한국 고대 신화 속 여성성의 신화화 과정과 변용

Abstract

In The Second Sex(1949), Simone de Beauvoir said “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman”. The thesis of this book argued that a woman is not born a woman but is made into one or becomes one. It means that social inequality and discrimination between the sexes is based on society’s adherence to a biological basis for the differences in social position between men and women. Gender inequality began from this concept that the special characteristics that define women such as pregnancy and childbearing relegated women, under patriarchal society, to a secondary and passive role. Women, therefore, became mere chattel, property, whose role in life was that of a passive existence and secondary role that was defined in relation to men. As opposed to the negative view of women’s biological basis, Helen Fisher(The First Sex, 1999) proposed the necessity of viewing women not as the Second Sex but as the First Sex. Fisher rejects the biological causation of inequality between the sexes and the inferiority of women and emphasized the value of women as ‘The First Sex’. These very biological special characteristics of women, such as pregnancy and childbearing that places women in the category of the First Sex. In considering this point of view, the special characteristics of women as the procreative child-bearing gender should be evaluated in a different way and level. Without women’s biological characteristics, it is impossible for humanity to continue to maintain and expand itself. In other words, the procreative power of women is the very reason why we have to read Ancient Korean female mythology in a different view. Therefore, in Korean ancient mythology the concept of the feminine divine is given importance based on the female gender’s procreative fertility. Ancient mythology left us with the idea that the special characteristics of women, in their ability to be fecund and bear children, is the source of human prosperity and established from prehistoric times the mythology of women’s divine nature. This concept of women’s divine nature was distorted and made smaller in importance along with the start of patriarchal societies. But even after this distortion of women’s history, women continued to make positive contributions for gender equality all through ‘history’ coined by Gerda Lerner. Worshipped Goddesses in ancient mythology seemed to be disappeared, but women existed as another leading part through the whole history of mankind . The characteristics of women roled as the key to solve problems and make it better when crisis occurred. There was a concept that Yang represented sky and male, likewise Yin represented earth and female. In the episode of Yugengok(女根谷), the Queen Sunduk defeated the Baekje enemy by practicing the theory of Yin and Yang as critical military strategy. Also in other significant instances, for example in times of drought and in praying for rain, it is not unusual for the ‘feminine’ Yin to be used to provoke or soothe the ‘masculine’ Yang. Thess are the examples that shows femininity rolled the another leading part of Korean history.