Gender and society Flashcards
What is the hermeneutic of suspicion and who adopted it?
Adopted by Paul Ricoeur
Claims that we need to be suspicious of the motives, the values, and the culture behind a text, rather than projecting our own values.
What does James O’Donnell state about the hermeneutic of suspicion?
‘Liberation means, therefore, to opt for the exercise of ideological suspicion in order to unmask the unconscious ideological structures…’
What does Fiorenza argue?
Theology is a product of each writer’s experience which is determined by their social and cultural contexts.
Therefore, theology is always culturally conditioned.
According to Ruether, where is the feminine constructed from?
It is constructed from patriarchal values that are riddled in the bible.
This emerged from a world of hierarchy where men are in charge.
Quote for Ruether’s belief about females in the bible?
‘The female is not only secondary to the male, but lacks full human status in physical strength, moral self control and mental capacity’
What book did Mary Wollstonecraft publish and what did she argue?
‘A Vindication of the Rights of Women’ - 1792
Women fundamentally have the same rights as men.
When were women fully able to vote as equals to men in the UK?
1928
When was the contraceptive pill made fully accessible?
1974
When were women able to take control of their pregnancies?
1967
When were women allowed to be paid equally to men?
1970
What is first wave feminism?
Focused on equal rights for women, eg. the right to vote.
What is second wave feminism?
Challenged the patriarchy and pressed for women to have rights over themselves.
This resulted in developments to sexual health.
What is third wave feminism?
Explores gender roles and identities, ensuring women do not conform to stereotypes.
What are the two main points that Ephesians argues?
Wives should submit to their husbands.
The husband is the head of his wife.
What Christian twist does Ephesians put on traditional views and why are they radical?
The husband’s leadership is like the leadership of Christ to the Church.
Husbands should love their wives like Christ loves the Church.
This is radical as Christ loved the Church so much that he sacrificed himself, should husbands do this for their wives?
What is Mulieris Dignitatem?
A Catholic 1988 letter of Pope John Paul II on the dignity and vocation of women in response to feminism.
What did Mulieris Dignitatem emphasize?
Motherhood as a natural follow on from marriage.
The psycho-physical structure of women is made for motherhood.
Parenthood is more specifically designed for the woman.
The mother has precedence over the man as the first teacher of the child.
What quote from Mulieris Dignitatem implies the unique nature of women in caring for the child?
‘It is therefore necessary that the man be fully aware that in their shared parenthood he owes a special debt to the mother’.
Arguments for motherhood being liberating?
It is a way of fulfilling their purpose at creation.
It draws on the natural abilities of women.
MD suggests that motherhood is extremely liberating for women.
Some argue that a woman’s desire to be a mother is biological.
A woman is able to provide the best start to the education of the next generation.
Arguments for motherhood being restricting?
A woman must give up her own life and interests to take care of her children.
It slows down progress with careers and affects bodily health.
When children leave home, a mother is left without a proper purpose.
Desire could be the result of social conditioning.
A woman’s intelligence is wasted when at home with children.
What book did Simone De Beauvoir write?
‘The Second Sex’ 1949
Implies that women overtime have let themselves be the inferior gender.
What did Simone De Beauvoir argue about gender identities?
Argues that society forms people into their gender identities.
She calls for modern women to redefine who they are and who they want to be.
What family type might traditional Christians emphasize?
The kind of families that they see in the bible - heterosexual couples who are married.
What notions of family might some other Christians accept?
Any reluctance to endorse same-gender parents is a social issue rather than an issue with faith - Jesus himself welcomed those who did not fully conform to society.
If some people are homosexual and want to have children, then it follows that a loving family will be created as a result.
