MAKEDA Silvera 's chapter 22 testimony is concerning her life as a lesbian woman in her home country, the Caribbean. She touches on certain aspects in her life like hearing gossip from her grandmother or mother about the local women in her community who were rumored to be lesbians and how they were punished for being so within that community. Her Caribbean community was deeply religious which brought out a homophobic energy amongst the locals. This energy is pronounced when Silvera describes that homosexuals were referred to as "sodomite" or "man royals", these terms called "dread words". Silvera goes into more detail about her communities ingrained Christian beliefs and how these beliefs began in slave days. When the majority of the world was subjected to Christian beliefs, missionaries particularly placed these beliefs among the Caribbean slaves. Salvera says that the bible was important for their forefathers because of its stories of strength and endurance but with that encouragement came negative connotations. These strong beliefs in the bible brought strong vibes of misogyny, racism and homophobia throughout the community hence the use of words like "Sodamite" to describe a lesbian. The word "Sodamite" originates from the old testament, this meaning lesbian or strong woman in her community and this revealing her communities very low opinions on homosexuals. Homophobia did not escape Silvera 's own family as she talks about her grandmothers reaction to her coming out
· Page 4: Irina's actions speak louder than her words. (Irina looks down, impassive) - page 4. This shows that she does not agree with what Sir Peter and Cuddeford, yet she does not say anything as it is an argument of some sort between the two men and she doesn't want to get involved.
In the United States in the 19th century women were expected to act in a particular manner and were destined to fill a certain sphere of society apart from men. Men being expected to live a public life, whether it was work or socializing with other men, while women were expected to live mostly at home, taking charge of the household and rearing children. Education was not portrayed as a necessity either; very few women were given the same opportunities as men. The Kingdom of Matthias presents this theme of sexism in many instances, and in addition, it served as a base for “The Kingdom”. Matthias was seen by some as a “woman-hating Prophet,” (Johnson, 101), this was seen repeatedly in both his treatment of women and his general thoughts of them. When speaking at his nightly meetings, in the days before ‘The Kingdom’, he stated, “Every thing that has the smell of woman will be destroyed. Woman is the cap sheaf of the abomination of desolation – full of all deviltry.” (Johnson, 93). This is but one of his many declarations against the entirety of
Sexism appears in all corners of the world. From North America to the Congo, we see male dominance in different forms. In The Poisonwood Bible, Nathan Price, his wife, and their four daughters move to present day Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to spread Christianity in Africa. Their arrival in Africa is quite the culture shock in all aspects to the North American family. When learning to strive in the village of Kilanga, the Price women
The story of the Concubine of a Levite in Judges 19-20 may be one of the harshest examples of female objectification throughout the Bible. The story takes place during a period without a monarch. It begins with the Levite Husband leaving his home to fetch his concubine who fled to her father 's home in Gibeah. This story showcases the brutal rape of a nameless woman.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. - Matthew 6:9. The idea of “God the father” is one that is rooted deep in our society predominantly the ways in which it rejoices men. The almighty all and powerful God is outlined as a male figure in the bible, constructed using almost entirely masculine language. This simple fact has provoked men to assume the position of authority, to oversee over his family. This simple fact leads to an imbalance of power between men and women subconsciously oppressing women within our society. In Mary Daly’s “After the Death of God the Father,” Mary explains how the Judeo-Christian culture has served to bring structure to a sexually imbalanced man driven culture." This male-controlled society has its establishments in the most discernible parts of Christianity.” Mary’s work is a continuation of what is known as “The women's liberation movement” furthering the conversation of societies hold on a woman and bringing change. In this critical evaluation of Mary Daly's work, I will discuss the thesis and argument of the reading, along with an analysis of its assumptions and implications.
She appeals to religious morals by stating, “He has usurped the prerogative of Jehovah himself” (Stanton 558) and emphasizes that man has denied women the rights of participating in the church. She emphasizes this in order to synchronize her ideas with the religion no one then dared to challenge. This religious accusation conveys the fact that women are being denied even the most basic religious rights.
Sexuality and spirituality thrives as other topics in which Anzaldua combines genres. In this instance she combines history and autobiography. Again this gives a more humane look at history. However, this use is more distinctly personal whereas the previous combination of history and poetry provided a more universal personal approach. This talks about Anzaldúa’s part in history. Anzaldúa writes, “Being lesbian and raised Catholic, I was indoctrinated as straight, I made the choice to be queer (for some it is genetically inherent)” (41). This line is found in a section dealing with homophobia that resides heavily in the cultures she identifies with. While this phobia exists in the culture at large and is recorded as such, Anzaldúa provides a personal account as an example.
Through colloquialisms, interpretations are often lost. Another anomaly is that words change definition over time, and depending on the culture, the same words may have a completely different meaning. For instance, prior to 1950, the word gay simply meant happy. Today, it refers to homosexuality. Sometimes words can even have different meaning among subcultures of the same society. In the American Caucasian culture, the word “punk” generally refers to someone who likes rock music and may have a colorful Mohawk. In African American culture, the word punk has shifted over time to mean a feminine male. Understanding the culture of the original authors of the Bible will give believers a deeper understanding of the Word.
Barbara Kingsolver’s novel, The Poisonwood Bible, explores numerous themes and ideas , standouts being feminism and religion. The Missionary Position: Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible, and Singing a New Song from the Conqueror's Music: Religious Hybridity in The Poisonwood Bible both deeply analyse Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible’s stance on religion and how the book portrays colonialism and religion and its effect on others. Outline each critical text’s stance on your topic.
The rigidity of gender norms and gender roles is analogous to those in the New Testament and provides insight on how the society present in the story uses religion to present women as a monolith. Due to biblical expectations, women are constrained from making autonomous decisions, thus forcing them to follow a moral code. In the bible, women are groomed to become child bearers and “pure” wives (Titus 2:4-5), an idea shared in the book. This promotes them as having no sense of self-ownership, which objectifies them as characteristics, not humans with nuanced emotions nor ideals. An example of this is Purisima del Carmen. After she got married, Purisima’s teaching career ended quickly because of
This quote is in perspective of Francis, a younger cousin of Scout’s. Francis had called Scout’s father a “nigger-lover” and scout couldn’t let this one go. She has also learned to grow quite an extensive diction towards derogatory terms.
The biblical allusions Gwynn makes are used to expose the problem of societal pressures women face as a result of biblical teachings. When unhappy and doubtful of such teachings, the church “instantly referred [her] to text in Romans/ And Peter’s First Epistle, chapter III.” (7-8), a biblical reading that preaches the act of suffering for God’s will and the obedience of a woman to her husband as she is the “feebler vessel”. However, Gwynn points out the flaw of this instruction when he portrays what a sinner her husband is as he “grabbed [his] pitchforks, donned [his] horns, / and sped to the contravene the hopes of heaven, / Sowing the neighbors’ lawns with tares and thorns.” (10-12).
It is tough to get a clear look into the ways Meyers interprets textual evidence since her focus on women’s religion is often marginalized. Nonetheless, she does with what she has to make a full and convincing argument. Meyers identifies that feminist biblical study is masculinized, so she decides to uncover the role of women in the sanctuary through the Deuteronomic use of unisexual terms such as “you” and “person”. In doing so, she concludes that both women and men were to engage in communal events and offerings (Meyers 2002, 279-280).
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)
The “New Woman” refers to a category of women, beginning in the late 19th century, who adopted feminist ideals, wishing to break gender roles and gain independence from and equality with men (Newton, 560-61). While not one specific, real person, the “New Woman” is an overarching term that encompasses the many women in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The first generation of these women strove for economic and social autonomy with roles separate from the home and family spheres of domesticity (Newton, 561). For example, they would not marry, but instead receive a higher education and work in a profession (Newton, 561). To replace their commitments to men and family, they instead formed close and passionate relationships with other women, though these relationships were not sexual in nature, people viewed women as passionless and pure. The second generation, however, living in a more modernist culture of sexual freedom, began to discuss female sexuality, and wanted to participate in more opportunities only offered to men, including drinking and smoking (Newton, 564). Because of the societal idea that only men were sexual beings, New Women had to explain the intimate relationships among them, which had become sexual in the second generation. Thus, they created the idea of masculine lesbians, who had male souls that caused them their sexual feelings (Newton, 566). The “mythic mannish lesbian” refers to these women who dressed and acted in a masculine manner