An Invitation to Feminism
Issue 009
APRIL 11, 2018
WRITTEN BY KAILEY SIMPSON
Let’s be honest, you don’t want to read another article about feminism. You’ve seen them all over your Facebook feed—opinions, up and down about women in leadership and the pursuit of equality. And truly, who even wants to write them anymore? It seems impossible to share an opinion or a story without risking social media suicide.
And yet, here I am. Writing another one. So, would you be willing to journey with me, just one more time, down this emotionally-charged, increasingly convoluted, but vastly important road?
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You still with me? Alright, here we go.
Feminism gets a bad rap in the Christian world. Or an overly glorified one, depending on who you ask. But, I get why. We tend to latch onto words and use them as our identity, and then our frail humanity bleeds into them and stains them with our brokenness. It happens with all sorts of identifying words: Christian, Muslim, Pro-Choice, Republican, Patriot’s fan. Each of them start somewhere—with a certain belief system or identifying mark—and then they grow. Not only in size, but in perceived values. The people who have taken on those words make good choices and bad choices, and it becomes more and more difficult to find middle ground as the sides become drastically polarized. Eventually, it gets to a point where we can barely sort through the mounds of baggage and pre-conceived ideas.
It would be an impossible task (and an arrogant one, at that) for me to attempt to fully address the issues that have led us to this place and how we should try to sort through them. But that’s not really my goal here. So—if you’re still with me—let’s agree to put down the baggage that has formed around “feminism.” Because what I want for us is to go back to the basics: that every human, no matter their gender, is valued equally. Not identical. Not “girls rule, boys drool.” Just, equal.
For those of us who identify as a part of the Christian faith, we find the foundation for this belief at the very creation of the world, when “in the image of God He created them, male and female He created them.” (Gen 1:27). This doesn’t mean that women have the right to mock or demean men, demand special treatment, or that they need to prove that “anything they can do, we can do better.” In fact, it calls us to be respectful, gracious and kind in our treatment of others as we would like to be treated (golden rule, anyone?). It calls us to fully live out our calling, our wiring, our Imago Dei identity.
“As a feminist, I believe that all people’s wirings and giftings should be appreciated, fostered, and set free for the benefit of the world around them.”
As a feminist, I believe that all people’s wirings and giftings should be appreciated, fostered, and set free for the benefit of the world around them. If we are made to fit into the box that happens to stereotypically correspond with our gender, GREAT! If we are created to live outside that box, GREAT! If we step in and out and do the hokey pokey around it, GREAT! Feminists can be stay-at-home moms who love the color pink and chick flicks. Feminists can be CEO’s who choose never to be a mom, love the color black and action films. Feminists can be everywhere in between—not to mention the incredible men who choose to proudly fly the feminism banner.
Feminists believe that everyone has something special to offer the world, and shouldn’t be squished into a container that qualifies and disqualifies solely based on gender.
Some of you just started an argument with me in your mind. Maybe you’re thinking, “yes, all are equally valued, but that doesn’t mean that all belong in the same roles.” I understand, and even agree. I will never be a professional basketball player—I’m 5’3” and athletically challenged. However, when a human is wired and gifted for a particular role but we choose to ignore them only based on their gender, we are making a statement about their value whether we like it or not.
When we remove their leadership from a decision-making process (i.e. church elder) or keep them from offering their gifts of preaching and teaching to an entire church body (i.e. the role of pastor), we make a statement about our perception of their value. When we decide to limit their offering of God-given gifts solely based on their gender, we end up being the ones that are missing out. Perhaps that’s one of the (many) reasons why the church is shrinking in America. We’ve ignored the leadership value of 50% of our spiritual family and we’ve shrunk ourselves into a corner, afraid to reimagine our traditions.
At the end of the day, for Bible-believing Christians, this comes down to a biblical interpretation issue. As much as I would love to dig through the cultural-historical context of the most controversial verses, or do a survey of the dozens of women who God chose to place in leadership, I will refrain. Because truthfully, if you disagreed with me to begin with, that probably won’t convince you anymore. And for those who already agree, it’ll probably just fan the flame of rage that’s already been brewing.
Instead, I want to invite you to consider: how can you—feminist or not—let go of the baggage and start a conversation? I know that some of the bags are really heavy. There’s been a lot of hurt. We can either choose to keep living in hatred or fear and get nowhere or vow to start a conversation and perhaps take some ground. After all, God didn’t send a dissertation on apologetics to redirect His people when they got off track. God talked with them and He lived with them. The burning bush, the tabernacle, and Jesus—God loved to be with and converse with His people, and I think He’d want us to do the same. The “Word became flesh” (John 1:14) and He told stories.
How can we get our broken, selfish, scarred and bleeding flesh to show up, listen, talk and maybe even change our minds? As we choose to move towards each other, we have to beg the Spirit to lead us to Holy ground—because my ground and your ground isn’t all that great. So, by the grace of God, the power of His Spirit and the inspiration of the Word—let’s take off our sandals, grab a seat, and talk.