Why Am I a "Recovering Feminist"?

This week, I had a reader write and ask me why I use the words "recovering feminist" to describe myself. I started writing a reply e-mail to her and then realized that it's something that needs to be posted for everyone to hear.

__________________________

Thanks for writing and asking about that- it’s encouraging (and challenging) to know that people are reading up and making sure I am writing my actual thoughts & beliefs rather than just a bunch of words that tickle the ears but don’t touch the heart.

[I noticed that your e-mail address is in the UK … is that where you live? If so, is it possible that there are different understandings of what feminism is on each side of the ocean, based on how it plays out in each place?]

For me, though, and I think for a lot of people my age and younger (I’m 27), feminism was a movement that was good for a time (for instance, to have the right to vote, and work for equal pay) and has now run its course. The feminist movement in America is now focused on abortions, lesbian rights, and sexual freedom… things that don’t resonate with me, and in fact offend me and my moral sensibilities. Now, instead of trying to get women the ability to vote, or encouraging women to participate in the vote, feminists tell women who they should vote for.

The feminist movement has tried (and succeeded in many ways) to convince women of these things:

• that it is a waste to stay home and demeaning to serve your family as a wife and mother
• that a day care can do as good a job as me at raising my children
• that any women with half a brain ought to limit her reproductive capacity and that it's not wrong to murder your own child (whether just conceived, or about to be born...some would even commend infanticide, although it's not widely reported)
• that any woman with half a brain ought to be working, because work is how you can best contribute to society
• that any woman with half a brain ought to pursue the highest degree she can attain, because education is where our salvation lies
• that women ought to keep fighting against "the glass ceiling", even though it really no longer exists
• that the Bible (if read literally) is sexist, and therefore, if read at all, ought to be put into "cultural context" (which basically means stripping sections like Ephesians 5:22-33 of their relevance and meaning)

The truth is, women can be educated and advance themselves in any field they desire, even in the military or the ministry (two jobs that have been held primarily by men longer than most any others). Women can get any job they want, all the way up to being a college president (as the new Harvard president could tell you), or the CEO of a company (ask Oprah Winfrey about that). And if they for some reason encounter situational sexism, there are myriad other companies and options they can consider to advance their careers if they choose to do so. But most women eventually have children, at which point they are taking a self-imposed break which indeed may slow down their career, but this should not be surprising. In most any field, taking a break of 1-5 years would set a person (male or female) back... decreasing their contacts/network, and decreasing the relevance of the information they had about how to do that particular job.

The truth is, the Bible is not sexist, and even a cursory glance at the ministry of Jesus makes that evident. He had many women involved in His earthly ministry, and many women who were his disciples and ambassadors after His ascension.

The truth is, the most important job I can do right now is to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus, a wife to the incredible man God has blessed me with, and a mother to these delightful children that make me laugh, reveal my own selfishness, and teach me to love unconditionally. Though God has indeed blessed me with a brain, I am not convinced that the best way to "spend" it is in the marketplace, but rather, to invest myself, to pour myself, even to wring myself out, into the lives of these four precious people I call family. And if God should bless us with any more family members, I hope to do the same for them as well.

These are some of the primary reasons why I consider myself a recovering feminist. The reason I use the word recovering is that I had to (and must still) systematically remove the lies that feminism has snuck into my worldview, just by virtue of growing up in America in the 1980's and 90's. And actually, my very first post on this blog was an outline of some of the ways that feminism has lied to my generation. "Feminism" is such a catch-all; a wide variety of views are encompassed within that one word. I appreciate how it started out- making sure that women could vote and wouldn't be abused, things like that. But I don't like what it has become in modern America. And I don't think I'm alone.

I hope that explains why I label myself a recovering feminist, and yet, even as I read back through, I can sense the chip on my shoulder about it. But I don't think that's necessarily bad, as it is directed at the feminist agenda and the liberalization most feminists emit. I'm glad you asked me this question, because it made me ponder and solidify even more why I hold the views that I do. Thanks so much!

________________________________

I'd love to hear what you think of the ideas of feminism- past and present, and how you think of yourself in relation to feminism. I hope we can dialogue about this idea of feminism...