I write.
Take my old friend Jane Double D…where would we all be today if it wasn’t for Jane? Did I ever tell you about Jane? Did I ever tell you how the Women’s Realm came to be?
Those days before the Realm, all of the Elders were men. You might say, ‘’so what. Not all men are bad.” That is true. But as you are children of the Realm, you had the good fortune not to have been a part of this particular time in shestory when lives of people like me, women, was bleak. I must point out a few facts that are part of our shestory. For one thing, it should be noted, that is, it should have been a warning sign —the very fact that these elders were all men. Do you think that the women of the time were simply not interested in being a part of this group of elders who decided our way of life, chose which laws were to be put into action, who would have what jobs and serve on what committees? Also, these men weren’t like you men of today. They were not the men that you have been raised with and who are part of the Realm. Indeed, the Realm during this time was not even a dream, let alone a thought that would become our place, our Home. These men were raised by other men who had been raised by other men, in the land that was called the Wideness. This land had laws and traditions that enabled the men to rise to great power, with a passion for the strength of a male-dominated society, denying the women of the time even the simple desire to have their voices heard, to decide for themselves, to own their own bodies and be responsible for themselves, to be valid, with an honest intention to better the world in which they live. These men believed in the complete subjugation of the women. Yes, my dear, you are hearing this from me, your ancient ShElder who sometimes rambles on about the past; but I beg just a bit of your time and attention. Hear me speak.
Listen closely, this our shestory needs to be heard, and driven deep into the cells of all of our beings. Shestory has a way of repeating itself — and never in a good way. For our purposes, let’s call this this collective story the shestory of the women of the Realm. Perhaps the telling and retelling of our shestory will alter the shestories of the future. Perhaps shestory will repeat, but in a good way. The Women’s way, the Way of Gentleness with the strength and kindness of the Powers of All Around.
So, what do you say, do you think you are old enough, strong enough and smart enough to hear the real story of how we came into being? Mind you, it isn’t a story for the weak or faint of heart. Some of it is mighty painful and bloody — so boys, if you are feeling too delicate right about now, I do understand. I can just spout it to the girls and you can let them filter out the gory and the gruesome before telling it to you boys.
This, the ShElder holiday, is set aside to honor those whose bravery led to the building of our habitat, our world, our place, the Realm of the Womeness. The strongest and most viable of all in the world. It was so long ago and there are not very many ShElders alive and aware enough to tell the tale.
*** As I spoke to the children sitting before me, I thought of how life is such a strange thing. Most of us go around doing and being, but without having a clue as to what it is all about. The reason we live, the reason we exist, eludes us. Then there is the nature or the drive to search and seek out who we are as individuals but, if we look carefully, we will find the answers not in the words of the seers, but in the past, in the words and stories of our ShElders. As individuals we have each spent a great deal of time searching; searching for happiness, searching for love, searching for a way to make a better living, searching for a reason.
I thought to myself, these kids were borne under a different sky and they must think that my mind is more distant than a shooting star.
*** Hear me: I speak the truth. My memories are the memories of our existence. My memories go back to the time before you were born — before your mothers were born. My memories go back to the time before the Realm, to the time when men ruled our lives entirely. My memories tell of our collective destiny — the destiny that formed us all here in the Realm. My memories are your Shestory. My memories are the Shestory of who w
e are and how we became.
*** As I look into their young eyes, I worry; If all of us ShElders started talking about the past, what would become of the now? What would the seers say? Will these memories take over, destroy us? Will our past, once recorded and taught, return and fall upon us like the nightmare it was, and extinguish the fire that fuels our freedom today?
I return to the children and again say, ‘’hear me: Here I am. I am equal to you. I have worth. We each have worth. You grew up knowing this. You grew up in the Realm, where you were accepted and taught that there is no greatness greater than that of being able to live together with respect and love. You learned that you each have a right to be here, to live, to love, to earn, to support, to decide and to determine your own path; to make decisions about your own body, who can touch it and who can’t; do I mother a child or do I remain my own single self. Before the Realm, Men owned us; they owned our bodies. Our possessions were theirs. Men possessed us completely, bodily and forcibly.”
Nobody knows our history like the ShElders. In all likelihood, most no longer remember in vivid detail; maybe they just don’t want to remember the way I do. How about I get some of my favorite homebrewed lunershine before I continue our story? As I lean on my cane and make my way slowly over to the jug of lunershine, my legs wobble with each step I take. I can hardly see the path, but the lunershine’s strong, sweet smell guides me. My crooked hands shake as I reach for the jug. My hair is long and scraggly, as I try to push it out of my face, one of the children takes my hand and leads me back to my place and my ShElder’s story begins…
Drip drop clop, like icicles on the page, in a way that icicles have never been dripped and dropped on a page before. This is how our shestory took form. This is not the beginning of our shestory as women or femalists, or lesbian women. This is how our shestory took form. The first icicles to form on the page. A silent scream that could not be ignored, distinct and notable, calling out for all time, for all to hear.
I will start this jump backwards in time to one of the strongest women I know. She was so strong that she herself did not know her own strength. I think this is one of the reasons she was so admired — and why her followers were so dedicated. They would follow her to the darkest of depths — and they would stand deathly still, if that was her order. Jane Double D…great memories, great and difficult times...
Part 1
Jane Double D
With great self-assurance, she hurries into the Judoshii doshii. The Chamber is well lit, white-walled and the floor is a thick blue with mirrors floor to ceiling on one side. Jane Double D’s outfit is the same bright white as the walls, making her face and hands all the more strikingly sharp in appearance. Her accentuated female physique is striking and firm. Her hands are small and defined, lined with a delicate pattern of blue veins and the outlines of chiseled sinews leading up her arms, covered by her white quilted cotton jacket.
Jane Double D’s years as a shihan, dedicated to teaching and mentoring her students in the art of Judoshii or ‘The Way of Gentleness’, had become well known throughout the world of defense and held in high honor. Indeed, even her enemies have been heard proclaiming their abilities to be “at least as effective as Jane Double D.”
Jane Double D’s students are already assembled, eagerly waiting her instruction as she steps on the mats. Her every word and movement are inhaled and absorbed by every girl in the room. Acceptance to the Academy is a great honor — acceptance into these courses, taught by Jane, even greater. Jane’s cadets are among a lucky few, selected for the agility of spirit and mind as well as their extreme physical capabilities. It is a known and accepted fact that Jane’s cadets will be the first called and the first to fall. This fact is not taken lightly by Jane and she gladly gives all that she has, both spiritually and physically, to her brave and loyal students, the Judoshii special elite.
The lesson passes quickly for both Jane and her students. Her quick movements — matched only by her sharp sense of humor and commitment — keep everyone lively and enthused.
As the class comes to an end, Jane’s panmitter emits its signal. Jane Double D clicks in… “Jane Double D…Yes…yes…yes, I understand.”
*** Within the hour, Jane Double D is at Headquarters of the Upper Stratus, discussing the reason for the clicket that had interrupted her class. Her old friend and colleague, Kay King Junior, had sent the clicket. It seems that the Men’s League had been invaded by an unknown element, which had caused a chain of Bad Air to float. The Men’s League in turn blamed the Women’s Forward Movement (WFM) and threatened to launch an attack.
The entire Upper Stratus of the Women’s Forward Movement had been called in — including the young and inexperienced Judoshii-Juniors special elite, who arrived in a noisy wave of energy. Dally Blyth was also brought up to speed. If there was any possibility of diplomacy, Dally Blyth would be the one to find the way. Her ability to find a diplomatic solution in almost all situations was absolutely unbelievable. Her women, as she loved to refer to all of the women of the Realm, all of her women looked to her for all solutions or, at least, direction to solve an issue for which just about everyone else could not find any possible solution.
Jane Double D and Kay King Junior gave each other a knowing glance and raised their hands, pressed together and brought down to stomach level. This greeting immediately brought the JudoshiiJuniors to silence. Dally Blyth stood aside smiling at her two best friends. She never felt the fear. She had suffered at the hands of the men before, but since the forming of the Women’s Forward Movement and the Judoshii-Juniors, she knew that she was safe. She knew that her women
“Juniors…we have called you all here today because we are under threat of attack by the Men’s League. It seems that an unknown element caused a floater in the Men’s League airways and the Men’s League, in turn, blames us.” Jane Double D’s voice booms on as the Judoshii-Juniors look on with trepidation.
“We call on you, the Judoshii-Juniors, because we believe that although you are young and inexperienced, you have the ability to meet your potential as women of the Woman’s Forward Movement. We call on you, in this our time of threat, knowing that you understand this threat and will do everything in your power to counter its pose.”
Within minutes the Judoshii-Juniors were divided into units according to level of ability and understanding. Jane led the first wave of 10 into the preparation room, where they were issued uniforms, panmitters and weaponry.
“Can’t diplomacy get them to stand down?” asks one of her charges. Dally Blyth took this as her cue to speak. “Obviously diplomacy has been tried, but the men at the head of the Men’s League are an aggressive and bitter bunch. They are convinced that the Women’s Forward Movement is planning for the destruction of ‘man’kind. They fail to understand that we would never do that. They fail to understand that it is us, womankind, that gave birth to them and to us all. They fail to understand that all we want is our fair share of mother earth’s fruits and father sky’s vastness.
“It is these very men who opposed ‘the equality divisions’ of the 222nd session. It is these men who believe that all that is not right with their world has been directly and intentionally caused by the Women’s Forward Movement’s commitment to the emancipation of the female. They don’t see the man in woman or the male in female. We are all linked semantically. We are all linked in destiny….”
Just as Dally Blyth finished her lengthy explanation, Cowander-in-Chief Gabrielle came into the room. “Jane, I wish to have a word… JudoshiiJuniors, may you travel strong and return in peace.”
Jane Double D and Gabrielle the Cowanderin-Chief took leave of the Judoshii-Juniors who were then left to themselves to speculate their mission and their fate.
The face of Cowander-in-Chief Gabrielle is as stern as ever. It was always impossible to read anything from Gabrielle’s expression or movements. Jane Double D supposed that was one of the reasons she was effective as Cowander-in-Chief — her thoughts and emo
tions always remained her own. Only her words carried the possibility of any inner reflection of the Cowander’s thoughts and skill. “Jane, the head of the Men’s League’s negotiating team has left word — the Commander-in-Chief of the Men’s League wishes to speak with you.”
“Cowander, do you think that this is wise? It may be a trick — a hostage situation would not help our morale and certainly not our cause,” Jane Double D suggests.
“I don't believe this is a trick, Jane,” Cowander Gabrielle responds. “It is no secret to anyone from the Men’s League and the Women’s Forward Movement that Commander-in-Chief Dward has a ‘thing’ for you. Everyone knows that you two were lovers, or at least shared the occasional ‘romp around’ before the Great Split. He doesn’t
understand our preferences are what they are — ingrained, inborn, desirable and innately woman for woman.”
Jane Double D is squirming and more than a little uncomfortable at the Cowander’s not-so-subtle insinuation. She and Dward did have the occasional night together — but the fact is they could never discuss anything without a big blowout. Dward just thought that Jane’s ideas were crazy and had no place in the world he wanted to live in.
Jane tries to interrupt but Cowander-in-Chief Gabrielle continues. “Besides, if anyone can protect and defend herself as well as defend the cause of the Women’s Forward Movement, it’s you, Jane Double D. You are not only the most knowledgeable in the arts of the Great Self Defense, but by far the most cunning tactical thinker we have. Why, you developed most of our self-defense tactics and chose most of the Judoshii-Juniors yourself! I trust that if your situation becomes ‘difficult’ you will be able to extract yourself from any threat.”
“Yes, Cowander-in-Chief Gabrielle.” And before Jane can finish her sentence, Cowander-inChief Gabrielle takes leave and Jane is left standing alone. For a few minutes, she tried to collect her thoughts and regain her composure…she can ill afford to let Cowander-in-Chief Gabrielle’s words set her off course. She has too much responsibility now and must remain focused.
