Women Against…Women?

on July 22, 2014

Feminism is pro-woman, unless you are a woman who isn’t a feminist. Then you are a woman marginalized and demeaned by a throng of “pro-woman” feminists.

This week on Twitter #WomenAgainstFeminism emerged among ladies expressing their disapproval of the anti-life, “War on Women” baggage that feminism has garnered since the days of the admirable woman’s rights movement that originated during the 1920s.

Ladies’ opinions included:

Intimidation is a powerful tool. A tidal wave of outrage soon emerged that was anything but pro-woman. Presumably from self-identifying feminist, attacks were launched insinuating (and many more flat out accusing) conservative, complementarian and even egalitarian women participating in #WomenAgainstFeminism of endorsing the abuse, objectification, and oppression of women. 

Less direct criticisms emitted from within the Christian community. Self-described “Jesus Feminist” and author Sarah Bessey chimed in “Feminism is the ‘radical’ notion that women are people too.” A rather reductive definition,  Bessey dismisses the politiczation of the women’s rights movement has erupted since the sexual revolution.

Obviously, the concerns women have with feminism range much deeper than the idea that we are people. It just takes an ear that is willing to listen, not condemn us, to understand where our displeasure with today’s feminist movement is rooted.

Notice that the conservative and complementarian Christian women did not state women are less valuable. This virtual discussion goes beyond our shared respect for women’s property rights, just treatment and independence. Instead, concerns revolved around the issues at the forefront of feminists’ public policy priorities, including the presumptions that we are single issue voters and only care about our “choice” to have an abortion and willingness to rally for tax-payer funded contraception regardless of potential infringements on religious freedom.

Instead of thinking deeply about their sisters’ hesitations and frustrations, feminist belittled all women who disagree with their worldview. To do this, feminist have dismissed non-feminist women as either (1) indoctrinated and brainwashed into upholding their convictions; (2) weak submissive types who turn a blind eye to another woman’s abuse; or (3) incapable of grasping the complexities of the feminist paradigm. Perhaps these ladies should reconsider how their harsh accusations and verbal attacks are counterproductive to empowering women.

As a once faithful feminist, I empathize with the roots of these harsh sentiments. But I shed the feminist mentality thanks to my mom, my grandmothers, aunts, and sisters. Admittedly, some of my female family members have experienced first-hand verbal, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of a men. Yet they demonstrate intelligence, compassion, independence, business savvy and determination to seek justice in a broken world without identifying as a feminist. That is because their liberation is not found in a politicized label that does little to further the women’s rights movement.

What I’ve come to learn from the female pioneers in my life is that my liberation is not found in a politics or Planned Parenthood. True liberation is found in Jesus Christ alone. This notion may be anti-feminist, but it is most certainly pro-woman.

 

 

 

  1. Comment by Adam Shields on July 22, 2014 at 12:36 pm

    I don’t think you can claim that it was only feminist women reducing non-feminist women in this hashtag activism event. There were lots of people on both sides (including some Christians that I saw) that were throwing some fairly one sided (and often outright mean) comments.

    What I find difficult is not that people don’t have different views, but that what often gets dismissed is the very real work that early feminists did. Not everything of any movement is positive and that certainly includes feminism.

    But rejecting feminism completely (as the hashtag seemed to be doing) is a very un-nuanced and historically naive stance.

    I have seen conservative women do exactly what you are suggesting feminists are doing to conservative women. So I think there needs to be a much more nuanced conversations. Certainly there are strains of feminism that should not be supported, just as there are certainly strains of Christian conservatism that should not be supported for their stands.

  2. Comment by shortcake12 on July 23, 2014 at 10:43 am

    “just as there are certainly strains of Christian conservatism that should not be supported for their stands”.

    Can you name some of them please?

  3. Comment by Adam Shields on July 23, 2014 at 10:53 am

    Some of the quiverful movement believes that women should only move from their parent’s home to their husband’s home. I would say that is outside the bounds of standard Christianity and I would reject that type of opinion about women.

    Tim Challies, the most popular Christian blogger around, has written several times about the fact that he believes women should not be permitted to read scripture out-loud during worship. Again, I reject that and I think most Christians today would.

    I worked at a long term women and children’s homeless shelter for a while. We had a church that volunteered there that kept telling women that were leaving abusive marriages that divorce in cases of physical abuse was sinful and we had to stop allowing the church to volunteer there.

    I could keep going on. Inappropriate statement and beliefs that should not be supported are on both more liberal and more conservative streams of Christianity.

    I am not trying to draw a moral equivalency, but simple saying we need more nuance, not less in our conversation if we are going to get to the deeper issues.

  4. Comment by shortcake12 on July 24, 2014 at 12:08 pm

    I agree with you on the things you mentioned, however those things are way out of the mainstream of Christianity. I’ve never heard of TIm Challies…I guess because he is not someone I could relate to. What he believes is way too far out there for me. I would like to know how he came to that conclusion because Jesus has a high regard for women.
    Thanks for having a civil conversation even though we may not agree on much.

  5. Comment by Adam Shields on July 24, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    I am thrilled you don’t know who Challies is. And I am happy you think all of these are outside of Christian mainstream.

    The problem I think is who gets to define that. Challies for instance is consistently ranked (by visits) the most widely read Evangelical blog, so it is hard to put him outside the Christian mainstream even if on this particular point, most disagree with him.

    My main two points are simply that abuse of others is not only from liberals to conservatives and that because parts of a movement are problematic doesn’t mean you should throw out the whole movement.

    And I agree with you that Jesus had a very high regard for women and that women are fully created in the image of God.

    I am less bound up with the word feminism because it has a slippery meaning and is often defined differently depending on your political background. But I tend to have a positive view of it because of its history, which is rooted in fair and equitable treatment of women. I think at least part of the reason why it has an increasingly liberal persuasion is that conservatives started withdrawing from women’s rights movements. There is a chicken and egg problem here I know (did conservative withdraw because of liberal movement, or did the liberal movement start because of conservative withdrawal).

  6. Comment by Stephanie on July 28, 2014 at 10:28 am

    1 Corinthians 14:34-35 King James Version (KJV)

    34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.

    35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

    I think these verses are pretty clear on whether women should be allowed to preach/read scripture/etc in the church services. Those without husbands should probably ask their fathers/wait until after church to ask an elder.

    Yes, this references the law, but the fact that it is promoted again in the New Testament defends it against the argument people like to use that the law is no longer relevant because of Christ. Apparently this part of the law was still important even after Christ, and I see no reason why it shouldn’t be important to us today too.

  7. Comment by Adam Shields on July 28, 2014 at 10:33 am

    I am not going to argue with you over this. There is more than enough discussion about this issue both in book form and on the web if you are interested.

    However, I believe it is important to take other people’s views seriously and allow them to have them without assuming that their holding a view different from yours endangers your own faith.

    Lots of very smart people, with access to much more training and wisdom than I have have come down on different sides of this issue. Suffice it to say, I am not going to change your mind in a simple blog comment. Nor will you likely change mine quoting a couple verses out of context.

  8. Comment by Stephanie on July 28, 2014 at 10:49 am

    Yes, I agree I probably won’t change your mind here, but I think it is important to acknowledge these verses. I desire only to make people think beyond what they want to believe, and to search the scriptures for the answers, even if it’s not popular.

    I also do not believe they are taken out of context, as this chapter is discussing behavior during church and what is appropriate and how to handle things.

    It continues:

    36 What? came the word of God out from you? or came it unto you only?

    37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

    38 But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant.

  9. Comment by Adam Shields on July 28, 2014 at 10:52 am

    Believe me, no one that believes in female ordination or even greater roles for women outside of ordination is unfamiliar with these verses.

  10. Comment by lilyofthevaley2014 on July 29, 2014 at 10:19 am

    What are the deeper issues at work here?

  11. Comment by Adam Shields on July 29, 2014 at 10:52 am

    I would say there has to be a conversation about why complementarianism tends toward minimizing women’s humanity. It doesn’t have to be that way, but it tends to happen. There are certainly good complementarians that do not do that, like Wendy Alsup. But she has spent a lot of time countering bad complementarianism. On the egalitarian side, there can be a problem of accepting cultural change too quickly and without enough reflection.

    On both sides sexual abuse is often covered up, sometimes for different reasons, and minimized.

    Lots of other issues can be brought up. At root, regardless of the discussion topic, it is important to not minimize the other’s issues into strawmen as this hashtag tended to do on both sides.

    Real people with real deeply held beliefs exist on both sides. Both sides tend to hold beliefs that come out of experience as well as ideology and sometimes the deeper reasons for those beliefs have not been fully understood.

    But if we claim to be Christians, then we need to treat others with love (not necessarily agreeing with them) but at least taking them seriously. That does not lend itself to hashtag discussions because you can’t fully understand a person in 140 characters.

  12. Comment by lilyofthevaley2014 on July 30, 2014 at 11:04 am

    What is the foundational authority for your outlook on life? And it what specific ways do complementarians minimize women’s humanity?

  13. Comment by Miriam Vidal on July 22, 2014 at 1:26 pm

    Very well said Adam. I personally am pro life and feminist. Why does that seem so peculiar to so many ?

  14. Comment by Grene Tea on July 25, 2014 at 8:34 am

    You call yourself a feminist yet FORCE another Woman to carry a pregnancy?

  15. Comment by Adam Shields on July 26, 2014 at 2:53 pm

    Because there are some feminists that believe that does not mean all feminists believe that. Part of the problem with this structuring of the conversation is the creation of straw men. Intentionally misreading another is not a christian value.

  16. Comment by Fran Brunson on July 28, 2014 at 9:12 pm

    You make it sound like a fetus invaded the woman’s body. The only “force” involved in having a baby is the force of nature. Women who do not wish to have children have numerous ways of preventing pregnancy. The pro-abortion side makes it sound as if women were being coerced into getting pregnant. Last time I checked, it’s take two adults to produce a baby.

  17. Comment by Grene Tea on July 29, 2014 at 7:58 pm

    FORCING another woman to carry pregnancy is not feminist at all. Decide on your own pregnancy, You do not need to FORCE another Woman to make a decision YOU would want when it is not the decision she would want.

  18. Comment by Miriam Vidal on July 31, 2014 at 10:50 am

    So how about avoiding pregnancy to begin with ? As in use birth control and condoms, or abstinence ? Why does feminism have to boil down and be entirely limited to this one single issue ?

  19. Comment by GirlDefined on July 28, 2014 at 9:14 am

    Great article Chelsen! Thanks for standing up for truth.

  20. Comment by Doreen Kent on July 31, 2014 at 3:57 pm

    I would agree with the “Feminist” so long as they really fought for Women, by fighting against Porn and Islamic Fascism against Women! Both are done by men who hate women and everything good she stands for!

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