Gender Construction in "Book of Showings" Essay

Throughout my selected text, Johnson focuses on the church along with the subsequent androcentric image of God, and how it impacts woman around the world. She explains that throughout history, with the help of the church’s patriarchal nature and society’s values as a whole, woman have been seen “as a ‘defective male’…that must live in obedience to her [male counterpart,]…[ and who are often also referred to as the] ‘second sex’” (Johnson 92). This

In the beginning, women’s status and freedoms were severely limited. Many people may believe that they had started off with just as many obligations as men, but that is not the case at all. Actually, it is the complete opposite, women had nothing when it came to the early days of the Gospel. That is until Jesus came around and changed things. Here we will discuss three very important details of women in the Gospels. We will discuss women in ancient Israel around the time of Jesus and how they were expected to act, then we will move on to Jesus’ radical treatment of women and how Jesus was technically, in today’s definition, a “feminist”, finally we will discuss passages where Jesus apparently does not call for equality of the sexes. All in

This passage was taken from “Everything That Rises Must Converge” and describes Julian’s mother, who remains nameless in the story. It particularly describes her face and hair, which make her sound, ironically, like an

The following paper will include evidence from Godey’s Lady’s Book and other academic sources to argue how the Cult of True Womanhood was strongly influenced by Christianity attitudes. Editor Sarah Josepha Hale goes against Christianity beliefs of domesticity and fights to end the gender binary by making contributions towards women entering and competing in the public sphere.

As there is much debate about the role of women in the church, I believe that we should, as in all circumstances, rely on the Word of God to instruct us as to God 's will. In many religious circles, this is a hot-button subject and everyone will not easily accept this teaching. Nevertheless, because it has become a church dividing issue, it demands an appropriate review.

Thousands of years ago, the Goddess was viewed as an autonomous entity worthy of respect from men and women alike. Because of societal changes caused by Eastern influence, a patriarchical system conquered all aspects of life including religion. Today, the loss of a strong female presence in Judeo-Christian beliefs has prompted believers to look to other sources that celebrate the role of women. Goddess religion and feminist spirituality have increasingly been embraced by men and women as an alternative to the patriarchy found in traditional biblical religion.

Very few religions have women in position of power. In the catholic religion Mother Teresa has been one of the women who has some sorts of influence, but she was not a priest. Most religions is mostly dominated by men in the positions of power. Yes, they are set with gender roles but they are not oppressed to express themselves or not let women make their own

Dating back to history, Christine de Pizan, one of the first identified female writers from the late medieval era, is the genuine master of the “box”. In her famous “The Book of the City of Ladies”, Christine de Pizan alludes to celebrated female figures and “box” her audience. She confronts the disparagement that “a man should never serve…anyone lower than him” especially woman, with the argument that all the angels “surely” are “happy” to serve the Virgin, “who is above all the angels” (24). This argument locks Pizan’s audience – close-minded Christian men – into a box. It appears that questioning the virtues of the Virgin Mary would be directly questioning the Bible, thus the argument that woman is “lower” than man dismantles. Pizan continues to tackle with beliefs that denigrate woman. She breaks down the condemnation of Eve into the paradox that without Eve, there would be no Mary, and thus “humanity” will not be “conjoined to the Godhead” (24). Again, Pizan’s skillful command of the allusions and rhetorical questions wins her the bitter agreement from her audience, because any doubting would not be reasonable for that they do value the existence of Christ more than anything if they are sincere Christians. In plenty aspects, Christine de Pizan’s writing echoes with that of King; they both allude to renowned individuals whose ideas or reputation are accepted widely as weapons to drive their audience into

On the other hand, Pagels focuses more on the gender of God. Pagels rises the question of is God masculine, and in the article, she uses different gospels to conclude that the God in Christians’ eyes is gathering the finest things of man and woman; which in the article, she mentions the “bisexual power”. She also uses Jesus’ birth as an example of divine power. As it is well known that Jesus’ mother, Mary is virgin birth, in this way, people believe that this is a combined power of “the Father of All” and the “Holy Spirit”. Pagels writes about the equal treatment for women in some Gnostic beliefs. She uses the birth of Jesus and the words of Jesus to bring up the equality social status of women in the early centuries. For example, on earth, Jesus has a father, Joseph, and a mother, Mary, which explains that man and woman are equally important to the world. Even in divine heaven, Jesus also has the Father of Truth as father and Holy Spirit as mother too (Pagels 48-69). Pagels uses

Much of what the Ladies of Reason, Rectitude and Justice proclaim tends to rely on or is based off of this idea that everything is in God’s plan. It is He who “…at the very core of His being, nurtured the idea of creating man and woman…that they [man and woman] are one flesh” and women should not be “a servant lying at his feet” (de Pizan, 22). Here, we see that from the beginning, they address that woman and men are created equal; both made in the image and likeness of God. Having said that, a woman’s devotion to God whether it be through chastity or a pure heart, is extremely important. Virginity is honorable and we are provided with examples of female saints who stayed true to God. The blessed virgin Martina who dedicated herself to God and fought in his name and the virgin Theodosina who underwent suffering for refusing to renounce Jesus Christ are ideal women who carried out this devotion to

Milton was, by no means, a feminist, and was of quite a conventional outlook when it came to gender roles as is apparent in the fourth book of Paradise Lost, which has inevitably been scrutinized over and over again under the modern gendered eye. “Paradise Lost,” says Shannon Miller, “is Milton’s most sustained attempt to represent in poetry, gander roles, relations and hierarchy.”It is evident, she points out, in the course of his introduction of Adam and Eve in book IV, the stories of creation they relate there and in book VIII, and finally in the way Milton presents the consequences of the Fall. The reader observes the process by which gender is created as a cultural category.

We start out with the use of the male dominated language in the Bible. Much of the development of Christianity has been primarily mostly by men, so our understanding of Christianity and the Bible may come from a more masculine perspective. Mainly men today translated the vast majority of Bibles available. To be honest, I never really gave this topic much thought as an adult before because I just assumed the obvious, that God is a male. All my life, from my parents, extended family, friends and church, this is what I have always been taught and exposed to. This just comes to show that the Bible just enforces the picture in our minds of a male figure since the beginning of time and in turn, we teach our future generations the same. Japinga states that,

First I will discuss how higher spiritual beings (or something that is held sacred in a religion) relate to gender inequalities. In Judaism, G-d is neither male nor female. Though the decision is very personal and there is no right answer. People who practice Islam worship Allah, god that many think of as a male. Hindu’s worship a singular god but in many forms. This is a polytheistic religion. Some forms of this ultimate divine god are female. In Christianity, the trinity is a set of three figures all considered male. In Christianity, Mary is a figure of power.

The Bible is controversial on the matter of gender equality. There are numerous contradictions about the status of women in Christian society. Historically, the most prominent interpretation has been rather negative toward women. The Christian Church, with principally male authority, emphasizes the idea that women are inferior to man. They focus on Eve’s sin leading to a punishment that “her husband will have authority over her.” (Drury, 34)

Gender gives you power; males are considered more powerful in comparison to women as a result of their physical makeup. People also mistake what the Bible conveys about the male and female relationships. In the Bible, God states that men should be the head of the house and are responsible for anyone in his household; while women should take care and bring up the children and support the man. God intended this to be a balance of power between soft and strong. The Bible states in Ephesians 5:23-33 “Wives be subject to your husband.. Husbands love your wives.. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as they love their own bodies..He who loves his own wife loves himself;..” However, countless people misinterpret this description-because they