First of all, what is feminism? According to my iMac dictionary, it is: “the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” However, this definition just scratches the surface of what is a very complicated issue with a long history.
The “Woman’s Suffrage” movement, and its primary founder, Susan B. Anthony, had a noble aim and achieved much to give women their proper political and social respect. What many don’t know is that these early feminists were actually very pro-life and pro-motherhood.[1]
But as time progressed, feminism became more extreme and more angry, especially with the “Women’s Liberation” movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Women of this movement have the mindset of Margaret Sanger, who was the founder of Planned Parenthood. They believe, among other things, that sexual activity outside of marriage is fine, and even should be encouraged as a means of “liberation”. They hold that unlimited access to abortion and artificial birth control is a fundamental “right” and that women should be identical to men in every way.
Don’t get me wrong: I am completely in favor of treating all human beings with equal respect, no matter our gender, race, or color. I believe that it is right for a woman to vote, to be involved in politics, to hold positions of authority in the workplace, to choose her own husband, to be paid the same as a man doing the same job, etc. These are just common sense rules that must be met for justice to be upheld.
Although feminism began with noble goals, in its modern form, it is a dangerous and negative mindset. In reality, it scorns womanhood by implying that as a woman, I’m not good enough – I must become like a man in order to be equal to him. What a lie! The truth is that man and woman have equal dignity, but different design. Modern feminists have the attitude that they can be everything a man is, which is physiologically and biologically impossible. In pursuing things that men have characteristically done, they have gone too far and utterly shunned their innate qualities. They view the traditional woman as inferior to man, and the role of a stay-at-home mother as inferior. When a woman no longer understands herself and her unique role, the breakdown of the family results.
In marriage, husband and wife are partners in a sacred covenant, to help each other be everything God is calling them to be. Man is made to be the protector and leader, and woman to be the bearer and nurturer of life[2]. These innate qualities complement each other so perfectly. Working together, husband and wife create a stable and loving environment. However, if one partner rejects his or her natural role, the marriage will begin to fall apart.
Thanks to the lies and confusions of modern feminism, women have been undermining our inherent role. Since the sexual revolution, many have clung to the ideals of Margaret Sanger, who advocated promiscuity, contraception, and abortion-on-demand. By accepting this anti-life mentality and lifestyle, a woman literally severs that special bond with her child. Consequently, if the man and woman are married, she weakens her relationship with her husband by deliberately killing a life that they created together.
Although the suppression of fertility through artificial contraception and the legalization of abortion are often touted as “victories” for women, in reality, they oppress women physically and emotionally. Studies have shown that both contraception and abortion significantly increase a women’s risk of breast cancer[3]. Over 60% of women who have had abortions experience post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and even thoughts of suicide.[4] In addition, some artificial contraceptives, such as “The Pill,” which contains estrogen and progestin, can cause micro-abortions. While the main objective of women on “The Pill” is to avoid pregnancy altogether, to truth is that a sexually active woman taking this will have one micro-abortion each year, if not more. This is because “The Pill” does not just suppress ovulation; it also makes the lining of the uterus hostile to an embryo and prevents implantation. When this happens, the tiny baby dies because he or she is unable to obtain vital nutrients.[5]
As abortion and artificial contraception became more prevalent, promiscuity became more common and accepted because a woman did not have to be responsible with her actions. However, abortion and contraception also made it more convenient for men to use women in non-committal relationships. The gift of sexuality has been cheapened, leaving many people in unfulfilling and temporary relationships. Today, nearly half of American teenagers have lost their virginity by the age of 17.[6] Because contraception does not protect against Sexually Transmitted Diseases, each year 3 million teens are infected.[7] Young women are particularly vulnerable to STDs.[8] The contraception mentality naturally leads to an abortion mentality. If “the problem” cannot be prevented, then the next easiest action is to “do away” with the tiny life that has just been created. It is the proverbial frog-in-the-boiling-water.
In addition, women began shunning marriage because it included promises to be faithful, personal responsibility, and obedience to their husbands. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005, unmarried households became the majority of all U.S. households.[9] Over 50% of couples marrying today have lived together first. And in the U.S. today, nearly half of all marriages end in divorce.[10] Many studies show a very real correlation between these statistics.[11] Also, the use of artificial contraception has helped in pushing couples apart because it is objectifying and selfish. Using contraception says to one’s spouse, “I give you everything about myself, except my fertility.” The love is not life-giving.[12] In contrast, couples using Natural Family Planning have only a 5% divorce rate.[13]
Even after they marry, many of today’s women put their careers above children, or put off having a family for several years. They view marriage only as something pleasurable and not first for pro-creation. They see children as expensive bothers and don’t desire more than one or two, at most.
Immodesty has also played a major part of modern feminism. When women became more promiscuous, they had to be outwardly alluring. Skirts became shorter, shirts became tighter and low-cut, and female clothing in general lost its feminine mystique. The female body is exploited and objectified, exposed for all to see and for men to lust after. By immodesty, women invite men to show disrespect towards them, even within marriage – husbands then view their wives as mere pleasure objects, instead of as partners and helpmates.
The negative agenda of modern feminism harms not only the family, but the education system, the workplace, the government, the education system, the world of sports, and the military.[14]
This does not mean I believe that women need to quit their outside-the-home jobs, political offices, or college learning. I myself have obtained a college degree, am working a full-time job, and becoming increasingly involved with politics. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as modern women are not neglecting their marriages, postponing pregnancy for illegitimate reasons, or neglecting their children and the high call of motherhood. Sometimes it is necessary, especially in these hard economic times, for the mother to work outside the home, and I don’t begrudge them that at all. However, there is plenty of evidence showing the benefits of stay-at-home moms for their children – whenever possible, this is the better option.[15]
Pope John Paul II wrote extensively on the invaluable role of women in the family and in society. He also coined the term “New Feminism” to invite women to a more complete and authentic embracing of our identity. In his Encyclical Evangelium Vitae, the Holy Father wrote: "In transforming culture so that it supports life, women occupy a place in thought and action which is unique and decisive. It depends on them to promote a ‘new feminism’ which rejects the temptation of imitating models of ‘male domination,’ in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation."[16]
Today more than ever, we need to reclaim our womanly dignity and authenticity. As human beings, we are equal to men. But as ladies, we do have different and beautiful qualities that we must embrace. As noted before, we have extraordinary power to affect men by our attitude and dress. We can either build up or tear down our families, depending on how we manage our God-given role.
We influence society strongly. Wise leaders and teachers have always known this, and it’s time for us to take heed! I close with a quote by the ancient Philosopher Confucius: “Where the woman is faithful, no evil can befall. The woman is the root and the man is the tree. The tree grows only as high as the root is strong.”
[1] http://www2.focusonthefamily.com/focusmagazine/sohl/A000000164.cfm
[2] Explained in-depth in John Paul II’s Theology of the Body
[3] www.abortionbreastcancer.com
http://breastcancer.about.com/b/2010/01/08/abortion-birth-control-pills.htm
[4] http://www.afterabortion.org
[5] http://onemoresoul.com/contraception/risks-consequences/what-a-woman-should-know-about-birth-control.html
[6] http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/yrbs07_us_overview.pdf
[7] http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS06B01
[8] http://www.chastity.com/chastity-qa/stds/infections/i-have-heard-teenage-girls-are-h
[9] http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-15-unmarried-households_x.htm
[10] http://marriage.about.com/od/cohabitation/qt/cohabfacts.htm
[11] http://www.divorcereform.org/cor.html#anchor2348930
[12] http://www.chastity.com/chastity-qa/birth-control/natural-family-planning-nfp/why-do
[13] http://onemoresoul.com/contraception/risks-consequences/what-a-woman-should-know-about-birth-control.html
[14] Detailed in the book Women Who Make the World Worse by Kate O’Beirne
[15] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8278742.stm
[16] http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_25031995_evangelium-vitae_en.html
Very well written. It is good to see a positive light shed on a woman being a woman!
ReplyDeleteI think maybe you should look a bit further into what modern feminism has to say about stay-at-home mothers. Most modern feminists (except for the REALLY radical ones) would totally support a woman's right to opt out of the workforce to take care of children, provided that's what she wants to do as opposed to something she is forced into by outside forces. In fact, modern feminists have a lot to say about how society UNDERvalues the work of non-wage-earning mothers.
ReplyDeleteYou also may find this interesting:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nationaljournal.com/njmagazine/st_20100501_5904.php?mrefid=site_search
I know you're not going to print any of my comments, but I thought it was also worth pointing out that sex outside of marriage is hardly something that has come about as a result of second-wave feminism, but that the majority of U.S. adults have been having sex outside of marriage long before that: http://www.guttmacher.org/media/nr/2006/12/19/index.html
ReplyDeleteI am glad you are so passionate about this subject but I respectfully disagree with you, as a woman and as a human being.
ReplyDeleteBefore contraception, women could not control when they wanted to be pregnant; their partner did. While it is fine to say both partners should make joint decisions about procreating, one must understand that that decision was almost always the sole right of the male to make. It was not unusual that some pregnancies occurred simply because the male wanted the pleasurable act without regard to the responsibility of childbirth. Yes, that still happens but now two people, the man and the woman, may share the decision to have children.
Without contraception, it is likely that abortion may be a necessary measure for pregnancies. My focus is not on the "adult" women who decide not to have children but are of age and capability to provide for those children but the young women who become pregnant. I agree that some of those young women become pregnant due to recklessness of youth but should we shun these "women"? Many of these individuals are essentially still children themselves, both in their chronological age and maturity. By asking these women to carry the baby to term, we would be asking them to give up their life as it could be. For a child that is not yet even born, we cannot ask another child who is already alive to sacrifice themselves. There are exceptions of course but this is not about exceptions; this is about a young woman who is out of control on many levels. Contraception provides a method of control for "sexual promiscuity", as you call it. In youth, we all make errors of judgement and some people make bigger ones than others. We cannot condemn them for those errors. We can only give them a path to correct their behaviors and return to the path to become who they wanted to be, whether that is a homemaker, doctor, interior designer or any other career. Yes, women can be who they choose to be and it is nobody's right to say what is a "male" role and what is a "female" role. We are who we wish to be.
First and foremost:
ReplyDeleteSusan B. Anthony's platform was the right to vote.. first and foremost! Secondly, was to help women get out of abusive marriages. Hopefully you realize that there are women who live in abusive marriages.
Secondly, you have NO real concept of the families of this century. Women have not brought down any values with promiscuity ... society in general has. It moves forward, regardless.
Do you even know about families that have had children and are NOT doing their part in raising them to be adults? Some of those 'precious lives' that have been created has been neglected over time? Some of those 'precious lives' have gotten involved in drugs and risky behavior, which ultimately produces another 'precious life' that society has been forced to care for.
Don't you realize that many young women today have become lazy and decide to have a child to keep them from growing up and getting a job?!
Can't you see that many families are incapable of raising their offspring with love... so a young male OR female have sex to find love and produce their own precious life in search of finding their unrequited 'parental' love?
If you really cared about a new 'precious' pre born life you would see what you could do to help society. Feminism is not the break down.... look into the history of the family structure itself. War changed the role of women in the 1940's.... women were forced to take charge in a way they had never been allowed. It is not 'feminism'... it is called 'survival.' And don't you forget it!
Walk a mile in someone's shoes before throwing stones and casting judgment.
PART TWO:
ReplyDeleteYou write: "In addition, women began shunning marriage because it included promises to be faithful, personal responsibility, and obedience to their husbands." Women do not need to get married in order to be happy with their lives. "Obedience to their husbands" were NOT dogs! That statement is just ridiculous.
"Even after they marry, many of today’s women put their careers above children, or put off having a family for several years. They view marriage only as something pleasurable and not first for pro-creation. They see children as expensive bothers and don’t desire more than one or two, at most." To repeat myself again: WOMEN DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A FAMILY IF THEY DO NOT WANT TO. MARRIAGE IS NOT FOR PRO-CREATION!!!!!!!!!!! WE ARE NOT BABY BREEDERS. IF WE DO NOT WANT CHILDREN, IN OUR MARRIAGE, WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THEM. It disgusts me that you think marriage is about pro-creation.
Immodesty with clothing?!?!?!? Again, this is the 21st century. Fashion has changed. It is not indecent to wear a short skirt or a low-cut top. We're not nuns nor are we Amish. Just because a woman is wearing a dress that sits a little above the thigh, with heels and a low cut top style does not make her a whore. Wearing knee-high boots and or fishnets does not make you a whore either. It's call a fashion style.
"women invite men to show disrespect towards them, even within marriage – husbands then view their wives as mere pleasure objects, instead of as partners and helpmates." We are not inviting men to be disrespectful. Men can be disrespectful to a woman wearing long skirts and a shirt buttoned to the top. "Pleasure objects?" you are ridiculous when you state that and calling a wife a 'helpmate' isn't what marriage is about.
Marriage is about UNDYING LOVE, PASSION, ROMANCE towards one another. It's a special feeling, love and the embrace of love.
Feminism is NOT believing a woman is not good enough and to write we have to become like a man in order to be equal is despicable. By writing this post, you yourself are a mysogynist because you are not accepting the fact that without Feminism, you would NOT have the freedoms and liberties you have today and you truly believe that a woman's role is to get married, have children and take care of a husband.
In order to fully understand what Feminism really is, you need to read some Feminist literature. NOT Conservative Christian frilled literature. REAL FEMINIST BOOKS. I recommend the author: Jessica Valenti. Her books are based on Feminism of the 21st Century and how we have not come far enough.
This post is alarming. It disgusts me that you, as a woman, misunderstand feminism. You sound insanely sexiest against your own kind (woman) which is disturbing.
ReplyDeleteIf Feminism never occurred in our world, you yourself would not have the ability to vote, go to college, hold down a full-time job, get involved in politics....NONE OF THAT. You should be thankful the Feminism movement has provided you with these rights.
You have to realize that as a woman, you do not have "sacred duties" where you must be a full-time wife, mother, homemaker. If you do not want to get married, you do not have to. If you don't want to have kids, you do not have to have them. Women are NOT baby breeders. Our roles in society are NOT to be submissive to a man that we marry. If you want to work full-time, you can do that.
Also, you cannot throw God into the picture, and say that "he has sacred rules for a husband and wife," because not everyone follows Christianity. When you write: "However, if one partner rejects his or her natural role, the marriage will begin to fall apart." THERE ARE NO NATURAL ROLES FOR MAN AND WOMAN. You need to realize that. A woman is not forced to be a homemaker and the man doesn't need to be the bread-winner. This is not the early 1900's...it's the 21st Century where women can work in the work-force and do not have to have babies.
Also get your facts straight about the pill. It does not cause micro-abortions. Go on a real birth control website before writing nonsense about that.
Using birth control does NOT make you selfish. Again: PEOPLE DO NOT NEED TO PROCREATE IF THEY DO NOT WANT TO. There are many couples in the world who do not wish to have children. You are not on Earth to just make babies and it does not make you selfish if you do not wish to have a child and are using birth control.
"The gift of sexuality"....really?! It's the twenty-first century, less than 5% of America 'save themselves for marriage'.
"American teenagers have lost their virginity by the age of 17.[6] Because contraception does not protect against Sexually Transmitted Diseases, each year 3 million teens are infected." Condoms are 99.9 effective against STD's (again, get your facts straight about contraceptives).
The problem is, a well-rounded sexual education is never found in Junior High and High Schools. Abstinence Only education needs to stop. Teenagers will not learn how to prevent the spread of AIDS, HIV and STD's with Abstinence only education in their schools. Secondly, not every seventeen year old has lost their virginity, some students wait til college or "when the right one comes along." You do NOT have to be a virgin to get married and you are NOT a bad person if you've had sex.
I commented on this blog the other day and want to hear your rebuttal. It seems as though you do not keep comments that are not of the opposing view point. Why bother having a blog and "welcoming comments" if you do not display them. Could it be that you realized that you sound anti-woman when you talk your opinions.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
ReplyDeletePlease do not think I do not welcome comments on my blog. When I respond to dissenters, I like to take my time to make sure I write what I mean and that I write it correctly...I do intend to respond, but I have been very busy lately with other responsibilities (such as my full-time job). Not posting the comments has nothing to do with realizing I sound anti-woman, as you claim...I am confident as ever in my convictions. I hope that you would understand this.
Blessings,
Malori