Some Christians denominations are dragging society back to the dark ages with their ideas about masculine and feminine roles. Conservative Christians believe that there is a divine hierarchy for all time of God-men-women.It is difficult for them to abandon this philosophy because it originates in the scripture. The words of St. Paul, “For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church”(Eph 5:23 NLT)have been transformed into the eternal words of God. In order to support this hierarchy these Christians have figured that there must be some fundamental difference between men and women.Obviously there are physical difference between the two. There is, however, a more grey area of psychological disparities. Society uses the terminology masculinity and femininity to describe these. How these terms are defined, then, determines how we view men and women. Conservative Christians tend to accept the typical definition of masculinity being about strength, and so to keep the sexes separate, femininity must be oppositely associated with weakness. If masculinity is about being assertive, then women must be passive, and if he is independent, then she becomes dependent. When we examine these masculine traits they are all characteristics of a healthy person in society. The feminine traits of being weak, passive and dependent are at worst a mental disorder and at best lead to low self-esteem for women. Masculinity seems to describe the norm for humanity, and femininity is more associated with deviant behavior.
Due to this hierarchy masculinity has wrongfully become focused on being above femininity. It incorrectly seeks power and control over the feminine, and must struggle daily to maintain that position. If women in some way seem more qualified, more powerful, smarter, taller, you name it, then this messes up the divine hierarchy. Since this is an ordained status by God, to let it tumble and disintegrate becomes sacrilegious and must be fought against vehemently. This definition of masculinity keeps men constantly on guard against woman, because it is she, as the other, who has the power to cause men to fall from their heavenly spot, that is to a position of equality with women.
Christianity was born during a time when patriarchy was a natural way of life, yet it has refused to toss off these old, outdated assumptions. Today, a large percentage of Christian churches still bar women from entering the priesthood. The Christian hierarchy, however, is not just restricted to the priesthood--it also invades the home. According to conservative Christians the home must be organized by the gender roles, that is divinely ordained tasks that are different for men and woman. The idea is that our world functions more smoothly if we follow God’s plan, which includes gender roles. To go against these predetermined duties is to go against God. Therefore, it becomes imperative that men and women stay within the limits of their gender and comply with the tasks that God assigned them. The male role is to be head of the household and provider for the family. On the other hand, the female duty is to stay at home and take care of the children. She is also to submit to her husband as the leader of the family. The message here is clear enough, in the eyes of God women are inferior to men because God is a male. Men are closer to the image of God, rank higher in God’s hierarchy and therefore more fully represent God in the office of priesthood and household leader. Again, scripture supports this idea, St. Paul penned the words, “for man is made in God’s image and reflects God’s glory. And woman reflects man’s glory. For the first man didn’t come from woman, but the first woman came from man. And man was not made for woman, but woman was made for man.” (1 Corith 11:7 NLT). The result of this is that the Christian church, like the rest of society, is tipped in favor of masculinity. The power to drive the direction of the church comes from the leaders who are all men, this leaves women on the outside to be simply followers. Their ideas and opinions are never validated or encouraged, instead they are ignored as “other.”
Due to the backlash that this philosophy has caused there has been a growth in Christian organizations were gender roles are an important part of their platforms. The “Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood,” “the Promise Keepers,” and “Focus on the Family” are some of the Christian groups sprouting up that fit this category. It is fear that has prompted the creation of these types of organizations. Many members of these groups foresee a horrible future that can only be derailed if woman are kept under control. The book the Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood" (available on the website for Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood) is very explicit about exactly how our society is going to fall apart if we do not stay within our gender imposed roles.
"When we follow the theme that there are “No Differences” into the area of manhood and womanhood, the attempt to obliterate differences leads to the emasculation of men and the defeminization of woman. Men become more like woman and woman become more like men, because “All is one.” Within marriage, if there are no differences, then same-sex “marriages” would be approved. Women who reject feminine roles will support abortion. Since there are no distinct roles for a child’s father and mother within the family, there’s really no longer any need to have children raised by family; “society” can take care of raising children. Within the realm of sexuality, homosexuality and lesbianism will be approved. The chart goes on to detail how the idea that there should be “no differences” but that “all should be one” will also work out in feminized religion within churches, in hatred of authority (if someone has more authority, then all is not one), in no competition in sports (if we have “winners” and “losers,” the all is not one), in no respect for authority and in the civil realm (with an increase in rampant crime), in attempts to abolish private property and equalized possessions (no one can be different, but all should be one), and in attempt to prohibit all-male or all-female schools or to prohibit education boys and girls separately. These are the tendencies that follow once we adopt the conviction that “all is one” and there are no differences of person in the being of God, and thus there should be no difference between men and women either."1
Further down the author continues his thought.
"They deny that there are any gender-based role differences in marriage. Within marriage an egalitarian view tends toward abolishing differences and advocates “mutual submission,” which often results in the husband acting as a wimp and the wife as a usurper. Because there is a deep seated opposition to most authority, the drive toward sameness will often result in children being raised with too little discipline and too little respect for authority."1
If men and women come to be considered equals, then the world as we know it would be destroyed because homosexuality would become normal, abortion rates would rise, and all authority would be challenged. These are major concerns that must be addressed.
The first issue of homosexuality is a vast one. I do not intend to cover all aspects of homosexuality. It is only discussed here as it relates to the gender issue. The conservative Christians main problem with homosexuality is that it is a sin. St. Paul states that it is an abomination unto the Lord. If it is a sin it seems to be a victimless one. What two homosexuals do in the privacy of their own home has almost no bearing on the moral values of the rest of the community. Sins like child abuse, adultery, greed, racism, and sexism, have a much bigger impact on society then homosexuality. Yet within the Christian community the outcry against these horrendous sins seems to get lost in the uproar over homosexuality. Conservative Christians say it’s a choice, liberals tend to believe it is an inborn trait. The question is why is there so much time and money spent on placing homosexuality into some cubby hole. The reason is that it throws a wrench into the neatly defined divine hierarchy of God--male--female. Homosexuals do not fit into any of these categories, because a man is really defined as a masculine man, and homosexuals clearly fail at this. They are living proof that not all men are masculine,(void of all feminine traits) which causes the whole hierarchy to come tumbling down. Other than messing up the power of masculinity, one must wonder how exactly does homosexuality negatively affect our society?
Where homosexuality is the dagger that destroys the gender argument, abortion on the other hand has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with sex. We tend to lump this issue into the feminist one, making it a woman’s issue, rather than facing the truth that it takes two people to make a baby. Statistics show that the top reason why women chose abortion is because either a boyfriend or husband persuaded her to have the abortion. Next on the list comes confusion, parents pressuring her to abort, lack of alternative, not mature enough, and problems with relationship or wanting to avoid being a single parent. 2 It obviously takes two people have sex, and in a likewise manner it takes two to raise a child. Women know this. They feel trapped, confused and afraid when left alone to face rearing a child by themselves. Abortion is not an easy thing to do, it kills a baby, and emotionally speaking it kills the woman too. This issue is tossed into the gender issue because it is the radical feminist who promote pro-choice. In reality, it is not the strident feminist having the abortions, it is young, teenage girls who don’t have the confidence to say “no” to their boyfriend’s advances. Teaching them a typically masculine value of asserting themselves would give them the self confidence to say “no” when pressured. On the other hand, we must also take a hard look at how some men define their masculinity by how many girls they have sex with. Teaching our young men not to pressure the girls in the first place would also help alleviate the problem. Abortion has very little to do with women foregoing the feminine role of motherhood, termed the defeminization of women. This is proven by the fact that once women are married the abortion rate drops dramatically. It seems motherhood is an accepted part of being married.
Now we come to the heart of the issue of feminine power, that is egalitarianism. The authors of book Biblical Foundations of Manhood and Womanhood are correct in stating that femininity leans toward egalitarianism, and away from hierarchies, but he has a skewed view of this philosophy. His radical understanding of egalitarianism asserts that following this philosophy would strip people of their uniqueness. In essence, this extreme view would mean that no one would be allowed to be rich, beautiful, intelligent, or have special skills because then all would not be equal. This is the real issue that threatens the overly masculine world, the fear of having to step down to the level of others in order to equalize everyone in society. For macho men strive to prove that they have gained an upper hand in the hierarchy of life. This plays out in making sure that others are lower than them, hence women must be submissive. Most feminist egalitarians, however, have a more moderate view of what this philosophy means, and within this context it does not demolish the uniqueness of individuals. They understand that there will always be people with different skills, income levels, nationalities, and other various things that make us unique. A more sensible egalitarian approach simply proclaims that these differences should not rank us. So, regardless of our individual differences, egalitarians believe we are still inherently the same in God’s eyes. Due to this fact, they profess that we all deserve the same respect. Anything that unfairly demeans a human’s dignity must be vehemently fought against. With this view, egalitarianism is not about forcing everyone to be the same, rather it is about working toward helping all humans to have an equal opportunity towards happiness. To suggest that implementing this philosophy would result in no more police authority and higher crime rates makes no sense. The author has confused egalitarianism with anarchism. Furthermore, women, who have typically been the ones raising children, understand that kids need love, guidance and yes, discipline. Children, though, eventually grow up into adults, so this is not a hierarchy that is set for life, it is a necessary condition to help our young mature. The idea of a divine hierarchy of men over women, however, is static. This means women are at the bottom with no hope of ever moving up in the world.
The slippery slope argument was used to proclaim that the world is headed toward a disaster with more homosexuals, more abortions, and loss of all authority, all because the authors of this book have a deep rooted fear of women and all things feminine. They believe that eventually the feminine will take over and control the world. Men will be feminized, the church will be feminized, and the outcome of all this female power will result in chaos. In other words femininity, found only in women, is a very dangerous thing and must be controlled in order to keep our world safe. His statement about men becoming wimps confirms his definition of masculinity as more powerful, and it gets at the core of this issue. Macho men who define themselves by their authoritative masculinity, cannot relinquish their power because then they would become sissies. Furthermore, he portrays the typical masculine fear of losing control and power onto women as if they too were concerned with those things. Notice, he will become a wimp and she will usurp his rightful power. In effect this is a complete reversal of the current powerful masculinity and weak femininity. Femininity is not about power and authority. In reality, masculinity isn’t either. It only becomes that way when it is wrongly defined as the top of God’s hierarchy, because then it becomes about controlling the feminine.
According to those who prescribe to these gender roles, men should be all masculine and women must be only feminine, to cross over the lines is dangerous, as we saw the authors of Biblical Foundations of Manhood and Womanhood fear women acting like men and men acting in a feminine way. Real people, however, are not limited by these invisible boundaries. There are assertive women, and passive men. Jesus as the head of the church never taught about gender roles. His main focus was always on the kingdom of God, and this was for everyone, nor were their different requirements or expectations within that kingdom for men and women.
Bibliography
1. Grudem, Wayne, ed. Biblical Foundations of Manhood and Womanhood. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, A division of Good News Publishers, 2002. p. 60-61
2. Mathewes-Green, Frederica. Real Choices. Ben Lomond, CA: Conciliar Press, 1997. p. 208
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