Gender and society Flashcards
Ephesians 5:22
“Wives submit yourselves to your husbands as you do the Lord”
Ann Oakley on motherhood?
- Sociologist
- Interviewed women about motherhood and housework
- Women’s feelings that they must become a mother isn’t biological; it’s socialised into them
- ‘Maternal instinct’ doesn’t exist
- Women may feel powerless at childbirth because medical experts (often men) treat them as “cases”
Simone de Beauvoir on motherhood
Motherhood forces women to suspend their own lives and interests, leaving them unable to develop as individuals. They’re then left empty and purposeless when their children leave
What does Simone de Beauvoir say about motherhood?
‘One is not born, but rather becomes a woman.’
What is Mulieris Dignitatem?
- Papel encyclical on women’s rights. Written in 1988 by Pope John Paul II
- Catholic position on feminist issues clarified
- Created to defend Catholic Church from allegations of being sexism
What does Mulieris Dignitatem teach?
- Men and women have different but complementary qualities
- A woman’s role should be respected
- Jesus wouldn’t have existed without Mary
- ‘Women are naturally disposed to motherhood’ physically and psychologically as a gift a God
- Men owe a special debt to a woman. Everyone enters the world through a woman
- Pain in childbirth allows women insight into Christ’s suffering
- Motherhood is passive
Galatians 3:28
‘you are all one in Jesus Christ’
What did Aristotle believe about women?
- Women are naturally inferior
- Men should rule and women submit
- Based on faulty science. Aristotle justified this because men can produce semen while women were simply passive in reproduction
- View influenced societal views greatly
What did Plato believe about women?
- Women are inferior to men, don’t have a soul, and aren’t created directly by God
- However, women should be treated fairly, not as possessions of men
- Being born a woman is an unfortunate consequence for not living your life as a man correctly
What did Aquinas believe about women?
- Significantly influenced by Aristotle
- Women are less intelligent/strong (which was true in Aquinas’ time, since women weren’t educated)
- Women have a special place in heaven with Mary, despite the fact that they’re defective
What gender differences are there in wedding vows?
- Wife says ‘to love, cherish and to obey’
- Wife says ‘I give thee my troth’ while husband says ‘I plight thee my troth’
Genesis 1:27
‘In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.’
How can you reinterpret Ephesians 5:22?
- It’s frequently taken out of context
- It was written to stop men having concubines and to protect women from men taking their virginity and then leaving them destitute
- The men are made to promise that they’ll love their wife as Jesus loves the Church
What does the second genesis story claim?
- Adam was created first
- Eve created as a helper from Adam’s rib, an afterthought
Who ordains females? Who doesn’t?
- Church of England do
- Catholics don’t
Why doesn’t the Catholic Church ordain females?
- It’s claimed that women shouldn’t take roles representing Christ (like Holy Communion) because Jesus only had male disciples
- God also chose Jesus to be a man
What is Christian egalitarianism?
Mutual respect/equality between husband and wife
What is liberal feminism?
View that men and women should be equal in their rights and opportunities in society
What is radical feminism?
View that equal rights isn’t enough to guarantee equality because it doesn’t undo the cultural impact of years of oppression
What is gender traditionalism?
Gender roles are natural and humans are best following them
How does Augustine interpret genesis in terms of gender?
- A man by himself is made imago dei, a woman isn’t
- Only when combined with her husband can a woman be made imago dei
What does St Paul believe about the Genesis story?
It means that women shouldn’t have authority over men and can only be saved by becoming mothers
What does Aquinas say about submission of wives to husbands?
It’s for their own good because men are wiser and more rational than women
What is feminist biblical criticism?
Feminist approach to the Bible
What is Biblical patriarchy?
- Key concept in feminist biblical criticism
- The idea that a Bible is made to subjugate women
- If both men and women believe in God, and someone tells them that their divine creator is telling them to submit, that’s quite persuasive
- The Bible is written by men in the interests of men
What does Hume say about reason? How does this link to gender?
- Reason is a slave of the passions
- This means that men will subconsciously be drawn to an ideology that benefits them
- The idea that men don’t have to do housework appeals to them
What is the liberal approach to the Bible?
- Views the Bible as a product of the human mind, not the perfect word of God
- Began in the enlightenment when the Bible was shown to contain errors scientifically and historically
- It’s a human record of divine events, so reflects human and historical context
- Needs to be reinterpreted to remain relevant
What is Mulieris Dignitatum?
- Encyclical by Pope John Paul II
- Translates to ‘on the dignity of women’
What arguments does Pope John Paul II make about motherhood?
- It’s a woman’s telos
- ## Women are naturally disposed to motherhood physically and psychologically
How do feminists often respond to Pope John Paul’s views on motherhood?
- There is a large degree of variation regarding gender roles culturally
- If we had a telos that gave us a natural inclination to behave in a particular way, these cultural variations wouldn’t exist
- The Christian attempt to insist that God created women for motherhood simply serves to encourage them to adopt a passive social role of child rearing so men can have power in the world
What does Simone de Beauvoir claim about motherhood?
- Rejects the idea that it’s a woman’s telos
- People cling to fabricated notions of telos out of fear about having to make their own telos
- Motherhood forces women to sacrifice their own desires and self for their children
- There is no maternal instinct. Beauvoir points out that mothers often resent their own children in certain contexts
What does Mulieris Dignitatum claim about women in Christianity?
- There are many female european saints
- Jesus coming to earth was only possible because of a woman
- This shows that women have an important place in Christian theology
- So Christianity can’t be sexist
How does Mary Daly claim that the virgin Mary is portrayed in Christianity?
- Mary’s portrayed as a passive void waiting to be made by the male
- Mary is a rape victim of God
- Mary is put on a pedestal to encourage women to be passive, submissive and obedient
What does Simone de Beauvoir claim about socialisation?
- “One is not born, but rather becomes a woman.”
- Gender divide started for biological reasons but was then perpetuated by culture
- Boys are socially pressured to avoid affection and emotion
- Girls are socially pressured to believe the meaning of their life is marriage
Why is Pinker critical of radical feminism?
- Believes in “blank slate”, meaning there are no innate cognitive differences between men and women
- Says a society free from sexism will still lack a 50-50 split between men and women in all professions and social positions because they have different interests and goals
What does Mary O’Brien argue about feminism?
- Naturalistic feminist
- Argued motherhood can be a positive thing if women control their choice to become a mother
What did Anne Oakley say about motherhood?
- Interviewed women
- “Maternal instinct” comes from culture, not biology
- Women don’t instinctively know how to breastfeed
- Many women found it frustrating to be at home all the time
