(no subject)
Some of you have probably wondered at some stage whether my thought-life, my values and worldview have changed since becoming a Christian. The answer is yes, definitely. I just refound a set of answers I wrote for a questionairre on feminism which is an example of how my beliefs shape my view of the world. Thought it might be an interesting insight into how it is a christian can be both "liberal" and "conservative" at the same time... although i'd like to think it's not so much a paradox as a more nuanced assessment of the way things are. Anyway.... i'll put it behind a link so we don't get bombarded....
- Are you a feminist?
That's a very loaded question. I've just graduated from UTS with an arts degree, and spent a lot of my university life being challenged with ideas of gender and power. At the same time, I became a Christian three years ago, and my understanding of God and how he's created us has likewise transformed my thinking on gender.
In short, I believe the "equal but different" thesis. I believe men and women were created equally by God, but given different attributes and roles on earth. I respond positively to the statement "child-rearing is just as important as breadwinning", it's just become a cliché is all. And of course roles and attributes have become confused over the years just as much as gender has. The question of "is gender a construct?" has obviously captivated us more than any other people group in history, and complicates the question "are you a feminist"?
To answer in the negative, I think the worst form of feminism is one which denies women choice - choice of occupation, partner, lifestyle, physical appearance etc. The other form of feminism I despise is the man-hating one. I could give these forms of feminism names like new wave and post-feminism and post-post feminism but I won't because I think they're kind of meaningless categories.
Basically, I am reluctant to call myself a feminist because of the baggage that term brings from what I've called the "no-choice" and "man-hating" manifestations of feminism. But at the same time, because I believe women were created equally in God's image and are due the same human rights and dignity, I would say I'm not a feminist, but a "humanist" who puts her emphasis not on humanity, but its relationship to our creator.
That I think God is a "he" is a different question altogether, but if I can digress by speaking of patriarchal structures for a second…
The male abuse of power and influence over women across history is well known and appalling. There are no excuses for this. Domestic violence is still legal and condoned in many countries around the world.
I believe the relationship breakdown between men and women is one of the many power struggles we are engaged in as humans. Relationship breakdown occurs on so many levels, not just along gender lines. Another example would be the Parent/child relationship. And I think it is our decision to reject God, our creator and our desire for autonomy - to rule ourselves as mini-gods - which has led to the breakdown in all our relationships. We can hardly run our relationships on daily level with success, let alone at a broader social level. By allowing us to continue in our rejection of him and our autonomy even to our detriment, God is giving us the dignity of choice. We severed our relationship with God, and so all our relationships suffer as a result.
We were created for relationship with God, but we don't see that - all we see is men abusing women and decide to analyse that situation at a micro-historical level. If we thought with more abstractness, looked a bit more macro, put god in the picture, stopped focusing so much on ourselves and the political battles of the zeitgeist… we would see the larger problems faced by humanity (across both genders) which have translated into the feminist question.
I know my ideas are probably not what you were expecting for this book you're writing, but hopefully still helpful?
- What is feminism?
I'm sure you will get other people outlining the different schools of feminist theory, so I'm going to give you a different answer. Hope that's okay.
In following on from my logic of the previous question: feminism is a political and social movement which responds to the breakdown of relationships between men and women across history. As feminists, we are all guilty of navel-gazing, focusing so much on the self and empowerment that we forget to see this relationship breakdown as a symptom of something bigger. We leave God out of the picture everytime. This is what feminism is. It is also what being human is.
- Has feminism changed?
There is a lot of talk at the moment about post-feminism and raunch culture. Whatever you call it, it's women repeating the mistakes of history: we're just continuing to form our identity in relation to men. On the question of is this good or bad, it just means once again we're losing the big picture. If we are only who we are in relation to men, we will continue to be bound by who they think we are or want us to be. Also, it means without men we are nothing. This devalues who we are intrinsically. And I believe, intrinsically, we are valued most by the person who created us, God, and that's got to be our most important relationship.
Sure, it is impossible to think of ourselves independent of men as we are relational creatures, but by focusing our efforts on developing ourselves in the eyes of men, even if the identity you form in relation to men is that you hate them, or you want to be one (ie. not just the "I want to be considered valued by men") - whatever the identity you find, it has currency only in relation to men.
We need to think beyond our gender, and see ourselves as humans under God - humans who have walked away from God and worship self instead. And if self is just who I am in relation to men, or in relation to other women in relation to men, then feminism is going to have a rich future!
- Is feminism still needed? Why? How?
In as much as women still need to consider where our identity comes from, yes. Also in as much as men need to be aware of the ways they have historically taken advantage of women, yes. But the sort of feminism that seeks to define who we are in relation to men won't get us anywhere. Why? What I wrote above: " If we are only who we are in relation to men, we will continue to be bound by who they think we are or want us to be. This devalues who we are intrinsically. And I believe, intrinsically, we are valued most by the person who created us, God, and that's got to be our most important relationship."
- Who do you identify feminism with?
Every woman.
- What issues are feminist issues?
-Gender roles
-The legacy of women being abused by men emotionally, physically and mentally.
-Questions of choice
-Motherhood
-Legal and civil rights
- Does feminism have a bad name? Why?
In certain social circles, probably, but women are reluctant to dismiss it entirely because they feel a certain debt to its achievements.
Why does it have a bad name? Because in advancing women's rights it's dislocated our view of ourselves - it has challenges us to think about who we are and why we think this is so. This is never a comfortable line of questioning.
- What should we keep about feminism?
Curiosity about who we are and where our relational problems have come from.
- What should we reject?
Our incessant navel-gazing and inability to think beyond gender when it comes to relationship breakdown.