There are two primary expressions of power: hard & soft.
Hard power can be seen as masculine: driven, goal-oriented, decisive, imposing structure and will. It divides, compartmentalizes, and insists on law and order without mercy.
Soft power, seen as feminine, operates through connection; it draws in, nourishes, and is fluid rather than rigid.
When these two powers work in dynamic tension, the erotic mind opens. But when they are disconnected, harm and dysfunction arise.
Disconnected hard power expresses itself in toxic forms: demonization of the feminine, violence, and rage. It thrives on opposition—black and white, man and woman, good and evil—seeing the “other” as a threat to be subdued or controlled.
Disconnected hard power can’t see the true enemy: separation itself.
On the other hand, when soft power disconnects from hard power, it expresses through withdrawal and rejection—snubbing, exclusion, and withholding.
These behaviors stem from powerlessness, reinforcing a belief that others hold power over us, leading to a relinquishing of agency. In this disconnection, hard power is locked in a struggle to dominate, while soft power retreats.
But Eros, the pulse of life itself, invites the union of these polarities.
Hard power seeks the warmth and wisdom of soft power; soft power seeks the steadiness and decisiveness of hard power.
In union, these forces do not oppose—they dance.