Cows do not f*ck
It is necessary to address anthropomorphism and here is the best place to do so since I'm musing on bovines for my other writing.
I was called a 'f*cking cow' by a dear friend in 2011, celebrating the publication of my first book about tea - 'Distinguished Leaves - poems for tea-lovers'. No one accused me of anthropomorphism when each tea turned into a character with human characteristics.
Back to the cow. I had and have no qualms about being insulted - it was the result of arrogance on my part and over-protectiveness on hers. She was and remains a special member of my 'milk family'*. But it highlights exactly what anthropomorphism is NOT about.
Cows do not fuck.
They are fucked. By bulls. Describing my 'cow-ness' as 'fucking' is inaccurate. Having 'cow-ness' is something I would be honoured to acquire. But it's as inaccurate to add the adjective as calling a pig greedy. Pigs are not greedy, humans might be but they are simply eating what is necessary for their well being.
Anyway, if you're still with me, let's rewind a bit as to what 'anthropomorphism' really is and where it came from since I was extremely fuzzy and misled by my assumptions.
First, its roots. It was used in 1753, according to Etymonline, and means 'the ascription of human qualities to a deity.' If you search for its antonym it's comes up with 'dehumanization'.
My question is how else would I ascribe qualities to those deities we call creatures or non-human? I don't speak or know their language... And wouldn't I want to discover my connection with them, looking for common features?
To stop anthropo-ing (I can't keep trying to spell it and still get it red underlined!) would mean losing half the English language! I want to beaver away at chores, to flit about, to nest, to horse around and to worm and squirm.
And in reverse? I know that the way creatures sense is 'other' to 'my' world. But inter-species connecting happens. Science has proved that elephants grieve, dogs worry and for sure there's a lot of flirting going on between my pigeons who - yes - got 'pigeon-holed' in the war when they were used for carrying messages. And it's beyond clear that wasps get angry or feel threatened!
It's where we're inaccurate it all goes to pot. But that's not anthropo-ing, that's lying - see how easy it would have been to say 'telling porky pies'!!!
I jest, but also think there's a 'Love is Verbing' point here. We have made anthropomorphism into a thing. We have 'noun-ed' it and made it bad. Forgetting that language evolves from the whole and that we, too, are 'deities' called animals.
And if the opposite is dehumanization, do we really want to do that?
*milk family? Those who nourish and support you - often non-human in my case.
#anthropomorphism #language #verbing