Monday, September 19, 2005

Tradition, Part Two

Feminist stay at home moms... it's possible, right? I think so. But what about this reaction: women in entrenched patriarchal structures really don't have that many choices. Just because one can see agency in a woman who chooses to move within and influence her surroundings, culture, institutional structure, etc. doesn't actually mean that she has any real choice in the matter. Society is still keeping her down.

I don't know. I guess there is a danger of making every woman a feminist (even those who reject that label) if application of the term is placed on every woman who chooses to be strong and influential within their life structures. Perhaps I'm forcing the concept of feminism because I want all of my Christian sisters to identify with the broader cause of women in the world. All women just aren't feminists, I suppose. Still, I think it's important to look for human agency in all people, because we all have elements of control within our circumstances, we all make decisions within our strictures.

1 comment:

LKH said...

An operational definition of feminism... Ah, sometimes I think it would be easier if we had one definition, but that would suffocate the cause of feminism, and I don't want that. We all see the world in the way we would like, and sometimes that's not all bad. Although I am somewhat of an anti-essentialist, I think that gendered difference is a good thing and should be honored and utilized when appropriate. Thanks for the comment, Greg, take care!