Gender and Society Flashcards
What is the traditional understanding of a family
husband wife child
What changes in the 20th and 21st century has altered the traditional view of a family
- Increase in divorce rates
- Increase in women’s working rights so less women have children
- Increase in contraception use
- Secularisation leads to decrease in marriage rates
- Legalisation and acceptance of homosexuality
First wave feminism
Aim to get women the right to vote
Second wave feminism
Ensuring that equality laws for omen were put into practice in society
Third wave feminism
Greater emphasis on individuality and intersectionality among all women
What do feminists see the traditional family view as
An instrument for the oppression of women as it confines the women to a life in the household caring for children
What feminist law was passed in 1991
Marital rape became a crime
Reasons why the idea of family is culturally determined
- Different societies understand families differently so cant have one view of family
- Everything about someones life is culturally determined
- As cultural norms change the idea of a family changes, homosexuality acceptance family can be seen with two male parents
- Families have practical advantages
Reasons why the idea of family isn’t culturally determined
- Idea of a family cant change because it must have the ability to create a child
- Christianity teaches that families are formed by Gods creation and not society, may be affected by society
- Natural Law, Idea of a family is taught in church teachings for catholics.
- Bible teaches about the importance of the role of a family with set roles within the family with the purpose of procreation and protection.
What is Ephesians
Pauls letters to the early church
What does Ephesians teach
- Women are inferior to men in a marriage and must submit
- Men have a god given authority over women
- Men should use their authority to care for their wives and to love them, women should just respect husbands
What else does Paul teach supporting the view of inferiority of women
- Women shouldn’t speak in church
- Women should never have authority over a man
- Eve eats the fruit first, women are the weaker sex
What actions of Paul support equality of women
He taught that all people are equal in Christ, Set up churches led by women
What are the less oppressive ways of interpreting Ephesians
- Husband must also be prepared to sacrifice everything for his wife
- marriage is based off true love
- Pauls letters were responses to other now lost letters which explains the forceful language
- Authority in the passage may mean head, which would suggest men as the source of life and energy not in command
- Hermeneutics of suspicion in Pauls society was highly patriarchal so this was radical at the time.
Reasons why biblical teaching on men and women is outdated
- Highly sexist, relying on patriarchal societal norms that are no longer present
- Biblical teachings like ephesaisn are evidence
- Biblical teachings no longer cover peoples needs today so shouldn’t be used literally
Biblical teaching on men and women is not outdated
- If society wants to change doesn’t mean its right, many christians disagree with the secular direction societies going in
- Biblical teachings have many different interpretations and can still have value found in them nowadays
- Bible is revealed theology from god so shouldn’t be disobeyed
Hermeneutics of Suspicion
Looking into the context of a piece of writing like the bible to realise the culture of the person who wrote it to realise why it says what it does.
Who is the theologian who believes hermeneutics of suspicion is important as each writer is a product of their society
Fiorenza
Mulieris Dignitatem what and when
Text published by poe John Paul II in 1988, Aimed to reintroduce catholic teachings on women in response to growing feminism and change in society, enforced equality of men and women with different roles