Author: Lamar Van Dyk
EPublication: Rediff on Net, US
Edition
Date: November 21, 2000
I would like to tell you something
about our company.
The reality of our company is that
we are two women. Two women who make these toilet seats, lovingly,
with our own hands, in our own home. If you look closely at the selection
available, with the exception of Lord Ganesh, all of the images we are
using are representational of the female gender. We feel that it
is important to put strong female images out there in the universe to attempt
to counteract the negativity that is and has been directed at woman throughout
the millennia.
Kali is one of the strongest female
images to have survived the deliberate distortion the patriarchy has placed
upon all of our history. The only surviving female figure of the
Christian version is the Virgin Mary. We have put her on a seat as
well, in the familiar form of Our Lady of Guadalupe. It is simply
not up on our Web page yet.
Our difference of opinion is not
based on a lack of respect for the images of Kali and Ganesh. We
do have the utmost respect and love for these deities. That is why
we are sending them off to live with various people around the world.
It seems to be simply a difference of opinion about the toilet and perhaps
the entire bathroom as well.
Most of the Sacred Seat Collection
has been sold to various yoga studios in the United States. A few
have gone to individuals who feel a strong connection to the energy of
whichever deity they have chosen to purchase They have, consequently, turned
their entire bathrooms into altars dedicated to those particular deities.
They have added candles, incense, art and other icons that are important
to them. They have created fabulous environments in a room that is
usually ignored.
Bathrooms are places in homes where
people go to be alone. They provide us with a few minutes alone,
focused on ourselves with no interruptions. If you have turned your
bathroom into a shrine, then you have the support of the environment you
have created to guide your thoughts in the direction you have chosen.
Perhaps it is the bodily function
part of the bathroom that has set you off. Interestingly enough,
these things are the one thing that all of humanity has in common.
I see no negative or positive aspects to this.
Now, here we are. Two women
making one seat at a time with love and care. You have become offended.
Reasonable people are reasonably
questioning our motives. But unreasonable people have also threatened
my life, my physical well-being and my livelihood. I have been harassed
in my home, in my workplace, and certainly on my Web site. Death
threats over toilets seats is simply over the top for me.
Our Web site is currently out of
commission.
