The Most Special Book Award 🏆 goes to…Pussy!
Pussy by Regena Thomashauer
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️💜💜💜💜💜
Receiving a 10/10 root to crown chakra rating. 😊
“In the beginning was the Word.
And the word, my darlings, was pussy.”
Mmmmhmmm… that’s how it all begins, my friends. Powerful!
I had this book in my hot little hands and devoured it in, like, twenty-four hours the first time I read it! And I’ve returned to it so many times since. It’s also the source of inspiration behind the free Swamping events, and has changed my life in more ways than I can even count.
Regena Thomashauer, known as Mama Gena, started The School of Womanly Arts in NYC in the ’90s, and this book distills so many of her teachings. At its core, Pussy is an invitation for women to reclaim their own pussies (and yes, the word too…go on, say it 😘) by connecting with their divine sisterhood and stepping into their power. The magic? Lighting up other women and letting them light you up in return.
Have you ever been around a woman so turned on by inspiration, so wildly alive, that you couldn’t help but catch her joy for life and walk away buzzing with it yourself?
Now let’s back up for a sec, because Mama Gena makes this very clear. A note on what turn-on actually means, straight from the book:
Turn-on DOESN’T mean:
You want sex all the time
Your pussy is drippy all the time
You’re obsessively thinking about sex or your pussy
You dress to meet anyone else’s definition of sexy
Turn-on DOES mean:
You feel your own aliveness and life force
You know your spirit and your body are one
Your native enthusiasm is intact
You reach for pleasure, especially when it’s hard to do
You’re in your right mind and your highest power
You’re you — full, complete, and whole.
Yes, more of the latter, puh-leeze!
One of the things I appreciate most about Pussy is how reading it felt like an uncovering, like an articulation of all the truths I’ve known and felt deep down, but hadn’t yet put into words. Mama Gena’s voice helped me unearth those truths, not by teaching me something new, but by reminding me of what I already knew was there. That allowed me to start accessing deeper parts of it.
Another incredibly impactful piece of this book is the reminder that reclaiming pussy means owning our emotions and speaking our truths, as well as our love for our own pussies. There’s a section that outlines the stages a woman might experience on this reclamation journey in becoming more connected with herself:
Stage 1: Complete and total revulsion.
Bleh. Bleck. Yuck. Gross. She finds everything pussy to be revolting and disgusting, worse than sifting through the garbage or cleaning up after the dog.
Stage 2: She picks up the mantle of the scientific researcher.
She is able to find a sense of curiosity and perspective from behind her conceptual white coat. She is able to tolerate looking in pussy’s direction without nausea.
Stage 3: Her natural curiosity engages.
She becomes an affectionate researcher, interested in learning about the scientific brilliance of the design called pussy, curious about the variations and similarities. She suspects that there is an aspect of woman that will never be known to her if she does not investigate and research the gift of here 8,000 nerve endings.
Stage 4: She becomes a pussy aficionado.
A pussy connoisseur, if you will. She begins to take great pride in the landscape, the architecture, the potential that comes with owning a clitoral pleasure center such as hers. She realizes that a woman who owns her pussy owns her life. Her relationship to herself changes dramatically; her confidence soars in ways she could not have imagine or anticipated.
Stage 5: Rapture.
Pure and simple. The way Gustave Courbet felt when he painted L’Orgine du monde. (Don’t know it? Look it up.) Or the way Mickalene Thomas felt when she painted Orgin of the Universe. (Google this one for sure). She sees — feels — experiences — awe. She connects to the power of the portal to life itself. She wells with tears of gratitude and astonishment at the privilege of being a woman — the living, breathing, gateway to creation. She hears Handel’s “Hallelujah” chorus. She hears “Let heaven and nature sing.” Or the singer Khia rocking “My Neck, My Back.” (Check out the lyrics online, but not while you’re at work!
Can you even imagine what the world would look like if even a small percentage of women bumped up just one stage? It’s not just the individual transformation that matters. As more women connect to themselves, they radiate that turn-on outward, lighting up the people around them, creating ripple effects of connection, empowerment…oooohhh…and JOY. A more turned-on world? Yes, please.
I’ll definitely be writing more about this book and especially about Swamping (because whew, that deserves its own post!). But in the meantime, if your curiosity is even slightly piqued, I wholeheartedly urge you to get your hands on this book. Please let me know if you do so we can talk about it and get all sorts of lit up doing so! 🤩