Time to take a stand?

Choosing between my loom and boat...

This is an excerpt from my Substack. Have a peruse over there, if you like... or just stay here! It's really up to you.

When was the last time you took a stand against something? 

For me, it was last week (you can read the full story in Oh please, woman, stop being so cringe). To summarise without being exhaustive: man, me, everyday sexism, mild irritation. 

Standing up for yourself, digging your heels in, putting your foot down, taking a stand is always always a tricky one, isn’t it? There are so many pitfalls: being accused of overreacting; actually overreacting; the possibility you’re alone in your conviction; the possibility you’re on the wrong side. The possibility (perhaps, the saddest of all) that you’ll never change anyone’s mind.

Taking a stand was complex in ancient Greece too, although for different reasons. Most intriguing was the word itself: 

ἵστημι (hístēmi), to take a stand, to stand or to set up…

…and more specifically its associated noun: ῐ̔στός (histós). 

Women and their loom in ancient Greece.

ῐ̔στός (histós) was a slippery beast. It meant both a ship’s mast and a weaver’s loom. 

In Greek society, men sailed and women wove. Practically speaking, each gender would have experienced this noun differently. As I thought about how I’d take my stand last week, I wondered whether I’d aggress, like a fleet of sailors, hauling the sails up my ῐ̔στός in the knowledge I could flee by wave and wind (attractive, I admit). 

The alternative was to weave on my loom – with words and concepts and thoughts – and make a web of an argument (web is actually another meaning of ῐ̔στός), in the knowledge I’d be a sitting duck; more exposed, unable to run away rebuttal and rebuke. 

With no boat to hand, nor sailing experience, I opted for the latter. All was well: we’re not in ancient Greece anymore. But the ῐ̔στός is a good noun with which to think, especially when we consider how our society’s (wonderful breadth of) genders stand up for themselves both online and in the real world.