Yesterday at Peterborough we looked at Nurturing Women; Helen led the session and introduced a paper from Valerie Saiving on The Human Situation- this took an anthropological view of the feminine situation- asking whether it is right to challenge women on the sin of pride- suggesting that the major feminine sins are sins of distraction and lack of focus- these stem from the acceptance and passivity of an expected role of nurturer and sustainer of a family unit...
The argument is of course far more complex than this- but it struck a chord with me...
Very often women are unable to celebrate their femininity and feelings of inferiority and inability to function outside of a family unit hold them back- expressing an opinion for example can be a painful challenge to one who is used to yielding to and accommodating others.
A further question was raised by a suggestion from Professor Dale Spender that the constant reference to God as male does something to a woman's psyche... this is something I will read into, but I do know this that when I refer to God as She it has two equal and opposite effects... people are either released or enraged by it- very very few are ambivalent!
I believe that feminist theology is important because it poses a challenge to tradition and demands that we deal with and ask questions of a largely patriarchal society ( yes even now)... this is particularly important for the church as we tend to lag behind the culture when it comes to change anyway! Feminist theology at its best is a quest to seek equality ... it should not be of the burn your bra variety- this to me is a denial of femininity anyway... interestingly it was a thought yesterday that we rarely hear the word strident unless it is being used to describe a vocal feminist!
Why did all of this strike a chord with me- well first I guess because I am a woman ( yes I'd noticed...) but also because of the roles I have chosen... having become pregnant at 19 I chose to give up a University place to care for and nurture a family- I do not regret this- but wonder what would the effect have been had I continued to study and allowed others to help in the care and support of my children- would I for example have more confidence... I struggle continually with feelings of worthlessness... writing and handing in assignments is always a painful process- and yet I almost always gain high marks/ grades!... interestingly I am currently listening to a chorus of womens voices singing I am the alpha and omega... there is something curiously profound in that...
A few thoughts...
... why is it that women are often the fiercest opponents of womens ordination?
... why is it that women struggle with the temptress image and will often hold themselves responsible for incidents that are not of their making? ... many rape cases are dismissed on the grounds of provocative behaviour on the part of the victim!
Don't get me wrong I am not against men... in fact I usually get on better with men than with women... but I do see that deep healing is still needed in the 21st century as we continue to struggle with harmful stereotypical models...
... models that are reinforced when mothers are crazy enough to buy their 3 year old daughter t-shirts emblazoned with slogans like " sex kitten" and their young sons t-shirts proclaiming "future stud"...
I finish with a prayer from Nicola Slee:
O women whose voices have never been heard: we repent of our deafness... we confess our stubborn hearts and closed minds
O women whose words have been consigned to silence, we grieve for the wisdom which has been lost
O women whose wisdom has not been heeded: we desire that our time will be different and we commit ourselves now to listen.
We will turn again to search out the Scriptures... we will look for the clues of your lives in the margins of history's pages...we will seek out your words in secret places... we will dig for your treasure hidden deep in the dark.
For we know our need of your wisdom... we yearn for the restoration of what has been lost... our time is hungry for your forgotten stories... for the ancient art of womens wisdom...which will heal our hurt and may yet save our world...
A final thought....if women are enabled to rediscover the true strength in their femininity might men also be healed in the process from false culturally imposed views of masculinity?
