This is my "rough draft" and it is far from being done. I have not had the chance to edit this recently, due to many other things vying for my time and attention. I am not perfect, and I am ever learning; feel free to voice your comments, questions, or concerns (: I have not had the time to footnote in the scripture yet, so feel free to leave a comment with any scripture you believe would be beneficial to weaving into the theme! (For apart from scripture this whole "essay" is for naught!)
What of Feminism and Femininity:
Are the two synonymous?
I can only write what I personally have learned and know; what I have learned has shocked me and caused my soul deep anguish.
“Feminists claimed that they would go down in history as heroines, but in the end, the only thing feminists will go down in history for is breaking up families, tearing down homes, and contributing to the mud-slide of cultural disintegration.” Ana Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin
To clearly define feminism and femininity must be done first and foremost; the meanings must be defined so they are neither ambiguous nor used interchangeably within the following words; they are distinct and separate and hold differing and opposing weight. So what exactly is meant by femininity?-it must be specified and noted that the only sure source for this term is to go to the infallible word of God; the meaning is derived only from scripture, and can only be built upon and drawn from this foundation, it cannot and is not dictated by anything, or anyone else, and least of all the culture around us; femininity, simply put, is God’s ordained role of what a true woman is supposed to be; its essential purpose was illustrated in Genesis when God made woman as a helper suitable for man-it is a compliment of masculinity. What is meant by feminism?-in our westernized civilization it is much more evident, rampant, and widely accepted, however the conception of feministic ideals began with Eve in Genesis; for simplicities sake: feminism, at its root, is self-seeking, independent, and its nature and desire is to weaken and dominate men. We see the former is about self-sacrifice and the latter is self-seeking. The premise and definitions are now clearly set.
It is easy to assume that, as Christians, we build our life upon the foundation of God’s word. But how true is this? And how much have we really allowed an unbiblical culture to infiltrate and train us? Could we be blind to how the cunning devilish scheme has actually discipled us more than the very word of God? Has feminism been more widely accepted than God’s design? Is it possible our whole perception has been skewed by the culture we are immersed in? Wholeheartedly I would say yes, and I can say this honestly because it has been evident in my own life. We would like to say we follow the word of God, that we delight in it, and that our purpose lies within the truth and heart of God. But isn’t our enemy far more ingenious than we credit him for? There are parts of God’s truth we delight in, others we dismiss, or conveniently have never studied, or worse, have been taught false opinions on the controversial matters. It absolutely breaks my heart to say this, but even the God-fearing women I have been surrounded with growing up have often been so feministic, that the biblical role has been skewed and feminism is normative in Christian circles. Does this mean all of them, definitely not. Does this mean they are not godly women, that is not my place to say!-but my meaning is that perhaps even they have allowed feminism in without realizing it. This is the crux of the matter: feminism is so integrated within our normal perception and daily life that we can hardly even admit to it or distinguish it at times!
I believe it is hard to admit the truth mentioned afore because to do so seemingly opens a Pandora’s Box. If we admit that it is true, we are held accountable. If we are held accountable, we ought to make some changes. If we make some changes, it’s going to be process of submitting to the will of God and relinquishing selfishness and our own comfort. It is almost frightening because we do not have control, we cannot ascertain what might be the result of opening such a “Pandora’s box.” But I would suggest that if you truly are a regenerate believing woman, you can find rest in the Sovereignty of God; for He is good and all His ways are for our good, never our detriment, but only for our freedom.
There then, that word freedom is widely misused. Isn’t feminism all about women’s freedom and rights? Surely there is SOME good it has brought us!-absolutely not. This is a prime example of how we have even subtly accepted feminism! Feminism does not seek the women’s good, it does not seek to allow her to have more freedom, and it does not seek her best interest. In fact, it actually tears down women. Feminism across the board has one goal: make women like men. It scoffs and mocks the “traditional” roles of women, it blatantly assumes that such a role is dehumanizing for women to adhere to. They insinuate women ought to assume the roles of men, that women can do all that men do. This is precisely one of the ways feminism disdains biblical femininity; you are not valid unless you prove yourself just as capable as a man. They presume to uphold “equality” but really they promote manhood as the status to attain. Do they really believe in equality, or is this merely a guise to force women to abandon what it means to be a woman? Only within a biblical context does it value, honor, and treasure women as distinctly separate, yet wholly necessary! The bible states that the woman is the glory of the man, so by effect, the crowning glory of creation; feminism thinks we are but a body with different anatomies. Under feminism women do not have freedom, they have restrictions and chains that say she must prove herself to be like a man, or else she is not worthy. In God’s truth, women have the freedom in His boundaries; when they submit to Him, they are protected, loved, cherished, and encouraged to attain the loftiest heights of biblical beauty and usefulness: helping men subdue the earth. She is free to be what she was designed to be. Why in the world would one take on the pressure to be like a man, when she can devote her time to cultivate her femininity as the crowning glory of creation? I would propose that feminism subtly dehumanizes God-ordained womanhood; she is not accepted as “equal” if she submits to God’s design, she is seen as backward, “anti-progressive” in her ways, she is outdated, she “destroys” her freedom, etc. The one who says “Christianity is dehumanizing to women” is actually far more subtly dehumanizing! To say that a woman must be like a man and do as men do dehumanizes a woman’s role. Feminism is dehumanizing to women and it does not offer freedom.
I believe fear is a defining factor as to why women submit to feminism rather than God’s word. Let me reiterate that: when a Christ-following woman submits to feminism, she fails to submit to God. That in itself is a massive problem. By willingly following feministic ways, women deny the inerrancy of scripture; essentially they are proclaiming to the world that they do not believe God is good, and they declare that God’s ways are not sufficient. They are afraid, wrongly afraid, of God. Another facet of this fear is perhaps women are afraid men will not rise to being men; in this fear, they themselves fill the roles men fail to fill. But if women are busy filling the roles of men and becoming quasi men, who is to fill the roles of women? When we step out of our God-given jurisdictional roles, things began to collapse. Isn’t this evident? When women have stepped into the shoes of men, they rejected their beautiful role as mother and wife, and now are “sexually liberated” where they no longer “need a man” and instead sacrificially abort their children as a testament to their own selfish “freedom”. Women are afraid to fulfill their calling. The root of it is sin; we want to be our own gods, we want autonomy to be the defining rule, not God; we want to usurp God’s authority. Eve, in the garden, sinned; Adam was held responsible. He failed to protect her and be a shield for her!-he failed in his husbandly duties. (It’s amazing, isn’t it?- since the beginning of the human race man apparently did not rise up and BE the man God designed him to be). So it ought not to surprise us that men often fail in rising to the occasion; on the flipside it ought not to surprise us that women try to dominate; both these realities were present in Adam and Eve. They have given us a miserable inheritance. God, however, was gracious to give us His special revelation through the infallible scriptures and literally spell out His very design for us; we have a place to look to go against the fallen man’s desires. But in that, we will fail every time; we need Christ and His redemption to ever walk in His ways. Men will not be men apart from the grace of God, nor will women be women (according to His design, not according to the culture). To be afraid, is no excuse; that is a lack of faith and trust in God and blatant disobedience to His word.
Now, perhaps you might think this is harsh, but feminism is harsh; it is destroying everything the bible stands for! To run the risk of being wildly unpopular and rejected, I will be explicit in bringing a few things to light. First, we must realize, though feminism pushes women to be as men, women still are submitting in all things. The question is, to whom and what are we submitting to? Is it God’s word, or man’s expectation? God says women are to be silent in church; man says this is oppressive and backward. In the name of freedom (or ignorance, or even blatant disobedience) we have changed church to be “feministically friendly”; but the real question is, if church is a matter of Sunday worship with simple commands in how we are to worship in scripture then all other fellowship, bible studies, and aspects of life a woman is free to not be silent. Why is this so offensive? (Maybe God knew that women’s nature was bent to dominate!) This is highly offensive, I know; if you ask me if I am silent in church, I believe I can honestly say yes. I bring my questions elsewhere (namely to my parents, or even wise godly older women; or I will study the word of God on my own). Part of why this is so hard is because we have changed the dynamics of church in such a way it is impossible to be “silent”. Sunday schools, stages, etc. Perhaps we have allowed feminism to not just influence church in this aspect, but absolutely paved a new concept of church for us. God says the father is the covering of the daughter until she is handed over to the husband, man says a woman needs a higher education, independence, status, an individual income, to be living on her own a few years. God says a woman is to be a helpmeet to the man and they are to cleave together and become as one; man says a woman must be her own person, even in marriage, for she ought not to lose her identity. God says a woman is to be chaste, modest, servant-hearted, tender, kind, and loving person; man says a woman is to be brazen, flaunting, manipulative, and to use all her wiles to gain status in this world. These are but a few, and certainly not an exhaustive list, of diametrically opposing worldviews. How can we presume that feminism is neutral? How can we say that it has not radically disturbed the biblical order of things? How can we be silent toward feminism, yet incessantly speak elsewhere?
In the end, I have seen shallow churches, fragmented homes, haughty “educated” women (as well as women with “good intentions” but still not truly submitting their life to the word of God), broken marriages, divorce, emotionally detached families, undisciplined children AND parents alike, man centered traditions, and a lack of reverence for the things of God. Modesty is a thing of the past; chastity is long forgotten; submissiveness is disdained; biblical meaning has been skewed and to be a wife who works apart from the corporate machine and instead in the home is abhorred; children are seen as a nuisance and not a blessing; children are neglected if they are allowed; husbands are not held to any standard for the woman rises to his position; men are mocked, women are idolized; rape and all sorts of perverse sins are RAMPANT and women are unprotected on every side; to be feminine is seen as weakness; it is noble to pursue anything except being a loving wife and mother; in all of these few things I have seen and been exposed to, it is very clear to me that I live in a reality that is wholly opposed to what God calls me to. What He calls me to is not dependent on if he sends me a husband, but rather simply because He first loved me, chose me, redeemed me, and ever sanctifies me and He deserves all of me for His glory. He loves me, so His design and plan is good. He chose me, so in His sovereignty He will place just what I need in this life in His timing. He redeemed me, so I am not my own. He sanctifies me, that I might be more like His Son and a light unto the world. In the end, I am made to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever; this is on His terms, not mine.
If anything in here is offensive, you might be a product of the feministic, humanistic, hedonistic, narcissistic, autonomous culture you are immersed in. If anything in here moves you toward the Lord and relinquishing self, you might just be a child of the King. Ultimately, this is but a glimpse and nothing I have said is new (and it is woefully lacking understanding; by the Lord’s grace He is ever opening my eyes to His truth and ways).
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