> re the passive/active discussion -- i've always thought of passive active not
> in the physical sense (As Carroll describes -- hi Carroll) but in the sense of
> courting and emotion.
Maggie's post makes good sense to me. I want to emphasize again that I was merely giving a sloppy report on ancient Athens and conflicting modern interpretations of ancient athens, not articulating a sexual theory of my own.
Maggie's point might be carried further, to question *all* divisions of human activity into "passive" and "active." "Passive" invariably carries strong negative feelings, hence being usually some sort of ideological putdown. It is related to the sneer at the "political apathy" of those who do not rush out to vote for whoever. It is also related to the assumption that the workers will remain a passive sullen mass until marxists discover just the right rhetoric or psychological technique to ignite them.
Carrol