Okay, I figured that you probably did, but there are Christian men out there who have a very skewed view of gender roles/responsibilities.
Agreed.
So I do agree with you that women are able to participate in a free market like everyone else and succeed. Where I would start to call equality into question is if there is any existence of a pay gap between men and women. If one does exist in any profession at any level, it ruins the equality provided by a free market in that it changes the rules and opportunity for success for women. Based on fairly recent data that I have seen, a gap does still exist.
But is this pay gap institutional, or is it the result of different choices men and women make? The Equal Pay Act of 1963 made it illegal to pay men more than women for the same job. If there are jobs paying men more than women for the same job because they are men, these companies should be sued, and I would be on the side of any person filing such a lawsuit.
But a pay disparity in and of itself is not sufficient proof of inequality. Other data shows that women work less, take more time off (maternity leave) and tend to choose professions that don't pay as much as professions men choose. So when all of these things are factored in, of COURSE there is going to be a pay gap between men and women. When we have equal pay and we don't have equal contribution, that is not equality, but is closer to a Marxist/Communist system.
If feminism is defined as women having equal rights, then how can there be a false dichotomy. They are synonymous to me. So it appears that perhaps we are operating on different definitions of the word "feminism."
We are. Because to me, feminism is not synonymous with equal rights. The dictionary definition does not line up with what feminists DO, their actions. And I judge a movement by its fruit, not by what people are TELLING me the movement is about. When feminists are horrified when a woman gets raped and they make jokes about men who are raped in prison, it kind of makes me raise an eyebrow when they tell me they are fighting for "equality".
Also, I did not jump to any conclusions about what you believe, but rather asked you questions about where you stand, so I always appreciate when I am extended the same courtesy.
Fair enough.
I consider myself a biblical feminist/complementarian, which I define as believing that women have equal dignity and worth as image-bearers of God, and they should be treated as such, but that the roles of men and women are distinct and must remain a factor in the discussion as well. So there are some issues that are argued for under the heading of feminism or "women's rights" that I believe are contrary to biblical teaching and wisdom and are things I would unequivocally reject. Examples of these issues on a societal level would be abortion, requiring women to register for selective service, and things of that nature. An example more in the context of Christian community is believing that women can hold any office within the local church except for that of elder/overseer. So my views tend to be hard to fit in a neat box as I tend to look at individual issues or situations and weigh them against what the Bible says.
What you described is not the third-wave feminism ideology being pushed by feminist groups today. I believe in those things as well and I am far from a feminist. I also believe women are equal in dignity and worth. My question to you is who DOESN'T believe that? Sure, there are misogynists and bigots, but people as a whole tend to go out of their way to not only treat women fairly, but even FAVOR them. Women are given minority status, linking them to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and giving them all of the entitlements and privileges given to other special interest groups under this umbrella. They are given affirmative action, special hate crime legislation (Violence Against Women Act of 1994), are enrolled in institutes of higher learning at a greater rate than men to fulfill gender quotas, etc etc. The misogynists and bigots are powerless and do not have any institutional backing to affect women in any way. A man hits a woman, he can be charged with a hate crime. A man rapes a woman, the strong arm of the law comes down on him and he goes to prison where he has to be placed in solitary confinement because even hardened criminals hate men who rape women, and when he gets out, he must register as a sex offender, pretty much ruining his life. Not expressing sympathy for such an animal, but what I am pointing out is that women are a protected group, a group of people we in the West love and adore. We go out of our way to protect women. Men give women greater dignity and worth than we give ourselves. Although I wouldn't define these men as "feminists". I simply define them as MEN. It is our duty as men to love and protect women.
And I have begun to realize that when it comes to my generation, there is less of an association between feminism and abortion rights, whereas feminism used to be directly tied to that issue, which is why older generations are so vehemently repulsed even by the word "feminism," which I completely understand as abortion and the fact that it is legal disgusts me. I also understand that there are some within the feminist movement that have swung the pendulum so far as to want to create inequality the other direction with women being more capable, powerful, successful, etc. than men, but at least among younger generations I don't really see this in play. So I suppose it pays to define terms a little bit. I would never associate myself with the political feminist movement, but I would associate myself with the word "feminism" itself only along the lines of desiring that women be treated with the dignity and respect that they warrant as fellow image-bearers.
The only problem is that the political feminist movement is the one getting billions of dollars in government funding, being taught in colleges, and it is the political feminists pushing for laws that restrict people like YOU and ME, because we are MEN. It is the political feminists pushing for a matriarchy, where men are second-class citizens, and a rape accusation against a man doesn't even have to be proven, the accusation is enough. It is the political feminists putting out studies that attempt to prove the intellectual inferiority of men and that men are superfluous and not needed. Our tax dollars go to supporting these loons. It is their job to keep women angry at men, because angry women translates to votes for leftist politicians, which translates to resources for them.
Personally, I don't see much of a difference between a "political feminist" and one who is not so political. Because the ideology is the same. Women are victims, men are oppressors. And this is not true, and it only serves to place a divide between the genders, just like there is a divide between the races, a divide between the classes, etc etc. Just who is behind all this dividing and what do they wish to accomplish? Can we survive as a nation if we are divided, or if we are united? Seems like someone somewhere is targeting the West for something.
If I may be idealist for a moment, in a perfect world each gender would be for the other, but humans aren't very good at playing nice.
I can agree with this. Mainly because humans are incapable of creating a heavenly utopia. Which is why I would rather leave that job to our Savior.
