Aristasia is a largely imaginary all-female society existing primarily in England, but with adherents in other parts of the world, notably the United States. Also known as the Feminine Empire, it's partly a "micronation," partly a role-playing game related to separatist feminism. The mirror of the Roman Goddess Venus is often used to represent the female sex. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the United Kingdom (light green), with the Republic of Ireland (blue) to its west Languages English Capital London Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population –mid-2004... Micronations – sometimes also referred to as cybernations, fantasy countries, model countries, and new country projects – are entities that resemble independent nations or states, but which are unrecognized by them, and for the most part exist only on paper, on the Internet, or in the minds of their creators. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. ... Separatist feminism is a form of feminism that does not support heterosexual relationships due to a belief that sexual disparities between men and women cannot be resolved. ...

The philosophy underlying Aristasia is summarised in The Feminine Universe [1] a book which outlines Aristasian thinking on world-history, metaphysics, gender theory, spirituality and many other subjects.

Introduction

The Aristasian concept was founded in Oxford in the 1970s in reaction to what its founders saw as the collapse of cultural values following the 1960s.They called this collapse "the Eclipse," a term occasionally used by other writers. The founding girls were mostly students of Hester St. Clare, and all attended Lady Margaret Hall. Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... The outrageously crowded Woodstock festival epitomized the popular antiwar movement of the 60s. ... The French 1999 eclipse An eclipse (Greek verb: ekleipô, to vanish) is an astronomical event that occurs when one celestial object moves into the shadow of another. ... Lady Margaret Hall is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ...

The cultural Eclipse ... took place in [the] 1960s, leaving all values inverted, replacing the love of beauty with the love of ugliness, the love of order with the love of chaos and giving over all normal human loyalties, decencies and truths to vilification or to mockery. [2]

Aristasians dress in clothes recalling styles from the 1920s to the early 1960s. The stricter ones avoid contact with modern music, television and periodicals, while engaging in activities such as watching old films and listening to music from the 1920s-1960s, and driving classic cars. They also strive to create art, culture, and dress of their own. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Social issues of the 1920s. ... Music is a form of expression in the medium of time using the structures of tones and silence. ... This article is about the magazine as a published medium. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Social issues of the 1920s. ... The outrageously crowded Woodstock festival epitomized the popular antiwar movement of the 60s. ...

Aristasia

The word Aristasia refers to two different things:

• Aristasia Pura is a fictional world in which men do not exist. Instead, there are two feminine sexes, blonde and brunette (with hair colour being a secondary sex characteristic).
• Aristasia-in-Telluria is an attempt to create Aristasia in "Telluria" (the real world); that is, an all-feminine counter-culture in response to the perceived death of mainstream Tellurian (Earth) culture.

One of the worlds most famous blondes Marilyn Monroe, who was in fact a natural brunette Blond (feminine, blonde) is a hair colour found in certain mammals characterised by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin and higher levels of the pale pigment phæomelanin, in common with red or... Brunette is the feminine of French brunet, which is a diminutive of brun, brune, meaning brown or dark-haired, ultimately from Latin BRVNVS (brown). ... Human beings have many variations in hair color and texture. ... A peafowl displays its secondary sexual characteristics (long, colored feathers). ... During the 1960s the term underground acquired a new meaning in that it referred to members of the so-called counterculture, i. ...

Aristasia Pura

Aristasia Pura is an imaginary empire of seven provinces, which correspond very loosely to real-world temporal eras, mainly those in the Western (and, in particular, British) parts of Earth. For instance, the province of Quirinelle has a culture based loosely on the 1950s, while Trent is based on the 1930s. However, Amazonia represents both the ancient world and "non-Westernised" Asia, because Aristasians believe that non-Westernised Asia preserves a worldview similar to the ancient West. Such a worldview is respected by Aristasians and has far greater influence on the Aristasian West than on its real life counterpart. Set in the 2050s and beyond, futuristic province of Novaria appears as straight from science-fiction novels, but Aristasians consider it to be the most traditional of all Western provinces. The term Western world or the West can have multiple meanings depending on its context. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000-5,500 years, with cuneiform possibly being the oldest form of writing. ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... The 2050s decade is expected to be called the twenty-fifties. ... A collection of well-known science-fiction novels and magazines Science fiction is a genre of fiction in which at least part of the narrative depends on the impact of science, either real or imagined, to generate settings or events which have not yet occurred in reality (and may never...

Because there was no "Eclipse" in Aristasia Pura, there are no provinces equivalent to the Eclipsed decades (which run from the 1960s to the 2040s), though there is the island of Infraquirinelle, which is a protectorate of Quirinelle representing the acceptable aspects of the 1960s.

Blondes and brunettes

In mythical Aristasia Pura, blondes (always spelt with the "e") and brunettes are two different sexes. Both are feminine, but blondes are "ultra-feminine". They differ biologically and are capable of reproduction. Sexual attraction between the two sexes works in the expected way: blondes are typically attracted to brunettes, and vice versa. However, "homosexual" (i.e. blonde-blonde or brunette-brunette) attraction is not unheard of, and even a heterosexual blonde (i.e. one attracted to brunettes) will tend to have a best blonde-friend. Brunettes tend to see this as non-threatening. For other uses, see Reproduction (disambiguation) Reproduction is the biological process by which new individual organisms are produced. ...

In Aristasia-in-Telluria (the real world), the language of blondes and brunettes as sexes is maintained, but has no actual relation to hair colour, being purely based on personality type. Thus Aristasians tend to institutionalise the stereotypical view of blondeness while dissociating it from physical hair colour. Blondeness and brunetteness are therefore choices reflecting personality. It has been suggested that Personality psychology be merged into this article or section. ...

Aristasians consider blondes impractical and vain. However, it is entirely acceptable for blondes to hold positions of authority, and the intellectuality of blondes is not disputed. Many blonde Aristasians find the concept of blondeness liberating, giving them a way of positively identifying themselves in a world that is generally hostile to ultra-femininity especially in women who prefer women.

Redheads also exist and are brunettes and blondes as well; the darker shades of red are classified as brunette while the fairer shades are classified as blonde, but redheads are "always blonde or brunette".

Aristasia-in-Telluria

Aristasia-in-Telluria is a loose-knit organisation consisting of autonomous households of Aristasians (often with just two or three members) which are informally organised into "Districts."

The concept of "secession," or rejection of the modern, late-patriarchal, world is central to Aristasian thought. They do not, however, reject technology which they use freely, according to the belief that "technical advance does not cause cultural collapse. The coincidence of the two is merely an historical accident."

How "seceded" any Aristasian is, however, is purely a personal choice. Aristasians recognise a number of "concentric circles," ranging from an "outer ring" consisting of women who simply wish to have Aristasia as a minor part of their lives to an "inner circle" of fully committed and seceded Aristasians. There is no pressure to move inwards; rather women are encouraged to find the level of commitment that best suits their particular needs. To gain access to the innermost circles of Aristasia, aspirants must request it.

In the inner circles, Aristasians are "bonded" by various relationships; not only the bond between a blonde and a brunette, but bonds of sisterhood and even mother-and-daughter bonds between particular individuals, so that most inner Aristasians are "related," at one or more removes, to each other.

Another feature of Aristasia-in-Telluria is the development of "personae"; many Aristasians have more than one personality, each known by a different name, performing a different function and fully accepted within Aristasia as a different individual. Within the Aristasian hierarchy one may hold a high place and another a low one. Some Aristasians have personae in both sexes (blonde and brunette). Aristasians believe that this allows women to express their various facets.

Many would call Aristasia-in-Telluria an elaborate game, and Aristasians agree with this. However they say that: "schools, corporations, armies, nations are all games. They happen to be bigger and wealthier games than ours. But ours is better." An apparently flippant response that nevertheless sums up the Aristasian philosophy on the matter: one which is ultimately akin to the Hindu doctrine of lila — the universe as Divine form of "play." Lila is a concept from Hinduism that explains the universe as a cosmic puppet theater or playground for the gods. ...

Aristasian organisation is an unusual mixture of looseness and strictness. For a game renowned for its "discipline," its organisational approach is surprisingly relaxed. This is partly because discipline is based on consensuality. An Aristasian is under discipline because - and only if - she chooses to be; but at the same time the discipline, if she chooses it and to the extent that she chooses it, is very real.

Aristasians would argue that this is a particularly feminine approach to organisation: soft but strong, yielding but steadfast, subtle but secure.

Philosophy

Aristasia has been viewed as a branch of the Guénonian Traditionalist current. (Mark Sedgwick in his history of that school, Against the Modern World, sees Aristasia in this context.) Others have associated it with lesbian separatism. Aristasians assert femininity as the superior principle and strongly attack the "social conditioning" theory which considers femininity a device for the subjugation of women. While Aristasians adduce biological evidence for the actuality and primacy of "conventional femininity," their view of femininity is ultimately metaphysical and spiritual. René Guénon (later also Sheikh Abd al-Wahid Yahya, name given to him upon his embracement of Islam) (Blois, France November 15, 1886 - Cairo, Egypt January 7, 1951) was a French-born author. ... The Traditionalist School of thought (not to be confused with the traditionalism professed by some ultra-conservative Roman Catholics) was founded in its current form by the French metaphysician René Guénon, although its precepts are considered to be timeless and to be found in all authentic traditions. ... Lesbian separatism refers to a range of extreme positions within the feminist and gay liberation movements. ... The Venus symbol, symbol of femininity Femininity comprises the physical and mental attributes associated with the female sex. ...

Language

Aristasians place a heavy emphasis on proper usage of the English language.[3] Specifically Aristasians view the emergence of the Estuary English as a sign of decline and "proletarialisation" [4] of the English civilisation, and prefer the pre-1950s Received Pronunciation over the Estuary English, which they view as a deformed Cockney. In general words are written in proper English spellings as listed in the "pre-Eclipse" Oxford English Dictionary. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Estuary English is a name given to the form of English widely spoken in South East England, especially along the river Thames and its estuary. ... Received Pronunciation (RP) is a form of pronunciation of the English language, sometimes defined as the educated spoken English of southeastern England. ... A Cockney, in the loosest sense of the word, is a working-class inhabitant of the East End of London. ... The Oxford English Dictionary print set The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ...

Literature and writing play important roles in Aristasian culture, and in general Aristasians insist on proper grammar, capitalisation, punctuation and spelling in even the most casual communications. Grammar is the study of rules governing the use of language. ... This article is about capitalization in written language. ... The term punctuation has two different linguistic meanings: in general, the act and the effect of punctuating, i. ... Proper spelling is the writing of a word or words with all necessary letters and diacritics present in an accepted, conventional order. ...

The Aristasian English also incorporates many words of potentially proto-Indo-European, Hindu or Sanskrit origin. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Sanskrit ( संस्कृतम् ; pronunciation: ) is an Indo-European classical language of India and a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. ...

In addition there exist some peculiar words unique to Aristasia. Many are technological terms such as ordinator (computer, akin to French ordinateur), elektraspace (the feminine aspect of the cyberspace), lightgame (computer or video games) and chattery (chat room). Other words express Aristasian metaphysical and social concepts—words such as raihira (roughly the Aristasian equivalent of "aristocracy") and "racination" (the act of undoing the emotional and cultural damage done by the "Eclipse"). A Lego RCX Computer is an example of an embedded computer used to control mechanical devices. ... Cyberspace, a metaphoric abstraction used in philosophy and computing, is a (virtual) reality which represents the Noosphere/Popperian cosmology#Worlds 1, 2 and 3 both inside computers and on computer networks. ... Computer and video games A screenshot of Tetris for the Nintendo Game Boy A console game (better known as a video game) is a form of interactive multimedia used for entertainment, which consists of a moveable image displayed on a screen that is usually controlled and manipulated using a handheld... A chat room is an online site in which people can chat online (talk by broadcasting messages to people on the same site in real time). ...

Despite the Aristasian belief in "correctness", there are a large number of Aristasian slang terms, such as bongo (a post-Eclipse person); guzz (to look); zippy (used in much the same way as cool in non-Aristasian circles) rivermouth (a speaker of Estuary English) and Quirrie (pertaining to the 1950s). Among younger Aristasian speakers pre-war school slang-words like ripping are widely used, as well as shortenings like "mome" for "moment." Informal Aristasian speech can often seem to an outsider like an arcane mixture of ultra-correctness and obscure slang. Estuary English is a name given to the form of English widely spoken in South East England, especially along the river Thames and its estuary. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

Controversies

Aristasia emerged into the public eye in Great Britain in the 1990s with the publication of books like Children of the Void and The Female Disciplinary Manual, and its leading public figure Marianne Martindale [5] (formerly known as Marianne Scarlett, Mari de Colwyn, and Catherine Tyrell) became a minor media personality. (Miss Martindale is also a distant cousin of television game-show personality Wink Martindale, the former host of Million Dollar Pyramid). To some outsiders, its views on discipline and corporal punishment would seem like the main aspect of Aristasia, but Aristasians would argue that this is a distortion. See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from 2000 and 2001. ... Wink Martindale (born Winston Conrad Martindale on December 4, 1934 in Jackson, Tennessee, USA) is perhaps best known as a game show host for such classic shows as Gambit, Tic Tac Dough, High Rollers, and Debt, although he is also known in Internet circles for the occasional surrealistic comedy articles... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

As an opponent of conventional feminism and the post-1960s world in general, Aristasia has attracted the wrath of the liberal press and a number of criticisms have been made of the movement. It has been alleged to have fascistic undertones. In early 2005 the Celtic cross (also known as the cross of Odin, referred to in Aristasia as the "Aristasian Imperial Flag" -- not to be confused with the Imperial Standard, q.v.) which is used by some white nationalist groups has surreptitiously appeared on their website, becoming visible when the cursor is held over links. (Aristasians have issued a reply to this point on their website. [6]). On November 2, 2005 the flag on the website was replaced by the "Aristasian Imperial Standard" depicting the sun in three colours representing the three gunas of history [7]. To counter a wide-spread speculation that this was a move on Aristasia's side to deflect the accusation of aligning itself with fascists and white supremacists, some Aristasians have offered explanation that attributes the organisation's switch to the Imperial Standard to the recent expansion of Aristasia in elektraspace (q.v.). [8] Statue of Emmeline Pankhurst, a famous suffragette, in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament, Westminster. ... The outrageously crowded Woodstock festival epitomized the popular antiwar movement of the 60s. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A Celtic cross For Celtic Cross, the ambient/dub band see Celtic Cross (band) A Celtic cross combines the cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. ... For other meanings of Odin, Woden or Wotan see Odin (disambiguation), Woden (disambiguation), Wotan (disambiguation). ... The tricolour flag of France A flag is a piece of coloured cloth flown from a pole or mast, usually for purposes of signalling or identification. ... White nationalism is the attempt to create racial identity groups which advance the social and economic interests of White or Caucasian people. ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Miss Martindale has been accused of links with the late John Tyndall, a former leading figure in the National Front and British National Party, but she has replied that all that happened was that more than ten years ago he wrote to a member of her (large) household in Ireland on matters not concerning politics. Paradoxically, Aristasian theory has also been associated by some critics with Frankfurt School Marxism. Alice Lucy Trent, an author and Aristasian theorist, has said that fascism is "an aberration of late-patriarchy." John Tyndall John Hutchyns Tyndall (July 14, 1934 – July 19, 2005) was a far-right British nationalist politician best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and for founding the British National Party in the 1980s. ... In the United Kingdom, the British National Front (most commonly called the National Front or NF) is an far right political party that had its heyday during the 1970s and 1980s. ... The British National Party (BNP) is a far-right political party in the United Kingdom. ... Max Horkheimer (front left), Theodor Adorno (front right), and Jürgen Habermas in the background, right, in 1965 at Heidelberg The Frankfurt School is a school of neo-Marxist social theory (which is more akin to anarchism than communism), social research, and philosophy. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

In another controversial incident, Miss Martindale was convicted of actual bodily harm by birching another woman. The judge expressed surprise that the woman who brought the case had remained in Miss Martindale's household for eighteen months of her own free will, where consensual corporal discipline was known to be part of the regime. However as Miss Martindale was out of the country (in Ireland) and therefore unable to present a defence she was fined a nominal £100. It has been suggested that Assault causing bodily harm be merged into this article or section. ... Birching is corporal punishment with a birch rod, typically a spanking given on the delinquents buttocks, alternatively on the back and/or over the shoulders. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... ISO 4217 Code GBP User(s) United Kingdom Inflation rate 2. ...

Some outsiders are not sure how seriously Aristasians take all this themselves—is this all just a form of elaborate sado-masochistic role-playing games? A more subtle critique would be that, although Aristasians present themselves as trying to go back to the 1950s or earlier, they are very much a product of the 1990s and later. Flogging demonstration at Folsom Street Fair 2004. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... See also 1990s, the band The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive, sometimes informally including popular culture from 2000 and 2001. ...

Despite sensationalist media coverage — and the often whimsical approach of Aristasians themselves — a thoroughly worked-out philosophy lies behind Aristasia. This is summarised in The Feminine Universe [9].

See also

Further reading

• Sedgwick, Mark J. (2004). Against the Modern World: Traditionalism and the Secret Intellectual History of the Twentieth Century. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0195152972.

External links

• Official site
• Newspaper article on controversy surrounding Miss Martindale
• Aristasians discuss these controversies on Wikipedia