"The Creation of God," by Harmonia Rosales.MOSKEGON MUSEUM

Women Can’t Be Heroes The Erasure of Female Pain and the Nationalization of Male Suffering

n the beginning, according to a version of the Yoruba creation story, Olodumare, the creator of the universe, sent 17 Oriṣas on a mission to establish the earth. 16 of them were male and one was female; her name was Oṣun. Without informing Oṣun, the 16 male Oriṣas made decisions about the ways in which the Earth would unfold. They picked out the textures and the colours of this new world without considering that Oṣun might have her own views about just how
 

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