gender and society Flashcards
Ephesians 5:22-33 (demonstrates male superiority)
“Wives, submit to your own husbands as you do the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church … Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church
who says women are defects of men
aquinas
aquinas 3 main points on women
- women are defective
- should veil - men dont need to because they are closer to god - directly under jesus
- man is active in reproduction
genesis 2 quote
“i will make a helper suitable for him”
who says wives submit to y our husbands
st paul
who wrote humanae vitae
pope paul vi
who wrote mulieris dignatateum
pope john paul ii
why does mary daly not think mary is a good role model
impossible - virgin and mother
explain the inter insigniores - 1976
pope paul vi
- priest acts in place of christ
- incarnation of word purposely took place as male sex
- ‘natural resemblence’
- sacred tradition - remain faithful to how jesus did it
mulieris dignitatem - when, who, and aim
pope john paul ii 1988
- aim to set out roman catholic attitude for women
defend christianity against accusations of sexism
mulieris dignitatem - state two main arguments
Motherhood is a woman’s telos; natural purpose
There are important and valued women in Christian history/theology
mulieris dignitatem
‘Motherhood is a woman’s telos; natural purpose’ explain what pope paul says about this
‘naturally disposed to motherhood’
physically: womb
psychologically: motherhood creates a ‘special openness’ in a mother to their child - develop self-giving abilities and compassion.
So, the fulfilment and purpose of the female personality, especially that of compassion, comes from virginity and motherhood. This argument is based on Natural law reasoning about telos.
evaluation for motherhood being a womans telos
cultural relativity - matriarchal societies etc
- biblical patriarchy
theotokos def
god bearer
mulieris dignitatem:
likeness of god
men and women created equally in gods image
- eve is a helper - something an animal couldnt be
- called to exist mutually
mulieris dignitatem:
misogyny and fall
- fall is symbolic but is a spiritual truth
- misoginy due to sin - relationship broken
mulieris dignitatem:
what did he mean by women masculinising themsleves for equality
women shouldnt make themselves masculine in pursuit of equality
‘women must not appropriate themselves male characteristics contrary to feminine origin’
mulieris dignitatem:
jesus
- promoter of womens dignity and even caused scandal
- talked with women, let sinful women touch him . healed sick mother etc
- women were first to witness his resurection
mulieris dignitatem:
motherhood
five
- women have greater role in creation of child
- comes naturally to women ‘naturally disposed’
- more authority in childbearing
- women take part in gods salvific action by birthing population
- noble task that is not degrading
mulieris dignitatem:
virginity
- being a dedicated virgin doesnt deprive her of fulfilling maternal inclinations as it can be done for christian community - nun
- spiritual mothers subordinate unlike priests
mulieris dignitatem:
virginity quote
‘by freely choosing virginity women confirm themselves as persons’
mulieris dignitatem: how does it elevate marys role
three
- theotokos
- central part in salvation
- selfless in this act
mulieris dignitatem: what does he mean by proto evangelium of eve
woman who is ideal since eve made wrongs that mary was able to right by birthing salvation
why may ‘head of the wife’ not actually mean head in an authority way
kephale can mean point of origin/beginning
adam is kephale of eve because eve came from his ribs
what did Betty Friedan find about housewives in the 50s - did they think it was their telos to be mothers
they were bored and unfulfilled
Simone de Beauvoir on motherhood as a woman’s telos
existentialist (they reject telos)
what does satre say about telos
“existence precedes essence”
- humans define their own purpose because they exist before a defined purpose
- psychological argument - ppl r afraid of freedom In creating own purpose so cling to old ones
mulieris dignitatem: There are important and valued women in Christian history/theology.
explain !
- many female European saints
- incarnation only possible due to Mary
so can’t be sexist because they hold women in such high regard
who says that through Mary being a “docile servant that she will be also a blessed saint”
Simone de Beauvoir
how does Mary daly see Mary
- as a rape victim
- a passive void waiting to be made by a male
- Mary is put on a pedestal but only to encourage women to become passive, submissive and obedient - so they can become sexual property of men
how does Mary daly respond to the Catholic Church liking and respecting Mary
likens it to the way a slave owner likes and respects their most obedient slave
Simone de Beauvoir argues religion is a tool for what - and how does it achieve this
a tool to keep women under control in their oppressed place with false promises that they will go to heaven if they obey
claiming that women are associated with sin and temptation for men due to the story of The Fall.
does de Beauvoir think women have the same nature
no female biological nature because all women are different.
how does de Beauvoir think patriarchy needs to be destroyed
“destroy the concept of motherhood”.
- many mothers dislike being one - depends also on social context
- link to anne oakly
who thought de behaviour devalued motherhood and made it sound negative
Mary O’Brien - motherhood fine if their choice
Steven pinker, a lib fem, is critical of rad fem because he thinks they believe in ‘tabula rasa’. what does this mean
blank slate
- the idea the mind contains no human nature and is blank from birth
- suggests no cognitive differences from women
- he thinks they hold this view for ideological reasons not rational ones
- he doesn’t think a society free from sexism would have a 50/50 split because diff genders have diff interests and temperaments
what is evaluation for pinker saying women and men have diff interest and temperaments due to science
it may not be scientific but cultural reasons for data
- women pressured to be interested in trad feminine things
Society might condition men and women differently in those traits.
what is “The gender paradox”
name given to the statistically observed phenomenon that as gender equality increases in a society, the gender split in terms of the different lifestyle and profession choices men and women make also increases.
what did Anne okay find when she interviewed mothers on motherhood
‘maternal instinct’ comes from culture not biology
- women didn’t instinctively know how to breastfeed
- mothers who neglect children were often neglected as children
- suggests Paul 11 is wrong that women are created with maternal instinct
evaluation of Anne oakleys finding on motherhood ( mothers who neglect children were often neglected as children ) and counter
women who were neglected have trauma that interferes with their maternal instinct and overrides it
- but it has evolved over time so suggests that it has not come from god
