Introduction  (download)

Deviances are being redefined every day. Yesterday’s heresies are today’s accepted practice. The focus is no longer on the root/origin of a practice, whether paganistic or corrupting but on the superficial, misguided, imposed social benefits.

Consider the acceptance of contemporary music by many church leaders. The attitude was, “peradventure we will attract many and win a few.” This strange form of music was considered harmless and a method of reaching the younger generation, regardless of the undermining vices that serve to tear down standards and morals. The opportunity cost was highlighted, the cost of not incorporating the present day style of worship. It was agreed by many that the good outweighs the bad. Consequently, we are now fighting to remove “Christian” jazz, rock, rap and all other forms of secular music out of the Christian church.

Look at jewelry (wedding ring), painting of the face, social drinking and smoking. People tend to forget the root or the damaging effects of certain practices. We seem to embrace the redefined present world social benefits of certain practices, and the origins, whether devilish or vulgarizing, are silenced.

The man of God must prove all things and be ready to make a change for purity when truth is presented.

Phallic Symbol
- Relating to a phallus especially as an embodiment of generative power (Resembling or being a phallus).

Phallus Defined
- The penis
- A representation of the penis and testes as an embodiment of generative power.
- An image of the penis as an symbol of generative power.

Necktie as a phallic symbol
Much has been written on the significance of dress and the language of clothes. Alison Lurie, fashion historian, writes that "before we are near enough to talk, our clothes announce our sex, age, social class, and possible information (or misinformation) as to occupation, personality, opinions, sexual desires and mood." Like any other language, we must choose our words carefully, remembering that meaning depends on the context of the place and circumstances.  What message does the necktie convey?

For over two thousand years - since at least the Quinn dynasty - the necktie (or cravat) has been the most widely used, and the most multicultural of all phallic symbols. The necktie has always been, for a certain class, a celebrated piece of male equipment. The ties were a mark of allegiance, wealth, and belonging at a time when cloth was hard enough to come by for clothes, never mind for articles of gratuitous adornment. They told others, both inside and outside the elite, that the bearers of the neckpieces were the people who mattered - the people who belonged.  The tie is a pure fashion statement, a useless, unnecessary item of clothing in addition to its symbolic announcement.  However, there are other negative attributes associated with the necktie.

Indeed, the tie was suitably born soaked in blood. The word "cravat" comes from "Croat", the nationality of the soldiers who won Turkey (previously in the Austro-Hungarian Empire) for Louis XIV of France, and who marched victoriously into Paris adorned in colourful silk handkerchiefs tied around their necks. The French King soon copied this style and began a similar fashion among the European aristocravats, pun intended. Indeed, Louis XIV called an entire regiment the Royal Cravattes. Most reference books blame the necktie on the French. The tie evolved from the French cravat, a scarf tied around the neck. The French called it a cravat in reference to the Croatians, who wore colorful scarves around their neck in battle. Considering its origin and symbolic meaning, why do we wear ties now? 

Ties which both hang flaccidly from the neck to the groin like a penis, and also point to it, are the very symbol of the phallus, which is so envied by other men and women not for its actual qualities, as much as the social meaning attributed to the gender of its owner. The tie is thus a symbol of the domination of men over women, and of power in general.  Consequently, a ruling was made by a particular group...

"Ties Banned in Hanover Workplace as 'Phallic Symbols'" 
SEXISM ROW AS WOMAN ORDERS MALE CLERKS...TAKE OFF YOUR TIES 
HANOVER, WEST GERMANY (AUG. 28) REUTER - Male civil servants in a West German office are hot under the collar after their female boss banned neckties as phallic symbols.

"the necktie constantly reminds the wearer that his employer, the federal government, and significant others, all have the wearer by the neck... The necktie functions like the ring in the nose of the bull, the bit in the mouth of the horse. A necktie is a rope around the neck, a choke collar inviting enslavement that is constantly accepted..." ( The Washington Post, 12/23/94).

“I notice that the tie looks suspiciously like an arrow. Now, assuming a tie is an arrow, what is this arrow pointing to? Yep, that is correct. The “arrow” is pointing down to the penis. Now, if you look around in a typical office space, you’ll no doubt notice that only males wear a tie. What does this say? That males want their penises noticed? If you think about it, it makes sense. Back in the day when it was more socially acceptable to claim that the men were in charge of the world (it was during a time before women let men on the little secret that they in fact control the world… Wise man once said, “she who controls sex controls the man and in essence, the world”) the men would put on these phallic symbols of their supposed superiority and flaunt their power (i.e. penis) around like they were kings.”

Professor Niko Tinbergen (1951) and Sigmund Freud explained the origin of the tie. At some point in the human evolutionary past, penis size became a male status-determinant that functioned as a conflict-resolution mechanism IRM's (instinctive releasing mechanisms), to use Tinbergen's terminology, activate innate reactions without the mediation of verbal/symbolic processing. The tie would activate a deference reaction in the same way that the two large spots on the wings of a butterfly might activate a fear-reaction that evolved to alert animals to the presence of large binocular predators. The butterfly, in this example, takes advantage of an instinctive sensitivity to having eyes trained upon you, which is found in many species. The butterfly manipulates the potential predator; a shrew, for example. The tie wearer manipulates this hypothetical status-marker instinct in a similar way. 

We can tell when it is going to rain, then why is it that we cannot discern the times in which we are living? Jesus posed that question to all people for every generation to answer. The world is telling us that the necktie is phallic in origin, but we do not care because we have sanitized it. Similarly, we have totally disregarded the proclamations from Thomas Dorsey (jazz musician – the father of gospel) and Michael Ventura (a voodoo priest) who are telling us that gospel is not Christian. We seem to have the same attitude with any questionable practice that we have sanitized, for example, the necktie.

“The necktie is the male organ made feminine, redesigned to appeal to and entertain the female. Not the functional old tool, the horny weapon, but this frivolous, fluttering windsock, useless but amusing, an announcement to women: Take me lightly, I live to please you!!”

To those of us who wear it to work the tie is a burden, another rule to follow in a workplace dominated by rules and regulations. It represents the very essence of discomfort, as it applies light pressure to the very tube we all require to breathe, reminding us of our life sentence to capitalism by tie hanging, of how much our lives are owned and controlled by the elite, and how much our very life force is maintained because of our servitude to another class. Wearing a tie, we simply don't feel free, just as we don't look free, donning an article required of many workers regardless of their individuality or creative abilities. The very essence of conformity!! 

The necktie is a useless item of clothing that serves no purpose.  The world understands and has acknowledged the necktie as a phallic symbol.  Many who are forced to wear it at work are fighting against it and others just do not care.  The question is, where do you stand on this issue?  We cannot change history, we cannot ignore facts and we cannot silence the truth.  What are you going to do with it?  Can you handle the truth?