Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
gender and society - Coggle Diagram
gender and society
traditional christian views on gender roles
'Mulieris Dignitatem'
reasons for the letter
eg by not allowing women to take a role in the hierarchy of the Church but women are still not allowed
intended to clarify the Catholic position on issues surrounding women. was in response to accusations that the Church was sexist and that it promoted injustice by denying women the same rights as men
position on women and gender roles
hi position on gender roles was that men and women have different, complementary characteristics given to them by God
he wanted to emphasise that a woman's role as a Christian is to be respected
wrote about skills and qualities women have, drew attention to the examples of Christian devotion set by female European Saints
the document reflects what the CC Church believes is the role of women in todays society. however it was written in 1988, over 30 years ago
gender and leadership roles
said that although women could not take up leadership roles within the Church, they still played an impressive part in the Church itself eg evangelisation and helping Church grow stronger
P J P wrote this letter on the dignity of women
importance of Mary
he wrote that the turning point of human history happened when God came to earth as JC and that this was made possible because of Mary, who chose freely to take on the role of mother od the Son of God
Mary is given a special place within the Church and there are numerous feast days to celebrate her divinity and importance
went further to imply that we would not have the church if it were not for a woman
other christians say that they need ot look at the bigger picture and take the Bible for the context in which it was written
issues with Biblical messages
but many biblical teachings are very patriarchal and reflect the context in which they were written eg many of St Paus writings
some Christians look to the Bible when it comes to the roles of men and women
Ephesians 5:22
'wives submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the Church, his body of which he is the Saviour'
this shows how outdated many of the Biblical passages are
St Pauls letter is very conservative and patriarchal in its tone. this was in keeping with th cultural norms of the 1st C society then was patriarchal: the father was the head of the family and he had complete rule of the household
Aquinas' view
used the word 'defective' of women
noted that there is a special place in heaven for women such as the Virgin Mary and the women who waited at the foot on the cross when JC crucified, commended them for their love of God
in 13thC, he argued that when are inferior to men, in physical strength and also intelligence
christian views on gender roles and family
counter view: old fashioned ideals
many women nowadays don't promise to obey their husbands as part of wedding vows
Bible written a long time ago and society has developed since then
liberal view
this passage suggests that Christians should not look at the differences between one person and the next and should recognise that they are all united through JC and his crucfixion
some might support this view by drawing attention to the Bible, which says that everyone is equal and created in the image of God 'there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus'
other believe that because all humans are created in 'the image of god', same-sex parents create equally loving environments to raise children up in
believe men and women should have equal opportunities at home and work. they say that couple should share childcare and housework and that they should both go out to work if they want
conservative view
dominant men
use the argument men are physically stringer than women, women are the ones who give birth and breastfeed, to justify that men should have leadership roles into family and women should have more caring supportive roles
a dominant partner is needed for settling disputes and this dominant partner should be a man
family
different denominations of Christianity vary on diff type so family
some emphasise importance of heterosexual married couples raising their family as one unit - based on teachings found in bible
men in charge
believe man should be in charge of the household and have responsibility for losing after his wife and children and providing financial support for the family
believe it is a wife's duty to obey her husband. Biblical passages like St Paul's letter to the Esphesians promote this kind of attitude
motherhood and family
is the concept of family totally culturally determines
against
letter to Ephesians
love between a husband and wife should mirror the love between Christ and Church 'Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her'
family has specific gender roles that are timeless and not based on culture
conservative protestans might appeal to St Paul's letter and argue that the traditional view of family is what God intended
for
legal changes
laws changing in line with cultural change
as a consequence , more children nowadays have same-gender parents
christians would accept views of feminist sociologist Jessie Bernard, who argues that as long as children are loved, feel secure and provided for, then structure of family doesn't matter
marriage was made legal for homosexual couples in UK in 2014
JC's teaching
in particular, JC aimed his teaching at the marginalised, including women and those on the fringes of society
JC seemed to argue for a more inclusive non-hierarchal and non-judgemental society
for this reason, they argue that the Church needs to be more flexible in its understanding of family
liberal protestants may be inspired by the teaching of JC on the Kingdom of God
is being a mother restrictive or liberating?
liberating
Mary and JC
it is undeniable that the Church has a very positive view ofd motherhood and would not endorse any negative views of motherhood
P J P II argues that being female gives one the possibility of being able to give oneself in a way that no man can, and this 'extra' gift of self-giving is part of what it means to be female. it gives women a unique place not just in the Church but in society and the world
Mary's motherhood of JC is seen as a model for motherhood
Mulieris Dignitatem
P J P II says that motherhood is a precious and wonderful gift given to women. the love between a mother and child is one that is celebrated and seen as a uniquely female act of self-giving
restrictive
socialisation
sociologist Ann Oakley interviewed women and gave their accounts of their lives in their own words, describing how they felt about housework ad motherhood
she concluded that a woman's feeling that she needs to become a mother is not biological but is entirely the result of socialisation: there is no such thing as a 'maternal instinct'
childbirith and rearing
she described the frustrations that women feel when they have to stay at home while their children are young
many of Oakley's readers desribed a sense of relief at realising that there women did not always find motherhood easy
Oakley wrote about the ways in which women feel powerless during childbirth when ,edical experts (usually men) take over and start treating them as 'cases''
Simone Beauvoir
she wrote that women have motherhood forced upon them and it leaves them crushed and unable to develop as individuals while their children are young and then left empty without a purpose once their children grow up and leave home
wrote in the 1940s about the ways in which motherhood forces a woman to suspend her own interests and personality to take care of her children
secular views of gender
has secularism undermined gender roles in christianity?
liberal protestant view
might appeal to St Paul's teaching: there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus'
this is clear biblical evidence that JC wanted equality in gender roles
might argue tat secular views of gender equality do not undermine Christian gender roles
for - fluidity of roles
this argument says that man is the 'head of the woman': 'Wives be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord'
but secular views that say gender roles are fluid, and so undermine C belief
CP also look to Bible: particularly, St P's letter to Ephesians, God orders men and women have different gender roles and that society functions best when these 'orders of creation' are observed
against - texts supporting equality
in Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis says that the language of headship and submission from St P's letter to the E is part of the 'cultural matrix' of the time, he thinks that the lang of submission is part of historical context rather than the kind of lang we should use today about the relationship between men and women in marriage
Mulieris Dignitatem argue that Bible recognises the essential equality of men and women
Conservative Protestant view
God created specific gender roles and secular views should not undermine this
argue that men and women are created 'equal but different' by God and each must fulfil their gender roles: ' So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them'
should christianity resist secular perspectives on gender?
against
British Humanists
'there are a number of exemptions the Equality Act 2010 that means part of it do not apply to religion or belief groups. we want to see many of these exemptions removed as they enable religious groups to discriminate..'
argue C should accept secular views on gender and change
they for example think the previous exemption is unjust
Church leadership
some people might argue that f Christianity did not resist secular views of gender, they would allow women to enter the priesthood and there would be more equality in C leadership
there has been a decline in vocations to the priesthood
legal exemptions
but exemptions from this inc 'priests, monks, nuns, rabbis, and ministers of religion' - in these cases, legal to have male/female-only roles
to many people, this exemption seems unfair and unjustified
sex discrimination act and equality act both make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexual identity in the UK
for
separate roles
nevertheless, bit the Bible and Church state that men and women have different roles to play. Biblical teaching is consistent in saying God deliberately created two distinct sexes, al and female, and that they were created for different purposes
other C's apply heteronomous ethics. they believe the Bible need to be read in the context in which it was written/
heterosexuality is ideal
some might consider secular views of gender that are at odds with traditional C teaching destabilising. might see these views as depriving children of security offered by clear gender roles and an established hierarchy in the family
many C believe that ideal family is a heterosexual couple
importance of the Bible
C believe thatBible has authority as the word of God men t hough there are difference of opinion about what this means in practice
some C use 'sola scriptura' - meaning only the bible - for making decisions. these may even go so far as to support the idea that a wife should be subservient to her husband
some Christians believe they have a responsibility to defend traditional Biblical ideas about gender roles and family
waves of feminism
the impact of waves of feminism
gender roles and what 'gender' is has changed enormously over the last 2 millennia. thanks to the three waves of feminism, there is much more gender equality now than ever before
wave 2
the right of women to have ownership over themselves
the consequence of this wave was development of sexual health
1967, abortion became legal in the UK. this gave many women the right to a choice over becoming a mother as well as other forms of contraception. this allowed women to have greater control over their bodies
wave 3
called into question the whole notion of gender roles.
also aimed to be inclusive of women, irrelevant of their ethnicity, sexuality and other backgrounds
wave 1
women began to get equal rights eg they gained the right to vote thanks to the work of the sufragettes