Freud unveiled a symbolic description of a cigar. It may have innately shedded light on society’s outlook during that time period. He suggested that a cigar is “a phallic symbol and is representative of masculinity and raw energy.”
Hard to argue with the latter, that is, a cigar being representative of raw energy. The golden law of physics states that energy remains constant/ it just changes shape & form. Live hands touch the tobacco from sorting to the separation process. When it hits the smokers/consumers hand then burned...it concludes the transfer of this raw energy. So what energy has been passed on to you from this exchange? Hopefully good taste & flavor from the time and patience it took to make it. Inconclusively.. maybe an overlooking, lack of appreciation and recognition.
The symbol of masculinity equated with cigar smoking will forever remain. Never to be overhauled, due to a number of factors spanning from the sheer appearance of the cigar, the smell of it, and the posturing component that makes a man feel like a man..
Yet fast forward to today. Firstly, we must acknowledge that many women have been responsible for the curation & rolling of cigars in the past and present. You may very well owe your next burn session to a mystery leaf goddess...and ironically, that particular stick has now become your new favorite.
Like the twos of clubs and hearts in some spades game, the gender card should not be in play nor relevant in making (books), magazines, blogs nor any other media that has mistakingly mis-targeted the market of cigars for women.The Ladies of the Leaf are in the building. And quite frankly, it makes for an exciting time.
We will continue to explore this topic in future blogs as we focus on the awakening of women indulging in the cigar lifestyle & industry. How has the culture and experience of cigar smoking been enhanced because of this? Have we evolved to the point where the topic is no longer pertinent?
Let’s explore.....
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Plumeberg Media Inc. 2019
written by: Nosakhere Kamau