WOMB SOVEREIGNITY REVISTED

by Lian Henriksen February 14, 2026

Womb Sovereignty Revisited - A Reflection on Influence, Responsibility, and Standing in One’s Own Power.

Recently, I read a provocative piece about “womb sovereignty" by Nineve Blackwater on Facebook.* It argued that because women give birth to men, women must take spiritual responsibility for the state of masculinity in the world.

The language was sharp. Almost confrontational. Some of it rang true. Some of it felt too absolute. But beneath the rhetoric, there was a question worth sitting with: What role do women play — not in causing harm — but in shaping the emotional and cultural environment in which men develop?

That question interests me. At 80, I am less interested in blame and more interested in influence. Influence Is Not Blame. Women do not create predators. Men are responsible for their actions. Always. And yet, influence is real. Mothers influence sons. Teachers influence boys. Partners influence men. Culture influences everyone. Women participate in culture.

We help shape what is normal, what is admired, what is tolerated, and what is excused. That is not blame. It is participation. The question is not: Are women at fault? The question is: Where are we unconsciously participating in systems we say we oppose?

That is a different inquiry. Sovereignty as Inner Work. To me, “womb sovereignty” is not about biology. It is about inner clarity. It is about noticing: Where do I excuse behavior because I fear conflict? Where do I stay silent to belong? Where do I support domination by looking away? And equally: Where do I shame masculinity instead of helping mature it? Where do I react from my own wounds?

Sovereignty begins inside. If I am still operating from old injury, I will relate to men from injury. If I have not examined my own resentment, I may unconsciously pass it on. That does not mean I am responsible for another person’s violence. It means I am responsible for my own consciousness. That is all. And that is enough.

The Masculinity Question: We are witnessing confusion around masculinity. Some young men are lost. Some are angry. Some are retreating. Women are not the cause of this. But neither are we neutral observers. We shape early attachment. We shape emotional language. We shape how strength and tenderness are modelled. So perhaps the more useful question is not: “Who is to blame?” But: “What kind of masculinity do we nurture — in sons, in partners, in public discourse?” Do we nurture defensiveness? Or accountability? Do we nurture shame? Or maturity? The Cost of Standing Apart Holding a nuanced position can feel isolating. If you question victim narratives, you may be accused of minimizing harm. If you question male behavior, you may be accused of hostility.

But maturity requires complexity. It requires holding two truths at once: Men are responsible for their actions. Women influence culture. Both are true. Sovereignty is not about standing above others. It is about standing clean within oneself.

What I Have Learned Over eight decades? I have learned this: Power without self-examination becomes domination. Pain without self-examination becomes blame. Sovereignty requires examining both. It is quieter than the word “warrior.” It is steadier. It does not stand alone to prove something. It stands alone when necessary to remain honest. Not to accuse. Not to defend. But to stay aligned with what feels true.

The Real Question Perhaps the real question is not whether women are powerful. We are. The question is whether we are willing to examine how we use that power — in subtle, daily ways. In our homes. In our conversations. In what we tolerate. In what we refuse. That kind of sovereignty does not blame. It does not shout. It simply refuses unconscious participation.

AND THAT FEELS LIKE A PLACE WORTH STANDING

________________________________________________________________________________________

*Copy-Paste of Nineve Nathrach Blackwater's Facebook Post

I've worked with over 4,000 women on a one-to-one basis over the years, and I do think the feminine within women is amazing.

But I also have become very familiar with the ways the feminine stays in shadow.

And I believe we as women are operating at about 5% of the capacity of our ancient ancestresses.

Our ancestresses were unapologetic sorceresses. They didn't produce or take shit the way we have been groomed to take it.

I think if collective victimisation is coming up, a very good place to start is not by pointing fingers at the perpetrators. That's the easy story.

A good place to start is looking at the behavior and conditioning of the victims.

This is a more advanced stage medicine than what would be useful after acute trauma. But deep self reflection is the end game.

A good place to start is with the internal programming and unconscious desires. This is where the shadow is.

It relevant to look at why women are unconsciously attracted to dominance.

There is an age old trope that women are attracted to assholes, and it holds true.

Trauma creates an attraction to the dark triad, unfortunately. So we have a large collective unconscious feminine attracted to abusers they percieve as dominant and safe.

Our ancestresses did a risk analysis long ago, a cost benefit analysis of moving towards standing in proximity to male power. They concluded the risk was worth the reward.

But that reward involved profound loss of power, and all that power went right into the feminine shadow. This was our collective bargain.

"We will give you our power in exchange for safety."

The entire shadow feminine nervous system is designed to feel safe as prey closest to predators.

Some women didn't do this of course. We were the ones who burned first. And now we have emerged from those ashy shadows with insight.

It's a lie that women are weak. Passive. Victims. Fragile.

We aren't.

We have been taught fragility without fangs is grace.

It is not.

It's the fear realm, and 99% of women have parts of their subtle energies and nervous systems attached to it.

It's the mitochondrial unconscious shadow. It was the bargain of the patriarchy.

WHY are girls not taught psychic self- defense against the future predators?

Because there is an unconscious toxicity here within the modern feminine.

Our ancestresses were lightyears beyond us now in terms of inner safety and strength.

The spiritual power of the matriarchy was real. I've felt it, viscerally, and it's incredible.

And we aren't unconsciously attracted to dominamce that preys on us. We aren't attracted to assholes.

That is our collective shadow desperate for her own power again.

That is our unconscious longing to stand in the spiritual power that is our responsibility and birthright.

The longing to marry the black Swan to the white Swan, desperate to integrate her dark side with her light.

Feigning fragilty was the risk we took for safety, but it created a huge shadow.

Everything good is in the shadow.

And some will see this perspective as victim shaming or blaming.

But that's the furthest thing from the ancestral truth.

WOMB SOVEREIGNITY REVISTED

Leave a comment