"A number of new theorists have sought to develop new, non-dichotomous ways of thinking. Although varying in detail, such theories have in common an emphasis on thinking relationally. The relational mode of theorising 'argues for the intellectual and social benefits of recognizing that within each dualism...the relationship, the connection, the interdependence between the two parts is crucial to the character of both parts.' Moreover, it recognises complexity, plurality and heterogeneity, rather than simple mutually exhaustive dualisms."
50 Key Concepts In Gender Studies- Jane Pilcher & Imelda Whelehan
I drafted this post (which was pretty much just the above quotes) probably two months ago at the onset of my Women's Studies course that I am currently taking.
Women's studies? Why a whole course for women? Why don't they have a men's studies course?
To this I reply that we had much of our past history classes devoted to men's studies. Unless, of course, we were studying the Suffrage Movement or other special era where the ladies were getting feisty.
Throughout my personal history, I have always been feminist-leaning, as much as an evangelical Midwestern girl can claim to be. I remember in elementary school writing stories by myself (during class, as was usually my problem) that often featured a leading female role comparable to Jo March who had an independent spirit and would fearlessly leave everything behind to go take on the world in some unknown place. My friend, Jourdan, and I would co-write plays which we acted out at recess where usually there was a woman or pair of women who were in some state of oppression, such a being forced to work in a Cinderella-esque type scenario or being forced into a constraining societal role like Rose from Titanic. These stories usually included the struggle to break out of these restraints as well them picking up a romantic interest along the way. I'm sure the Disney portrayal of the woman had a lot to do with our perception of the difficult female state, yet I doubt it had everything to do with it.
The question of the proper place of a woman has been a difficult one for me to navigate. It isn't hard to observe the reality of the commonly unfair hand dealt women. Women are not constitutionally guaranteed equal rights seeing how they had to fight for an amendment to be made to get the vote and the Equal Right Amendment never got passed. Statistically, they still make $.77 to every $1 a man makes in a comparable position with far fewer management positions for women. Growing up, and even now, I didn't have to look far to see that often the woman, whether or not she works a full time job, is expected to take care of the home and family, at the very least more so than the man. It's a social expectation for women to do this, whereas when a men does things that are more domestic such as cook, clean, take care of the kids, he's receives praise and accolades for being such a great father.
On the other hand, I concede that not all of what we see as gender roles can be a simple social construction. I keep asking the question: Where is the Creator's design in all of this mess? Clearly He has made women and men to be distinct from one another and has given each of them distinct purposes. It seems obvious that women have a stronger child-rearing role than men simply because of biology and the way babies are carried into the world.Women tend to be more nurturing than most men. Despite this, how much is this generalization used to manipulate women into submission or a passenger seat while male leadership drives society? I thought the criticisms of dichotomous thinking offered by feminist theory were interesting considering the journey many of us have been on, examining the duality in our philosophical frameworks on which we build our realities, rather than the oft-repeated "both/and" phenomenon.
Middle-class woes aside, the modern tragedies of pornography and sex-trafficking industries have dealt a major blow to the face of women's rights. Not to mention female genital mutilation which is forced upon millions of women worldwide. This is happening in the United States among women from these areas. See map below- this practice is interestingly correlated with the places where the Islamic kingdom has spread:
I have found it heartbreaking that many of the women I'm supposed to read for this course start their activism in being pro-abortion rights. This could lead to a long tangent, but it's blatantly obvious at a public university how humanistic assumptions lead to destructive conclusions- for the human spirit and life a whole. Women should have the right to sexual liberation and then the right to erase the life that comes because of it. People should have a right to do all the things that leads to their demise. We demand this. It has been this way from the beginning at the fall that led to eventual middle finger raised to the sky as humanity defied it's holy purposes.
The fall...the fall..."her desire will be for her husband and he will rule over her"...maybe all this isn't so suprising.
This is more of a tangential free-write on feminism inspired thoughts, not really coherent. Sort of like feminism itself. Three different waves, too many different "feminisms" to name here...we still don't know what we want....
16 comments:
You ask some very thought provoking questions. I don't have anything to bring to the table except that only in humility is anyone ever really free. Adam and Eve weren't humble when they wanted to be equal with God...and so it goes.
Thank you for your "ramblings" - they are much more cohesive than you might think! :)
feeding frenzy haha...so fun.
I've just spent most of the evening on notforsalecampaign.org, which is all about the rampant human trafficking problem. A problem which is mainly plagues women and children. An interesting non-coincidence.
For my own two cents, I think that the question of which type of feminism we should ascribe to cannot be separated from the current issues with masculinity in our culture, an idea which your quotes might be made to support. It's a whole gender issue, really, which is basically a breakdown of identity. My emphasis of study in college was depictions of masculinity in literature, particularly in feminine settings or by female authors. Like the boys in Louisa May Alcott's Little Men, for example. Anyway, a very interesting post and topic. We should talk sometime.
Hear, hear! I raised a stink in high school because all the "coming of age stories" we were forced to read were about boys, written by men. Then I got to college and took an entire course on Jane Austen. I am thankful for college courses.
I recently read a book about the history of Jewish women in America and it's easy to see that as they moved further away from G-d's teaching, aka the reform movement, they became disappointed with their roles. Women then forged ahead into the roles of men while neglecting the sacred responsibility of creating a life and a home that points to the Creator.
I know it's long, but as a woman, wife and mother, I must remember that I am created in His image and and it is an honor to give more of myself to His will, whatever that looks like. I know He honors me for He calls me His beloved. How I long for women all over to know that they can trust the One who created them, even in the midst of pain. That is liberation.
Carlye- That's a good point about humility. It's good to remember that it's those that are poor in spirit who will actually see him. Maybe in the midst of injustice, it's those who are oppressed who are better able to connect with Him, that connection being the highest good anyway.
Sam- I'm glad you enjoy it too!
Susan- That is an interesting non-coincidence...our attention must be drawn to this for a reason. I was actually going to write about how this isn't meant to be a man-bashing post because I think the assault on masculinity and its confusion might be just as bad or, what you said, that they are rooted in the same problem.
I would LOVE to talk with you about your studies about masculinity in literature. I've never read Little Men...maybe I should pick it up and you can point things out to me along the way.
Leah- I think you have really hit on something- the need for women "to know that they can trust the One who created them, even in the midst of pain." I think the lack of trust in G-d, in authority, and in men in general because of the wounds given them by them is at the heart of the feminist movement.
Working through this has been really good for me, as I see that making a home and family is one of the things I desire most...that I don't have to fight this but that I can trust that He is the source of everything I need.
Where can I find places in Torah or elsewhere in scripture (besides Proverbs 31) that talk about the role of women, aka, the sacred responsibility of creating a home that points to the Creator?
I want to add something...
I do not come by humility easily. I was not trying to sound holier than anyone...
I was abused as a child and made it my goal to hate all men and tear them down in any way I could. I was a man-bashing, foul-mouthed, seething love-hater.
Then, I encountered Him. He can be trusted. He will not fail me. He has shown me what it means to love and that means men as well. I don't think a woman can be any more powerful than when she is serving and honoring and co-authoring her life with her Lrd. That is true dignity and power. Like Leah said, that is liberation. I know this. I have been there. I was in chains due to my own hate.
Thank you for being so forthright and so willing to talk about these topics. I love this dialog.
Wow, Carlye. Thank you for sharing that amazing testimony. I would love to talk with you sometime so that I can hear more about your journey in this area. It sounds like it was powerful and radical. I can tell that behind the fighting words of many of the fist-raising feminists I've encountered are wounds that cause them to lash out and take such stances. They need that healing too!
I love the dialogue too...I mostly post these kinds of post so I can hear what the people I greatly respect have to say about things I've been thinking about. Thanks for always giving feedback!
A helpful synopsis of the Jewish understanding of women's roles: http://www.mechon-mamre.org/jewfaq/women.htm
The scriptures offer the standard, respect your husband, keep a good home, bear good witness, but I think that like most things the Jews have spent a lot of time hashing this out and we can defer to them for guidance. The Rabbi's wife was typically given a shop of some sort to run so she could provide financially for her family thus proving that a woman was not only capapble but entitled to such a job. She was not looked down upon because she had to work for take care of her family, it was a given that she would bear this responsibility. Frequently the people of the town consulted the wife, the rebbbetzin, on halakhah since she was usually no slouch when it came to Torah and also wanted to make sure her husband had enough time to study. I could go on and on, but I think there are some great books out there that offer encouragement and insight, There Once was a World by Yaffa Eliach being one.
From personal experience, once you embrace the way G-d made you, meaning both the roles and the gifts, then you begin to recognize the honor your life can bring Him. The first Shabbat I lit the candles and said the blessings I was overwhelmed by His presence. With tears in my eyes I realized I had a part to play in bringing His Kingdom to the Earth.
removed the other one coz of one embarrassing typo... sure there is more! oh well! :)
(well, i guess we'll see how this goes... ladies, call me out if im off here!! )
Anytime i hear the word feminism it sends shivers down my spine. (much like the real "f" word...) it almost goes with the same territory as racism. that is if one is called a racist then there isn't really a way to defend yourself. if a man says anything negative about feminism then he hates women, America, and Gd...
Seeing this as an injustice toward men it causes a sort of need to speak out against feminism to protect well, 'Manism'.
Yet, giving it some thought it is this protecting of ones self that causes all this pain in the first place. When we are not secure in who we are and can only find identity for ourselves by what we are not we tend to degrade the 'other'.
What i'm afraid of is that men have acted out of fear instead of love. Men were designed to protect. if women feel the need to protect themselves then men have done a poor job.
Gender has truly been lost. Modern Americans have lost a template for what defines feminine and masculine. Or maybe there has been a rejection of traditional gender behaviors because of the lack of equality? Equality based on what?
Am i on the right track here ladies?
Jeremy- Thanks for bringing a male voice to the sounding board!
Although I understand that a feminist perspective has a likelihood of making men uncomfortable, I disagree with your parallel to racism. Racism is discrimination based on race. Feminism, although there's a wide palette of types of feminism, it is generally advocacy for the rights of women. Feminism covers a wide span of issues. Feminist theory can be applied to sociology, philosophy, a type of literary criticism and most other humanities. I personally would not say that you were a woman hater if you have something against it. So maybe you're speaking more from your experience of other feminists?
Like Susan said, the problems brought up by feminism go hand in hand with the degradation of masculinity in our culture. I think you're right about the problem of lack of protection from our men. After all, wasn't that Adam's issue, not protecting Eve from the deception of the serpent as he was there with her and watching it happen?
"Modern Americans have lost a template for what defines feminine and masculine." I think this is very true as most people don't base their conceptions of gender roles on Torah or the design of their Creator.
Equality according to what? That's exactly what I'm asking. What's the line between social construction and His true design for gender? Although, Leah said some pretty good stuff in respect to that.
Thanks for speaking up even though you may have felt like you were talking to a loaded gun. :)
P.S. But I will say that I titled the post just that because I knew there are many people who view the word feminism that way...I'm hoping to discuss it and give the topic some better representation and breaking it down instead of writing it off as "liberal" or "bra-burning hairy man haters." Although there may be some of those.
i think feminist has become a point of identity for certain women, and jeremy's point is well taken that it's not a "kind" expression of the female gender if we are to summarize the contemporary understanding of the word feminist. so despite the academic breaking down of what it might mean to a few educated folks, it seems an uphill battle not worth fighting to re-invent a definition of feminist. why not just choose a different word?
Maybe so...I guess it depends on context and audience.
It's not redefine the meaning of the word "feminism" as much as refine it. Everything is charged one way or another, especially when working with the English language. However, the negative stigma attached to words need not scare us away from them. It's not an academic redefinition that constitutes the battle over feminism. It's the practice of advocacy for women that cannot advocate for themselves. When we stand up to men who are abusive to women we are by definition feminist. At the risk of overstepping my bounds, The reclaiming of good masculinity will go hand in hand with the advocacy for feminism. Let's pretend things are as simple as this (not that this is truth but only illustration): If men need respect, and women need safety, men protecting women confirms both masculinity and feminism. Understand I don't mean this as a limiting phrase in which men are catalyst and women respondent, only that I agree with the idea that perhaps reclamation of true masculinity and true feminity go hand in hand. In fact, women who endure abuse give a default respect to men who are acting in an awful and unmasculine way. The men have traded the image of G-d for the behavior of beasts and the women around them enable. In that situation, the woman can be the catalyst by reclaiming her right to protection and denying his "false masculinity." As a final disclaimer, understand I do not mean that women who are trafficked are complicit in their captors behavior or that all we need is for them to stand up for them. Indeed, that would be quite contrary to my personal ethic. I merely bring up these hypotheticals to further emphasize the point already made that masculinity and feminism may need to be reformed together.
To finish my thought from the beginning of this post, it cannot be a reinvention of feminism because that implies that feminism itself is defunct, value less, broken. It must be something more like to reform or complete our understanding of feminism, separate from the social (and wrong) understanding.
Jack- I really appreciate your response. Although I see where Paul is coming from for sure, I also had some of the same thoughts as you so eloquently articulated regarding the use of the "f-word."
If feminism means advocacy for the rights of women, it seems there shouldn't be a problem. It just depends on what rights we're talking about, which varies according to each's world view. We can observe a similar problem with the word "Christian" or "Church." It means so many things to so many different people and leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of some...do we then stop using it altogether? Maybe we could say something like "Messianic G-d Fearer," although this does less to communicate a category and more to start a conversation.
I love the points you made that agree with Susan and Jeremy's points. But, I think there is a justification for feminism because it seems like the main reason that although the problem comes from both genders, women, though it might be seen as enabling, are most of the time the victims of the problem.
If feminism is advocacy for women's rights, then it exists because women have been deprived of their rights and is an appropriate emphasis, even if the solution comes through the healing of both genders.
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