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I have a friend on Facebook that wrote regarding his religious beliefs that he hopes, as to whatever is out there, that he or she is on his side. This statement got me to thinking about the use of the masculine pronoun "He" to refer to God. The Bible teaches that God is Spirit. God is not limited in any way by gender. He does not need a counterpart to reproduce. If God wants to create another being, He simply does it. He also doesn't need a physical body to commune with those He loves. In the form of the Holy Spirit, He enters and indwells those with whom He shares a love relationship. The Bible also teaches that when we die, we neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven, suggesting that gender is irrelevant in heaven. God is also given both male and female qualities throughout the Bible, suggesting that God is above gender… He is something greater than either man or woman, but more like both together. So, why then use the masculine gender to refer to God? (And you're probably wondering what this has to do with feminism, but I'm getting to that.)
In a patriarchal society, and ancient Israel was a patriarchal society, to refer to God in the feminine would have meant to relate him to the "inferior" sex. The Israelites naturally would have called God "He" to acknowledge His superiority and headship of Israel. So, the question I eventually came around to is, "Are we still a patriarchal society?" And here is my conclusion: modern feminism has reinforced American patriarchalism.
So, why do I say this? After all, women have come a long way from being relegated to the home, right? Well, here it is: American women (and probably European women) have reached for equality with men by adopting traditionally masculine traits and devaluing traditionally feminine roles. Modern women want to do what men do and be what men have historically been. And they've been moderately, though not completely, successful. My thought is that by trying to assume male roles, women have essentially said, "You're right, it's better to be a man than to be a woman."
If we really want to challenge the patriarchal system, then we need to restore value to traditional female roles. Matriarchal systems value motherhood and the traits and experience that are required to be a nurturing mother and support a strong family system. While modern women have proven they can be successful in a great variety of professions, we have at the same time done serious damage in respect to the roles that make women distinctly different from men. Culturally, we have joined men in rejecting the value of women who devote their lives to the home. If we truly want triumph, American women need to acknowledge that there are some things that women are particularly suited to do, just as there are some things that men are particularly suited to do… and be proud of that, rather than trying to be "little" men.
Do I have a certain amount of disrespect for current-day feminism? Yes. I think they have disrespected what makes us essentially feminine. Feminists have given men the right to judge women by a new set of standards: one that raises our standards professionally, but lowers our standards personally. We have given up as much as we have gained, and therefore have we really gained anything? Or have we simply given up something that made us, as women, special to gain something that makes us, as people, common? I think, personally, that we should respect both the commonalities and the differences between the sexes, rather than trading what we are, the heart of the family, to try and prove what we're not: namely, inferior.
