Phallic objects are everywhere; look at the Washington Monument, the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, Andover’s bell tower, your pen, a water bottle, the Bicentennial Statue; essentially anywhere you turn your head, anywhere on the globe, you could point to a multitude of structures and objects pertaining to this particular piece of male anatomy. Anyone above a certain age knows the word and many students, along with professional reviewers, use it often to critique classic literature. I have discussed phallic symbols in English classes and papers and even in conversations with friends, yet had never stopped to consider the significance of its wide use until this past weekend. Last Sunday, while I was writing a paper about David Copperfield for Ada Fan, I had to pause to think of the antonym of “phallic.” I soon realized that I had no such word in my vocabulary (which, being an Andover Senior, is not narrow). Rather surprised at this discovery, I conducted a quick Google search, believing that I would recognize the word as I soon as I found it, but I found myself to be mistaken. I had never even heard of the word I uncovered: yonic. The word itself was taken from the Sanskrit word for vagina, “yoni” (pronounced like Yoni Gruskin ’07). Although the word holds other spiritual meanings, for westerners it is interpreted only as the counterpart (or antonym) to phallic. I immediately pounced upon this discovery as a microcosm of our society. The simple fact that “phallic” is so widely used and commonly known, while I, a female, had to Google to find “yonic,” seems representative of the greater value placed upon men in all societies today. Furthermore, we are so accustomed to this disparity that no one even notices or cares to speak out against this imbalanced usage. Some may argue that the world simply contains more phallic objects as a function of its patriarchal history. If so, why would the idea of “yonic” symbols not be (or have been) introduced by now, in a society that has allegedly shaken off these same patriarchal roots? Why does spell check not recognize it as a true word? Moreover, employing my Classical studies in both Latin and ancient Greek, I identified the roots of these words. Phallic and phallus are derived from the Greek word for penis, “phallos,” which became the Latin “phallus” – as it remains today. I also found that “priapic,” a word identical in meaning though less common than “phallic,” stems from the Greek god of fertility, Priapus. Thus, both of these words signifying male strength and sexual power are of classical origins; on the other hand, “yonic,” as a Sanskrit word, has Asiatic origins. So perhaps I can blame these ancient societies for our lack of a commonly known counterpart to these masculine adjectives; however, the English language has grown from roots other than the Classical ones, and we have had several hundred years to uncover and adopt this word. As Anthony Rotundo, Instructor in Gender Studies, pointed out to me, perhaps it is better to end the current phallic fascination instead of pursuing an equal obsession with the yonic. Yet, as he also sagely noted, men are not likely to drop their fixation on the phallus in the near future, so until they do, I shall explore the yonic symbols around us – Rome’s Pantheon, Andover’s Sphere, the track, doorways, donuts…
