There is a lot of negativity out there about spiders. Fear of spiders. Hatred of spiders. Dark arts imagery (witchcraft and warlock variety). Here are some common spider words: Halloween, spooky, dark, twisted, death, poison, bite, gnashing, frighten. Spiders are allegorical images commonly used to represent evil incarnate. Or at least, they were...
Of late, there is a cultural shift in the perception of spiders fueled by a few key variables. One such variable is Tom Holland's portrayal of Spider-Man aka Peter Parker in films in the Marvel Universe like Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018). Children (and adults who are young at heart) are being exposed to spiders in a positive light because of these high octane, fun adventure flicks. Thanks Marvel! Spider advocates rejoice!
Another variable that has contributed to the shift in the perception of spiders is from my recent work to promote spiders as creatures on a parallel journey to our own. I'm not the only one saying this! Many others have been saying similar things, but by sharing my own personal connection with spiders from my very life changing jail experience, I have opened the doors to a conversation and re-evaluation of how we think of spiders.
Did you know that the estimated ratio of insects to humans is 200 million to one? (That's one human for every 200 million insects!) Spiders are helping to even the odds!
Thanks Spiders!
-Frank
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