gender and society Flashcards
(11 cards)
what was family like in the twentieth century
theres an increase in divorce rates leading to single parent families, increase in womens right in the workplace leading to women working later and choosing not to have kids, increase in contraception, increase in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation, decreasein marriage, legalisation of homosexuality.
what are the 3 waves of feminism
the first wave was early feminism running up to the 20th century-aim was to get equality for women,
the second wave in the second half of the twentieth century focused on ensuring that what was in law was put into place- fighting for the economic, political and social equity of women
the third wave from the 1990s onwards saw a greater emphasis on individuality and intersectionality, recognising that black women could be subject to sexism and racism in ways white women couldnt be
what is the fourth wave
some would say theres a fourth wave beginning in the 2010s, many feminists see the traditional pattern of marriage and family as an instrument for oppression of women over time. they will point to the fact that it was only in 1991 that marital rape became a crime or it was only 1996 that the role of homemaker contributed to the household and therefore assets should be split more fairly.
what does the ephesians 5:22-33 state
women are inferior to men in a marriage and must submit themselves to them, men have a God given authority over women and have as much authority as jesus has over the whole church, men need to use this authoirty to take care of the house
how is this contradicted to pauls other writings
he wrote that all people are one in christ and who set up churches wherever he visited often which were then led by women(lydia pheobe priscila)
what is the muleris dignatatem
this was published in 1988 by pope john paul ii, it aimed to set out the catholic teaching on women in response to increasing influence of feminism and change within society. at the heart of the text is the idea that men and women were created equally and have equal value but also differently and have different roles to play
what are the key teachings
humans find themselves fully through giving themselves to others, we are created deliberetly by God to give ourselves back to him
this helps us to understand the notion of motherhood which is the fruit of the union of man and woman in marriage when two become one flesh. this is achieved through the full giving of one person to another in the marriage.
a husband and wife are giving themselves to each other leads to children and so motherhood is a gift a woman enjoys by giving new life. it expresses the womans joy and awareness that she is sharing in the great mystery of eternal generation
motherhood begins at conception, a woman is biologically and psychologically made for it
parenthood is shared by mother and woman but the mother is more affected by her gift of herself and the complete link with the baby.
a mothers intuition is unique and connects her with the gift of life that develops awomans ability to be more in tune with people
the gift of a mother is seen in the acceptanceof the gift of new life made by mary which replaces the effects of the fall by establishing a new agreement between God and humanity
the joy of motherhood replaces any suffering in the same way that the woman forgets her painful childbirth
what does the text emphasise
motherhood reverses the effects of the fall, it emphasises the dignity of women and their priority over the father in parenthood.
what are different approaches to gender differences
plato and aristotle described women as defective arguing this is part of the order of creation where men were created first
what are different christian teachings
within the protestant christian tradition theres a range of views about gender identity and roles, on the conservative side a womans role is primarily to be a woman and to nurture new life which is seen as a great privelege. christians reject societies acceptance of divorce and free choice in relationships, also reject homosexuality, single parent families.
at the liberal end of the spectrum theres an emphasis on the validity of all love as being a reflection of Gods love, we all have the free choice to do what we want, these christians want to work within the changes within society and accept everyone just like Jesus did
what are religious views of motherhood
catholics argue that spiritually mothers are linked to creation of the first humans and to mary as the worlds redeemer.christians argue motherhood has a reflection of Gods love for his people.
some christians would argue motherhood is a vocation as much as any career might be and many christians would say that women who choose motherhood as their only careers should be respected as much as those who choose a career in the work place.
some would aruge that biological aspects are given too much emphasis. with modern advances in science, parenthood no longer requires a man and woman.
mulieris dignatatem and ephesians has a focus on both men and women, motherhood can best be defined only alongside fatherhood making the idea of parenthood a combanation of the two as someone can only be a mother with the gift of herself and a man
for some the idea of motherhood is a result of social conditioning, society perhaps expects mothers to give their all to their children and perhaps their households and so it should be possible to move away from these assumptions. women report they feel bored when they spend their days at home spending times with children and they feel cut off from society at large. women feel they become reduced simply to mothers and lose a sense of individuality.
