As I begin my final post before our hiatus, I want to begin by stating that everything that I say in this entry is solely my thought and view. I am in no way suggesting that anyone should think in the same manner. I really just felt that today would be a great time to talk about them. I want to begin by telling a little bit about myself. I am a believer, and follower of Jesus Christ. I am in my mid-twenties and am a college senior. My major is Health Sciences and I have been a Women’s studies minor for three years now. My status as a woman’s studies minor would probably mark me as a feminist. But lately, I have been wondering, as a Christian woman, how feminist can I be? If I measure my beliefs with those of a feminist, some things do not line up.
According to dictionary.com, Feminism is defined as “the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men”. Being a woman, I completely agree with the definition of feminism, and want to help further the cause of feminism. The issue lies in the methods of promotion for the movement. I know that there are various types of feminist (Marxist and radical, just to name a few) and they all go about implementing feminism differently; but I believe that I am different in some senses and do not know what type of feminist I could be labeled as, so I have given myself one… Christian Feminist.
Being a Christian Feminist has similarities and differences of most feminist and I would like to share. I believe that women should be equal to men in just about every arena, but in some areas, I see nothing wrong with women being submissive. I know that is a word that is dreaded by most women of our generation, but it is not has horrific as society makes it. I heard submission defined in a way that kind of revolutionized my thinking. A friend of mine said that submission meant being under (sub-) someone else’s mission (-mission). To be under someone’s mission is not a bad thing because an operation cannot be run alone. There are always lieutenants, and generals in an army, but there can generally only be one captain. Not being a captain does not decrease your value in the fight; it just means you have someone guiding you along the fight. I think the same thing can be said in marriage. Being submissive to your husband does not mean he controls you; but instead that he consults the wife in making decisions that are best for their family, but has the vital responsibility of making the final decision. To me that takes off a lot of pressure for us gals. Submission can also be used in other areas of life, but that is the main one that stirs a lot of controversy so I used it. As a Christian Feminist I am also pro-life. My belief is that no man or women have the right to take anyone’s life, so to abort a fetus is inherently wrong. I know that there could be a gray area when there is rape; however, my stance is still the same. As a pro-lifer, never will I condemn anyone who has had an abortion because that is not my place to. I can only love on those who have had one, or are contemplating one, and do so without judgment. As a Christian Feminist, I believe that everyone is open and allowed to live their life as they choose; however, when we talk about gender, I do not support homosexuality. Let me clearly state that I do know people who are homosexual, and have had friend who were as well and I never turned them away or discriminated against them. I just do not support the lifestyle. I will not even stay on the subject of religion long because I do not want to focus in that much on homosexuality because although it is a sin, it is no different than someone telling a lie, or stealing.
As a Christian Feminist, I want all women to maximize and utilize their full potential in every endeavor whether it is in their personal lives, at their jobs, in political office, the home, etc. I do not think that a woman should ever be discounted because of her gender. Never should a woman be discriminated against either. A woman can be the president, as well as a CEO of any major company, and things like the glass ceiling should be removed. Women should earn equal pay wages as men especially if their credentials are the exact same. As a woman, I want patriarchal stereotypes and norms to be rethought, and for some ideas to be done away with. These are my thoughts and I would love to know what you all think about them. I know that Christian Feminism may not be a formal name, but I really felt that I could not be placed in any other category of feminism where my whole viewpoint would fit. I know there will be some opposition, but I am content with it because they are my beliefs and everyone is entitled to them. Have an awesome Christmas Break and we will be back in January to continue to ShoutOut to you all here at JMU (and across the world).
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
You say there’s nothing wrong with submission, because there are always leaders and followers. To an extent, I understand where you’re coming from; sometimes one person must make a final decision after taking into account the other person’s opinion. What I don’t agree with is that the man must be the leader and the woman the follower. Frankly, I find the idea that this “takes off a lot of pressure for us gals” offensive. Are we women incapable of dealing with that pressure? If we’re not, why should men have to shoulder it?
Furthermore, every person, and thus every couple, is different. Some men prefer to allow someone else to make decisions, some women prefer to be the ones making decisions, some men and women prefer mutually-agreeable compromise over one person having the final say. Why should one standard work for everyone?
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Thank you for your response. To clarify, I never said that my standard would work for everyone, because 1. Not everyone is a Christian, 2. Every family structure is different and 3. People just won’t agree with me period. What works for one may not work for another. I stated at the beginning that these are my personal views. To address the pressure statement. I do believe that women could handle a lot of pressure situations because they do, but in the covenant of marriage, there are some things that they should not have to if their husband is doing as God desires which is to love his wife as Christ loved the church (Ephesians 5:25-29).. Jesus Christ Loving the church meeant him going to death to save her. If you ask me, that’s a lot of pressure for the male. And as a woman of God I will allow him to have that and in turn follow the other side of the scripture that says woman submit to your husbands (Ephesians 5:22-24). I did not mean to go on a tangent, but really want you to understand where I’m coming from.
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First, let me say that I completely respect your right as an individual and a feminist to hold beliefs different from other people’s. It was brave of you to post this, because it is controversial. But I’d also like to respond to a few things you said. I’d also like to note my politics of location on this-I’m an atheist feminist (I totally respect religious people, it’s just not my thing).
1. I do think it is possible to be a Christian feminist. Various types of Christianity hold different types of dogma, some of which coincide or conflict with feminism.
2. I do not think that promoting submission to men is feminist. Whatever way it’s worded, it’s still women putting aside their beliefs and dreams to please men. As a feminist, I believe in egalitarian relationships where both partners compromise-no one person’s dreams/career/ideas being ahead of the other’s. By saying that women are being “guided along in the fight,” there is an assumption that women are not able to lead a fight on their own. This is contradictory to the idea that women are the intellectual equals of men. Also, why are women incapable of making the final decisions? What is it about men that gives them superiority? I do not ask this to attack or be sarcastic, merely to increase discussion and further understand your views.
3. I firmly believe that you cannot be a feminist and be ACTIVELY pro-life. To be more specific, you can be personally pro-life and be feminist, but when you actively seek to limit other women’s choices, that is where your feminism stops. I believe that a woman’s life is more important than an embryo, and that this choice is necessary to ensure the physical and mental safety of women (both the UN and the APA would agree with that).
4. When you are discussing homosexuality and gender, I think you are confusing sexuality with gender. Gender is a societal construct, sexuality is inherent in our genetics. It’s not a choice. And it most certainly is not equivalent with lying or stealing. Christians can cite the Bible on this all they want, but the fact of the matter is it is an ancient text that has been used to justify the oppression of women, slavery, and killing Jews. People have manipulated the Bible to suit their cause throughout history, and the LGBTQIQ is just the latest victim of right-wing Christian hatred. This is not to say that what you are saying is hateful, but it is very problematic, and I am sure that your LGBTQIQ friends would be very upset to hear you call their sexuality akin to lying and cheating.
5. I agree, women should be able to utilize their abilities to their full potential. But you contradict your previous statements about submission when you say that. If women are supposed to submit, how can they utilize their intelligence and talents to their fullest ability?
Like I said, I do respect your right to your opinion, but I also feel it necessary to point out problems that I, as a feminist, see. Also, Christian feminism is a concrete movement, although it does differ from the stuff you have said in this post. There are many groups that seek to end women’s submission to men and promote their status in the church. Look into Catholics for Choice, Call to Action, and the Evangelical and Ecumenical Women’s Caucus. Feministing also did a Faith & Feminism series that would certainly be worth reading.
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I’m really glad you posted about your personal feminist views—I think it is often forgotten that there exist a plurality of feminisms and that a crucial aspect of feminism is choice, including which feminism a person personally subscribes too. That being said, I think some of your arguments were a little problematic in this piece, both for a Christian feminism and feminism as a whole. According to dictionary.com (I used the same dictionary as you so that there would be consistency), the definition of submissive is:
“1.inclined or ready to submit; unresistingly or humbly obedient: submissive servants”. I can see why you were so willing to look up the definition of feminism, but not the definition of submissive—it doesn’t hold up your argument at all. I would argue, in fact, that the two words are diametrically opposed. You cannot advocate for equality while also advocating that a wife be obedient to her husband. Such prescriptive submissiveness of a woman to a man, as written in the Bible, is inherently misogynist and serves to create a hierarchy of different, and therefore a completely unequal relationship, both in the home and out of it. How can you possibly try to smash the glass ceiling, as you later call for, when you also believe that women should be submissive? Even if we use your definition, that to be submissive is “being under (sub-) someone else’s mission (-mission),” we end up with a fundamentally unequal hierarchy, where the man’s “mission” necessarily always takes precedence over the woman’s “mission.”
You go on to say, “Being submissive to your husband does not mean he controls you; but instead that he consults the wife in making decisions that are best for their family, but has the vital responsibility of making the final decision.” Why, though? I would argue that if he makes the final decision then yeah, he is controlling you, because anything you say holds no weight in the long run. Why is he the one who inherently holds all of the magic abilities to know what is best for the family? If you are advocating for feminism, then marriage should be an equal partnership, because both partners, regardless of gender or gender identity (this is another problem with your argument, it is by nature exclusive and heterosexist) have equal decision-making and problem-solving abilities. To say that a man in a relationship should have the “responsibility of making the final decision” you are implicitly agreeing with sexist thinking because women are not smart enough or responsible enough or capable of making decisions.
In regards to being pro-life, I can only say that pro-choice is pro-life. As a feminist, it is crucial to understand that your personal beliefs, and your religious beliefs, are not held by all people. So you should respect the choices of others, regardless of what they are. Abortion is an often life-saving medical procedure, and to position it as a moral debate where someone “is taking a life” is wrong. There is no empirical evidence to back up such a claim, and I, personally, care more about living, breathing, sentient women than an embryo (which is the developmental stage when most abortion takes place).
Homosexuality is not a sin. It is not anything like lying or stealing. That is a completely false parallel—homosexuality is not a choice. Your Christianity is MUCH more of a choice than anyone’s homosexuality, and like there isn’t anything wrong with being Christian, there is nothing wrong with being gay. People are born gay. For you to say that you “have had friend who were as well and I never turned them away or discriminated against them” but that you “just do not support the lifestyle” is no better than a white racist to say “I’ve had friends of color, I just don’t support them having equal rights.” It’s a bad argument (not just in regards to you personally, but I mean for everyone who has used it), and I have to wonder how your gay friends would feel about you publicly stating you think they are sinners.
Finally, like I said before, I am glad to see you discussing feminism and religion and illustrating that there is a broad scope of feminist opinions. I think many people believe feminism to be a strict dogma with zealous followers who all believe the same thing. Clearly, that isn’t true, and it is a disservice for feminism for people to think as much. However, it seems that your views directly conflict with the definition of feminism you gave earlier. I absolutely believe that Christians, and people of any religious denomination, for that matter, can be feminists. But feminism does have some fundamentals to it that can’t be changed, which is why incredibly conservative women who actively work against women’s rights like Sarah Palin, for example, cannot call themselves true feminists. As you mentioned, definitions are important, and I think it’s important to keep a basic definition of feminism that even goes beyond that of the dictionary. Feminism is about choices, it is about intersectionality, and realizing that patriarchy, white supremacy, homophobia and transphobia work together to create an entire oppressive system. It would be wrong to work to end oppression for one group and not another. It is wrong to say you are working for the equality of one group and still espouse beliefs that oppress them, and to espouse beliefs that oppress another of these groups.
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As a christian feminist, I want to jump into this discussion. As other commentors mentioned, I applaud you for so bravely setting down your beliefs and for being so vulnerable. You have guts.
Beyond that, I have to disagree with you–and let me say again–as a christian feminist. Like you, I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, I believe that the bible is a sacred text written ultimately by the hand of God and that’s it’s our word for today like it was then. BUT, I know that the bible has also been misrepresented and used by oppressors to enslave marginalized communities and women.
We must, if we truly are followers of a Christ that commanded ONLY love for him and love for others, separate out the cultural interpretations that have been overlaid on the Bible. To do that, you have to go back to the original translation of the various texts. And you have to understand the historical context of the period in which it was written. Unfortunately, those in power (usually wealthy patriarchies) confused the culture described in the bible with the word of God; they use this cultural construct to this day to proscribe the culture around them despite the fact that it has nothing to do with what God was saying to us. For example, as in the first century CE, many christian men today still expect wives to be submissive. But this expectation has nothing to do with a sacred requirement of God–it has everything to do with (oppressive) culture.
Western christianity has taught culture and not the word of God.
If you read the verse above Ephesians passage you referenced, you’ll notice that it says: “submit to one another.” Most teachers/preachers, do not reference that portion of the scripture while they use the rest of the passage to oppress women in marriages. If you read the description of Eve (sans oppressive western cultural interpretation), God uses a term–helpmate–to describe her. But it is also a term that he uses throughout the Old Testament to describe himself. Additionally, Paul refers to Prsicilla and Aquilla a couple times in his letters. However, this reference is typically rewritten (by oppressive cultural translators) as Aquilla and Priscilla. The reason this shift is important is because to have Priscilla referenced first (as Paul does in the original texts), it was cultural shorthand for him/them then that meant that she is head of the household, which also meant that she was the pastor of their house church. There is much research about how Paul’s letters have been translated and rewritten with misogyny. I’d encourage you to check them out.
Moreover, Jesus was an excellent feminist! He spoke to women, discipled women, and believed women’s stories. This was completely counter-cultural for his day. I believe it’s in the book of Acts where a disciple named Junius is mentioned. However, this is yet another mis-translation. The original texts have the name Junias, which is a feminine name and likely implies that women were among Jesus’ disciples.
Finally, because I could talk about this all day, consider that many theologians and historians believe that the book of Hebews was written by Priscilla–or at least by a woman. No author is cited (common for female scholars for many centuries). Love, freedom and truth is at the core of christianity.
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