Monthly Archives: February 2014

Sporadic Thoughts a…Feminist? (by Kelly Cox)

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FeminismDay5I’m just gonna be straight-up with y’all. This is my first blog post ever in life, and I’m a scientist by training, not a writer, so stick it out with me. I’ll probably ramble. Or wander with the Israelites for 40 years. Your choice. But it might be fun.

I’m sitting here drinking hot chai tea. If you were here, I’d totally get you some. I wish I could, because who can argue over steeping, flavorful tea? It’s the best. And we could sit here and discuss, because I prefer one-on-one interactions anyway. Let’s get to it.

I’m tired. I’m tired of arguing. The First World is full of it, especially if you ever go onto the Internet (which I’m assuming you do, and I feel like that’s a safe assumption; if this is one of the rare times you’re on here, you might wanna try reading someone who’s a little better versed than myself). There are so many –isms and –ists out there that it really is hard to figure out what to think, and everyone is arguing for their own personal agenda. So, let’s just have a brief discussion, argument-free. How’s that sound? Thought you’d like that.

I don’t like labels, as a general rule, because people are way more complicated than any box you can put them in. I’m not sure what a “feminist” is—not because I don’t think men and women don’t deserve the same opportunities or standing before the law, in jobs, or in all of society, but because it means different things to different people. I believe in all of those things.

But I’ll be honest: I’ve been burned out by feminism. My closest relationship was with a very feminist girl. I live with the most feminist person I’ve ever in my life encountered, and that’s saying something. (Strangely enough, he’s a white dude, too. See? Isn’t that strange?) There’s always some new feminist issue out there that has to be tackled right now on the Internet dangit! And that’s not where I come from. So, I’m hesitant to apply that label to myself or anyone else. I think, however, that Sarah Bessey puts it best in her book Jesus Feminist where she says that “at its core, feminism consists of the radical notion that women are people, too” and “it’s not necessary to subscribe to all the diverse—and contrary—opinions within feminism to call oneself a feminist.” So, I guess, according to Bessey, I am one, and you probably are, too.

I’m a middle-class, white, male, soon-to-be college grad from a Christian university. Who better to talk about the issue of women? But really, it is an issue. Now, I will go ahead and say that there are differences between men and women (gasp!), and I will go so far as to say you think so, too (gasp gaspity gasp!). Who has the obligation to bear the children? No matter how much anyone may want it to be true, men can’t have children. We’re not seahorses. One is XX and one is XY. One bears children, and one only fertilizes. Our bodies work differently. Our brains are structured differently. We metabolize differently. There are good, biological reasons for all of this. If it didn’t work and weren’t good, then evolution says that’s not how it would be.

So, I’m just going to throw out the idea that men and women are equivalent. From a scientific background, “equal” means “same”. “Equivalent” means “functionally the same”. So, for all intents and purposes, men and women are to be treated societally the same, while actually having differences. Saying men and women are the same is wrong, boring, and sells both sexes short. There’s beauty in the differences between them, as well as the commonalities. Both are necessary. The problems come when one group (yes, typically the men) tries to dominate the other (the women; process of elimination, people). There’s nothing right or good about that, and I think that’s anti-Jesus. Jesus didn’t play favorites among the sexes. He was cool like that.

Sadly, in our culture, both men and women reduce women to the sum of their parts. This LiveScience article discusses a study done where both men and women tended to see women, rather than men, as a sum of their parts. That’s a problem. We’re better than this. Men do it for sexual reasons, and women do it for competitive ones. (The funny thing is, in the animal kingdom, it’s usually the males that are objectified, which seems to be fine with the animals, since they’re usually fertilization factories anyway. Humans are a little more up there, though. I think we can know better.)

How can we fix these problems? Honestly, it’s a big problem to tackle. But, I will say that I don’t think argument will get us anywhere. Argument just pits people against other people and creates conflict by its own nature. We need to be willing to sit down (maybe with tea!) and discuss and talk, while still being firm and resolute. And make sense. And be reasonable. And realize that real change takes time, and it usually happens gradually in incomplete steps. Because really, don’t we argue enough? Isn’t division what causes this junk to begin with? Believe it or not, a person is reasonable most of the time, if you come to them with respect and humility and don’t throw ideals or arguments at them, trying to make them stick. They just get bruised and throw theirs right back. Extremism isn’t helpful, either. By its nature it excludes. To change people’s minds and hearts, you can’t exclude those who disagree. You change them by showing them a better way. Isn’t that what Jesus did anyway?

Kelly Cox is currently studying Biological Studies with a pre-med emphasis and a chemistry minor. So basically, he knows science. He doesn’t have a blog (yet) but is on Twitter @Mr_Dr_Cox. 

Feminism: Show, Don’t Tell (by Jessilyn Justice)

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FeminismDay4Growing up, I knew two things about feminism: 1. That Kat from “10 Things I Hate About You” is a feminist, and she’s a badass, and I spent much of my teenage years wanting to be like her. 2. Feminists like to burn their bras. Considering I hate bras, I am also OK with this. So, obviously, I’m a feminist.

I mean, who runs the world? GIRLS!

But then there’s the reality outside of my brain — my brain that really doesn’t fully understand what feminism actually is. Sure, sure, I get that it’s equal rights for women, but that means different things to different people, and the extent people, women, go to for the sake of feminism — or defending “feminism,” rather — can be a bit of a turn off.

Perhaps the definition of how you apply feminism to your life is a culture thing. Buzzfeed’s list about Muslim feminists gave me a poignant picture about just how much the definition of feminism changes from woman to woman, culture to culture.

It’s a powerful concept, that feminism, that drives men and women to dangerous, deathly levels at times, but that core feminism — the one that drives one of the founders of feminism to kill herself – well, I’m not sure that’s what your average American thinks of feminism.

It has been my impression that “feminism” to the average American woman is just an excuse to be angry and hate men or other women that try to stick women into traditional gender roles. My impression is that feminism to the average American is not about fighting for women’s education or breaking the glass ceiling or making more than 77 cents for every dollar men make. Feminism as defined by the culture that I’ve lived in is just bitching rather than fighting.

Here’s what feminism should be: Having the confidence in who you are as a woman to go after what you want and helping other women do the same.

You define your success. Just know, like with any adventure, you are going to struggle. Struggling is not a negative here, but a way for you to put foot to pavement and chase after what you want.

Did you think the world would be easy? Did you think you could just throw around a few stats and men and women would be like, “Oh, you’re so right! We should give you 23 more cents!”?

Do the best job you absolutely can until you are satisfied with your work and then help other women reach THEIR goals (not necessarily your goals) — that is feminism. Stop simply talking about it, get up off your ass from behind your keyboard (possibly applies to me here …) and do something.

In storytelling, we have a saying: Show, don’t tell. It’s a biblical principal. That means living your life with actions that show your dreams, your passions, your ambitions.

Don’t just take to social media to rant about how men are repressing women — volunteer in a women’s shelter to help them get on their feet; donate money to She’s the First; better yet, do not say a negative word about another woman. As you’ve seen in this series, it’s hard enough that the world favors men, the last thing we need is for women to consistently hate on each other.

Feminism is a way for women to become the strongest (or meekest, as every woman should be her own person and fulfill her own dream) women they want to be. Yes, it’s tricky, as society may not look kindly on you, but there is nothing in this world that is more satisfying than reaching a goal.

You’re a feminist? Great! Show me, don’t tell me.

Read more from Jessilyn on her blog or on Twitter @jessilynjustice.

What Is Rape Culture? (by Devin White)

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FeminismDay2

(Trigger warning for the following post. If you don’t know what that means, you probably need to read it)

In my experience, there are two requirements to being a feminist. The first, and most obvious, is that in order to be a feminist, you must believe that men and women should be treated equally. This is an area that most people agree on, though there are many who don’t (hint: if you think, “men and women are equal, but…” you really think men and women are unequal).

The second requirement is that men and women are currently not treated equally. This is actually a much more contentious subject, and I can understand why. Sure, there are plenty more men in places of power than women, but the women’s rights movements have been incredibly successful, and women are becoming more prominent and more active in areas formerly dominated by men than ever before. So even though sexism still might be a problem, it is a problem that is actively being fixed and will soon be eradicated, right?

Well, sexism goes beyond laws and ratios and is actually a deeply pervasive force in culture, and that is what I want to talk about in this blog post.

I am about to use a term that gets thrown around a lot in feminist circles but not many other places. I am a bit ambivalent about this term for I feel that it sounds reactionary and emotional, something used to rile feelings instead of promoting discourse and rational action. On the other hand, the term is also completely justified.

Modern America (and many other places) is currently living with a “rape culture,” one that is deeply damaging to many people in it.

What does rape culture mean? It means that the current culture is one that trivializes rape in indirect ways (by pushing damaging social stereotypes onto people) and direct ways (by encouraging women to keep quiet on this issue and blaming them for instigating it). I feel like this is one of the biggest problems in American culture today and one that is hardly ever touched upon.

I was first opened to how bad this culture is when I heard about Steubenville. For those that did not hear, in Steubenville, Ohio, two football players got a girl drunk and proceeded to violate her. They filmed it and spread it around on YouTube and Twitter, where their friends proceeded to watch it and harass her for it.

Now what should have happened at this point was that the local authorities should have seen the large amount of evidence, convicted the boys, and done everything they could to help the 16-year old victim move on with her life. That is not what happened. Instead, there was a cover up presumably by the football coach, which would have prevented legal action to the boys had Anonymous not stepped in and unearthed the incriminating evidence, or so the story goes (that is the popular narrative on the internet, understandably so because the internet is the hero in that story, but even if it is not completely true, it is certainly believable considering that only 3% of rapists actually serve time).

But this story gets worse. When the news media were reporting the case, they showed how strong rape culture actually is by extending their sympathy not toward the victim for being raped, but toward the rapists.

To clarify: these journalists looked at a case where a young woman was raped by two boys who proceeded to embarrass her and defame her and nearly got away with it, and their take on it was, “Those poor boys.”

And it gets worse.

This case obviously got to national press, which prompted the football program of the small town of Steubenville, Ohio to implement some policies to prevent this from happening again. So they began to teach their kids not to use social media irresponsibly.

Instead of pushing their players to be more responsible and decent people, this school decided that what the kids actually did wrong was sharing their sexual exploits, not the sexual exploits themselves.

And throughout this, the victim was getting a ton of abuse as well, because of course she was.

And here’s the kicker, here’s why this is a problem and why we need feminism to highlight these problems so we can try to fix them:

Steubenville was not exceptional. Not by a long shot. There are many cases where rapes happen, victims are blamed, and evidence is covered up. For instance, Googling “next Steubenville” will net you five†other similar cases on the front page, one of which also happened in Steubenville.†Searching a bit more will find more†results. And there are plenty of other examples of harassment toward rape victims, some of it through social media and some of it through institutionalized systems.

I personally know a wonderful person who was the victim of sexual abuse, and at one point people tried to charge her with statutory rape because the people who sexually abused her were under 18, which is completely ridiculous for many reasons, one of which is because she’s not even interested in men.

And considering that at least 1 in 6 women were at one point sexually abused (and 1 in 33 men), chances are you know someone who was a victim of sexual assault as well. And considering that rape victims live with that horror forever (hence the trigger warning), this should feel like a very personal issue for you.

What happened in Steubenville is happening all over the country. It is happening to young women who have their whole lives ahead of them. And no matter what anyone on Twitter, on social media, or in politics say, their greatest mistake was not drinking, not partying, not disobeying their parents, but expecting the men around them to act like decent people.

Big props to this guy.So this is why I get incredibly frustrated when people agree that men and women are equal but don’t understand why that is not the case. This is why feminism is necessary. Feminism is about recognizing these problems and saying, “We need to fix this.” Rape culture is a result of a patriarchal culture, one that says women who don’t have sex are prudes and women who do have sex are sluts: a culture that treats having sex as a commodity and consent as a bonus. This is a culture that determines value and respect for women based on whether or not they have had sex, regardless if it was consensual or not.

I want to end this post with a quote from a post that everyone talking about rape should have to read (it’s long, but worth it). Film Crit HULK, when talking about his work as a volunteer at a rape crisis center, writes:

FOR STARTERS, THEY COME ALONE.

NOT LITERALLY ALONE, PER SE, AS OFTEN THEY HAVE BEEN DRIVEN TO THE CENTER BY A CONCERNED FRIEND. USUALLY FEMALE. USUALLY A ROOMMATE. EVERY ONCE AND A WHILE THERE’S A BOYFRIEND. AND THE THING IS THE PERSON WHO COMES IS†RARELY†AT THEIR FRIEND’S SIDE WHEN IT’S TIME TO ACTUALLY TELL THE STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED. IT’S AS IF THE VICTIM THINKS THE STORY HAS TO BE TOLD ALONE…

HULK THINKS ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME TO THIS VERY DAY. THE STORIES. THEY STAY WITH YOU. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ONE PHRASE THAT HULK KEPT HEARING FROM THESE YOUNG WOMEN AGAIN AND AGAIN? THE ONE PHRASE THAT JUST KEPT POPPING UP?

“My dad is going to kill me.”

IT’S PROBABLY THE SADDEST THING YOU CAN THINK OF. IMAGINE SOMEONE SAYING IT AT A TIME LIKE THAT. AND IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME. AND IT’S NOT ALWAYS THE SAME WORDS YOU HEAR BUT THE EXACT SENTIMENT. AND IT PAINTS THE UGLIEST PICTURE IN THE WORLD. IT IS THE THINKING THAT THEY DID SOMETHING WRONG ACTUALIZED INTO HORRIFYING DETAIL. IT IS THE THOUGHT THAT IN ALL THIS, IN COMPARISON TO THE ACT ITSELF, OR EVEN HAVING TO RELIVE IT ALL IN A STATEMENT TO A POLICE OFFICER LATER, THE MOST FEARFUL THOUGHT GOING THROUGH THEIR MIND IS THAT†THEY HAVE TO TELL THEIR FATHERS. THAT SOMEHOW THEY HAVE DISAPPOINTED THEM. THAT THEY DID SOMETHING WRONG. THAT THEY HAD THE GUMPTION TO BE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED. EVEN IN THE MOST RANDOM OF ATTACKS, YOU CAN SEE THIS FAULT AND FEAR MANIFEST IN THEM. IT IS THE FEELING THAT THEY ARE NOW “LESS-THAN” IN THEIR FATHER’S EYES. THAT THEY ARE NO LONGER THEIR FATHER’S DAUGHTERS. AND FOR THEM? THIS IS THE MOST TRAUMATIC THING OF ALL OF IT. ONE GIRL LOOKED US IN THE EYES AND SAID SHE WOULD HAVE RATHER HAVE DIED THAN TELL HER FATHER… AND ALL THESE YEARS LATER, HULK KEEPS HEARING THOSE SAME WORDS…

“My dad is going to kill me.”

Now if you will excuse me, I am going to try and find some glimmer of hope for humanity. I will let you know if I find it.

Read more from Devin White at his blog or on Twitter @D_A_White.

Finding My Space (by Rachel Lesler)

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FeminismDay1

The following is a reflection-turned-blog post that I wrote so that I could clearly define some of my scatter-brained thoughts on church. I’ve spent the last few months actively trying to avoid going to church, because every time I went I left with a bitter taste in my mouth. Over the summer I became increasingly critical of the church I grew up in and still attend when I’m home. By August I almost hated who I had become in regards to church. Sure, there were things in my church that legitimately deserved a critical eye. But there were a lot of things that didn’t and I was having trouble seeing the difference anymore. My response was, when I moved back to college, to stop going to church because I didn’t know how to be in that space anymore. Finally I attended a new church and it was a breath of fresh air; but I didn’t know how to be in that space either. I’ve been a member of the same church for all twenty years of my life; I don’t know how to attend another church in my hometown faithfully without feeling guilt. It was also difficult logistically for me to often attend that second church, which led to my being even more uncomfortable in any space labeled “church.” I just wasn’t sure that with all my new ideas of feminism, liberalism, progressivism (ok, that’s probably not a word), that I ever could fit in that space again. A few weeks ago I realized that maybe the space wasn’t the only problem, but my lackadaisical attitude about it as well. So I decided to go to church. I went to two. One definitely was not my space, but the second could be. But then I went to a third church, and something wonderful happened:

Today, for what I’m sure is the first time ever, I heard a preacher say that Jesus was progressive toward women. That he protected them. That he radically broke customs to talk to women as a Rabbi.

And I was stunned.

Perhaps I should clarify something. The man wasn’t a “preacher” per se, that’s my evangelical non-denominational vocabulary coming through. He was a reverend, because today this southern evangelical girl went to an Episcopalian church. Today I kneeled in prayer, took actual wine for communion, and almost crossed myself (except I don’t exactly know the gesture well enough to do it without embarrassing myself so I refrained).

And I was refreshed.

Today I followed along to a service that was printed on a bulletin in my hand almost in its entirety. Every prayer, every response, every scripture was already printed for me. I didn’t have to scramble to take notes or rifle through the pages of my bible to keep up with the sermon or make sure I remembered every facet of the five-point sermon. But still I had to focus.

And I learned.

I learned, more than ever, that Jesus truly was a radical but he also respected and adhered to tradition. I learned the joy of reciting the Nicene Creed and knowing that believers all around the world were doing the same. I learned that Jesus most likely smiles on my feminism.

Because an ordained man stood behind a lectern in church and taught that Jesus honored and respected women and there were no “buts” or “ifs” or any other conditionals.

Because two women performed obvious leadership roles in the service, visible and welcome by the entire congregation.

Because I was offered holy communion wine by a woman, an experience that would never happen in my home church.

Most importantly, I learned that there is still space for me – a liberal young feminist who currently questions everything – in the Church. Maybe it’s not the church I grew up in, maybe it’s not the evangelical church, and maybe it’s not even the Episcopalian church, although I can’t wait to return to that parish for Holy Communion next Sunday. But in the Church that is ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven, there is space for me.

There is space for you.

And I am glad.

Rachel Lesler is currently studying English at Lee University. You can read more from her on Twitter @TheBookworm.  

Introducing: Upside Down Feminism Week!

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FeminismWhoo Hoo! I’m super excited this week is happening–I’ll be featuring very interesting, varied perspectives all themed around the oft-ill defined topic of feminism, in hopes of course that the end of the week brings further understanding of the real meaning of feminism and dispels false definitions & stigmas.

Why bother with the label “feminism”? Labels usually bring more confusion and bad feelings than good, but sometimes it’s easier to have a base line to bring about clarification. I guess I might call myself an “egalitarian” more than anything else, but that’s kind of the point of all of this: why are we afraid of the “feminism” label, especially in Christian culture?

Let’s discuss. See you tomorrow.

 

P.S. Be sure to check out my feminism post from last week!

The Dark Side of Wanderlust

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Wanderlust BlogAs a kid, were you ever asked what country you would love to visit one day? My answer was always a sanguine “All of them!” For as long as I can remember, wanderlust (hereby defined as “the strong desire to travel”) has been my lifelong companion.

I wasn’t born with the strong urge to travel—I don’t think anyone is actually. I just happened to be born into a family of rolling stones. We moved around many times growing up (I always joke that moving is my parent’s favorite hobby) and as a result, I’ve lived in six states by the ripe old age of 22.5. Wanderlust assuaged the usual pangs of losing friends or a sense of security, because unlike the memories of places left behind, wanderlust is never wan. Its siren call beckons to the colorful, volatile world of the future (allowing you to easily ignore the pain of now.)

However, there are many dark, dangerous side effects to wanderlust, such as discontentment and fear of commitment. If not properly maintained, wanderlust is consuming & unquenchable and will most certainly rob you of the joy of now. Unless you know how to properly handle the effects of wanderlust, you’ll probably turn into one of the many dyspeptic discontented who will never know happiness outside of a plane ticket.

I’m 99% sure that the main message of “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” has been vastly misinterpreted. I cannot tell you how many tweets I saw from people who saw the movie and gushed all about how they now want to travel to exotic places. (Not going to lie, after I saw it, I totally added Iceland to my list of places to visit.)  But I don’t think travelling to all those places was the point at all though. (SPOILER ALERT) The increasingly plucky Walter Mitty learns that his main mission behind all his travel was a seemingly ordinary picture of him working at his ordinary job in his ordinary home city. The “Quintessence of Life” was found (literally) when Walter Mitty became content with himself.

I hate reading articles or books that glibly state “This is a problem, you’re messed up, blah blah blah” but fail to provide solutions–they leave an acidulous taste in my mouth. I won’t do that to you:

I’ve found that the only way to cure the negative side effects of wanderlust is (wait for it…) by being present.

  • Don’t let laziness or prejudice dictate your sense of wonder. Some of my biggest regrets are not exploring the towns that I lived in to their fullest capacity. When I lived in Dallas, I explored only a few areas of the massive downtown. When I lived in Chattanooga, I barely tried any of the cool outdoorsy activities. Even when I was in Cambridge in the United Kingdom, I didn’t do nearly enough as I would’ve liked. I guess what I’m trying to say is that your town might seem terribly dull, but give it a shot. Be a tourist in your own backyard and you’ll be surprised all the fun you’ll have. Make the most of where you are now or even when you live in super awesome places, you probably won’t make the most of it there either.
  • Be thankful. If you’re discontent, write down a list every night of the little things throughout your day that really blessed you. It could be as simple as wearing an outfit you felt awesome in or having a gorgeous lunch, but focus on filling up a page with things you’re glad happened.  How can God trust you with big things when you aren’t even thankful for the little things in your life?
  • Just Do It.  Don’t just pin it, post it, or tweet about it. Go travel. I’m tired of seeing people live online rather than in the real world. If you want something, work hard and attain it. It’s that easy. If you want to travel, save your money & go. It might take a while, but it’s better to work for a goal than just talk about it.

One final thought, now that we’re on voluble terms: There is a HUGE difference between adventure & wanderlust. Wanderlust is only satisfied with the exotic, while adventure is happy anywhere & anytime. You can have wanderlust but be unadventurous (in fact, I was! Remember how I never explored the cities I lived in? Prime example.) Adventure is the search for excitement, understanding, and self-awareness; wanderlust is the search for the next plane ride. See the difference there? First you must develop a sense of adventure—let it be your compass to fulfill your strong desire to travel & you’ll be amazed where you end up.

I’ve Never Burned a Bra: An oversimplification of feminism

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The sad thing is that this picture was found from jesus-is-lord.com

The sad thing is that this picture was found from jesus-is-lord.com

As I sat to write this, I realized that it’s not so easy to define a belief system in simple terms–and especially not feminism. The more I wrote, the more I realized it’s not that black & white (and subsequently began heavy-handedly editing.) So you must forgive me if this post is rather itinerant, for the subject of Christian feminism is riddled with winding rabbit trails of unnecessary clarifications and I find myself rather lost for words.

But this I do know:

WHAT FEMINISM IS NOT:

  • Bra burning
  • hating men
  • the belief that women are the higher species
  • militantly against marriage & relationships
  • Anger
  • The belief that you don’t need anyone
  • Isolationism
  • Lesbianism (unless you were one to begin with, feminism is not like that gay bomb from 30 Rock.)

I’m a pretty awful “token feminist friend.” I cannot contain my sarcasm when friends come to me to complain about how terrible men are or how they’re thinking about becoming a feminist because men are so weak (which is a forgivably naive understanding of feminism, but still.) Likewise, it sucks when people I love & respect make ignorant comments such as “If you’re a feminist, then you MUST be a man-hating, liberal, abortion-loving lesbian” or “Feminists cannot be Christians.”*

*Tiny side story: What are conditional fallacies and what does that have to do with anything? 

Commonly referred to as “if/then” statements, they’re really easy to uncover and alarmingly common.  Example: If you’re a feminist, then you MUST be a man-hating, liberal, abortion-loving lesbian. The pulchritude of logic is that it is a sneaky little undercurrent found every statement ever made (usually unbeknownst)–either something is logically sound or it isn’t. I’ve encountered a LOT of these fallacies during my conversations with friends who irrationally hate feminists. If I ruled the world, then everyone would be required to take a course in logic.

WHAT FEMINISM IS:

To me, feminism represents the idea that everyone–regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, or belief system–should be treated equally & given the same rights. This is basically the cornerstone that transcends all other elements of feminism to me.

I’m saddened by the idea that Christians cannot be feminists, because on the contrary, we should be fighting for justice for all. What about Proverbs 28:5, “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully.”? Or Isaiah 61:8? Or Isaiah 10:1-2? or Matthew 12:18 (aka what GOD says about JESUS–doesn’t get more clear than that)?  If you’re looking for a verse to worm out of the mandate for justice, you won’t find one.

While one might argue(/have), that men and women are created differently and have different capabilities/ emotional outlooks/etc & thus CANNOT be treated equally, I beg to differ.

  1. Obviously men and women were made differently (if you’re not sure, Google has basically a million images to back me up), but that does not diminish value or purpose of either.
    1. A gender hierarchy once was a major element of the law (brought about by sin), but was abolished by Christ on the cross. Doesn’t Galatians 3:28 clearly state “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
    2. For further reading from writers far more eloquent than I, please check out this list of resources compiled by Rachel Held Evans.
    3. As for marriage, I don’t want a spiritual leader. Jesus is the spiritual Head of my life–I don’t understand how I want to be with a man who is my spiritual partner as we journey together in life side by side. Life’s a lot more like a slow dance than a waltz.

There’s a lot that could be said or argued or illuminated, but I’m just too tired to write about it. I’m tired because it’s 2014–why is this conversation still going on? Why are women still being devalued and objectified? And why are we as Christians not at the forefront of the gender equality stage, representing our Great Advocate?

I’m a feminist because of Proverbs 31:8-9 : “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”

It’s 2014 and I want justice.