This post was originally drafted after March 8th, 2018. As you ought to know by now, I'm incapable of finishing anything. So here is the final draft, a year in the making.
March 8th was International Women's Day, and it set me thinking about the rather hot-button issue of feminism. I know a lot of people are not going to be all that excited about reading some 19-year-old white guy from Mississippi talk about feminism, but I am going to attempt to handle the issue sensitively and yet biblically.
A Little Background
Let's start by defining some terms. Our friend the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines feminism as "the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes." Some may not be satisfied with this definition, but I think it definitely serves as a good starting point. Something worth noting is that these concepts are not inherently bad. The Lord Jesus shows us this by reaching out to women that were shunned and/or marginalized in that culture and time.I also plan to reference complementarianism a good bit here. In her article for The Gospel Coalition entitled, "Complementarianism for Dummies", Mary Kassian says,
"Complementarians believe that God created male and female as complementary expressions of the image of God—-male and female are counterparts in reflecting his glory. Having two sexes expands the view. Though both sexes bear God's image fully on their own, each does so in a unique and distinct way. Male and female in relationship reflects truths about Jesus that aren't reflected by male alone or female alone."The argument of many new wave feminists is essentially that women still have not achieved political, economic, and social equality due to the oppressive societal "patriarchy," and thus women ought to still be engaged in feminist efforts.
Allow me to explain what my argument in this post is NOT going to look like: 'Feminism was once a good thing, but now that women have economic equality, it is bad and no longer necessary.' I do not see that as a productive way to argue.
My aim is to show how modern (or 'new wave') feminism is fundamentally inconsistent with a biblical view of sex, and how it disarms, discourages, and effectively neutralizes strong Christian women.
So, What's the Problem?
What ought to unease us about new wave feminism is not its push for women's issues in the economic and political realms. These are results of an underlying philosophy. What ought to unsettle us about new wave feminism is its intention to undermine the Bible's teachings on femininity and masculinity. Perhaps as a reaction to the more romanticized view of homemaking held by some evangelicals, many young women in the Church have quickly swung to the other end of the spectrum. As a result, any talk about headship or gender roles tends to become awkward, and men are expected to keep quiet, especially if they are not in places of teaching authority.New wave feminism has essentially become what I call a "Men-Need-to-Shut-Up-ism." I will concede that there are times when men need to shut up and listen to the concerns that women have, especially when we have not given the issue thought outside of these types of conversations. There are also times, however, when a man cannot seem to do any kind of musing about sex or gender roles without getting slapped in the face with Men-Need-to-Shut-Up-isms.
Furthermore, how many feminists does it take to screw in a light bulb? The answer: that's not funny.
Some Clarification
To be sure, a healthy concern for women's needs and issues (perhaps even an Alice Walker brand of "womanism") is a good and biblical thing. I want to affirm that with my whole heart. Women ought not to be made to feel that they are not important, especially within the church. If, however, the way that you advance the causes of women is simply to try to delegitimize and shame men, then you're doing it wrong.So what is this about feminism disarming women? Isn't that the opposite of what it's supposed to do?
Someone I have learned a lot from recently is Dr. Carl Ellis, Jr., Provost's Professor of Theology and Culture for RTS. Dr. Ellis is a theological anthropologist and has written a good deal of material on race and civil rights (a good deal of which I can highly recommend). He sometimes notes how progressives have correctly diagnosed the problem of racism, but have pushed ideologies that, though they talk of empowerment, actually encourage dependence.
I believe that the same is true of this brand of feminism. Women are encouraged to be empowered, to be able to do everything that a man can do, and to fight the "patriarchy". Feminism talks of empowerment but encourages dependence because feminism compels women to constantly compare themselves to men.
Bringing it Full-Circle
Radical feminism, like all other forms of "creaturism", has at its root a violation of the first commandment. May I remind the reader that anything can become an idol? What happens when we make an idol of masculine traits?Men are not off the hook here. If and when a man makes an idol of his own masculinity. it is usually very clearly manifested in things like misogyny, brashness, rudeness, a domineering attitude, and the like. These things are clearly wrong. If and when a woman buys into the idea that women should share certain traits with men, she very well could be making an idol of masculine traits, which manifests in a breed of Men-Need-to-Shut-Up-ism.
It is a despicable thing for a woman to be made to feel as if she must fill male roles, live up to male performance, and put on an air of quasi-masculinity in order to truly be a "strong" or "independent" woman. God made male and female (Genesis 1:27) for a reason. Femininity is a blessed thing. Masculinity is a blessed thing. And they are, believe it or not, better together.
Woman of God, do not be disarmed.
