Chapter 3 opens with a phone call from Helen Hinkle (‘Galatea Dunkel’ in the book) who had found her way to William Burroughs place in New Orleans, the woman Al Hinkle has married for her money and then had been dumped in Tucson, broke. The woman is described as a “tenacious loser” and Al Hinkle as “an angel of a man, actually.” The Hinkle woman is trying to track her ‘husband’ down and Al Hinkle has a “worried look.”

Meanwhile, Robinson, the abandoned mother of Cassady’s new infant has called as well. The woman that is present, Henderson, is good for making out, getting laid, cooking and sewing socks, I don’t seem to recall her being credited with any notable mentality.

Cassady and Kerouac have a long talk about ‘god’ having ‘no qualms.’ And now Ginsberg will be entering the scene, it can only go downhill from here.

I’d hazard a guess these men’s attitudes should jump out at any reasonable person as in fact an authentic misogyny, I doubt it would require a ‘feminazi’ personality to see it this way. These men are cowards, incapable of taking responsibility, particularly in relation to women.

Defining myself as a slut: I had been reflecting on how women are construed to be “sluts” in monotheism based cultures for any variety of spurious reasons, such as socalled ‘promiscuous dress’, flirtatious behaviors etcetera or even for simply presuming to position themselves equal to men. I am in my 61st year. Looking back, I examined how my own sexual behaviors would stack up, were there an equivalent familiar cultural noun for males.

Because I am a 'straight' man, I’ve not been on the receiving end of the male hierarchy insults, certainly not in relation to social interactions in a sense of communicating sexuality. So I must limit defining myself in terms of a ‘slut’ per actual sexual encounters, which is neither balanced nor fair in relation to the more spurious accusations women (or openly gay men) must face, but it is the best I can do within the cultural norms. Since age 18 I have had sexual encounters with thirtyfive women (and zero men.) I could have had sexual relations with many more women than this, but I’ve always tended not to have encounters with another woman if I am already in a sexual relationship, and I’d avoided women in an existing committed relationship. One was a virgin who became my first serious girlfriend One was a dedicated lesbian who could not explain why she had a sudden desire for and invited the encounter One was a fellow ‘Christian’ college (Azusa Pacific) student who woke me up as she climbed under my sheets from out of nowhere, stark naked (a ‘gift from god’) One was a sex crazed High School girl who could not ever get enough of me, anywhere, anytime, including risky encounters in public areas in broad daylight, until I moved and did not tell her to where I’d relocated to One was a mutually agreed ‘we both need a lover’ indefinite arrangement Two were ‘winter blankets’ in Indian country, following a native cultural habit of a mutually agreed short-term co-habitation (typically over winter) Three were encounters with completely unknown women where it simply ‘clicked’ and our clothes came off Five were ‘flings’ or that is to say repeated sex over a period of one to several weeks with no real intentions of a long term relationship, just a mutual desire to get laid Five were hookers, all when I was a young soldier, four of those in Vietnam Seven were serious girlfriends I’d either lived with, or had been married to, one of them for 15 years Eight were acquaintances where we’d experienced a single spontaneous encounter Thirty-three were over a period of 1969 to 1990, I was married and faithful to one from late 1990 to Spring 2005 and have had one six months duration girlfriend since, having decided there is no healthy future in, or any point to spurious relationships.

In western societies, a man with comparable history would likely be condemned only if he were exposed in puritanical environment or aspired to politics in more conservative societies and in many cases would be admired as ‘manly’ or 'virile’ where a comparable woman would be absolutely labeled ‘slut’ or 'whore' Pondering this preceding, it occurs to me that outside the odd relationship with a remarkable man, any woman who actually believes in achieving equality in monotheism based cultures (modern western civilization) is self-deluded. Before this could happen, the very cultural norms would have to be overthrown, no different to the gods of Olympus had overthrown the Titans.

By comparison, in Native culture or matriarchy, a woman with comparable history would not be condemned at all. Women are perfectly entitled to ‘shop around’ until they settle down with a suitable or compatible male lover/friend that she would eventually decide on as a good husband/father over the long term, and generally this graduates to monogamy. The father(s) of her children prior to settling down have no bearing on her subsequent long term relationship, there is no attending paternal jealousy experienced by her man and this phenomena reflects in Native language phenomena where there is no single word for 'father' because the same word means 'uncle.'

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