I’m quite interested in the current debate between the wife of John Edwards and the husband of Hillary Clinton. Elizabeth Edwards is attacking Hillary for not being strong enough on women’s rights. In her remarks, she suggested that Mrs. Clinton might be staying away from women’s issues in order to “behave as a man.”
Mr. Clinton, a.k.a. the 42nd president, defended his wife, saying that Hillary “isn’t trying to be a man.” “I defy you,” he continued, “to find anybody who has run for office in recent history whose got a longer history of working for women.”
Of course, this is all just a political play (a good one I might add). John Edwards needs women’s votes, so he’s sending his wife out to get them. Pretty simple. But this brings up a good question in relation to feminism.
Mr. Clinton, a.k.a. the 42nd president, defended his wife, saying that Hillary “isn’t trying to be a man.” “I defy you,” he continued, “to find anybody who has run for office in recent history whose got a longer history of working for women.”
Of course, this is all just a political play (a good one I might add). John Edwards needs women’s votes, so he’s sending his wife out to get them. Pretty simple. But this brings up a good question in relation to feminism.
Does feminism encourage women to embrace femininity or does it encourage women to become more masculine?
The goal of the feminist movement has been for women to “break the glass ceiling” of every male-dominated career path. I’d say they’ve done well at this mission, so well, in fact, that we have a serious female contender among the 2008 presidential candidates.
But how do the feminists achieve their goal? What are the means to their end? What will Hillary do to break through that final glass ceiling?
Act like a man.
Elizabeth Edwards is right. In order to get elected, Mrs. Clinton has to exert every ounce of testosterone in her body. For instance, when’s the last time you saw her wearing a dress (she’s the pantsuit princess!)? Have you noticed her hair getting shorter? Don’t you think her speeches seem unnaturally aggressive?
Do you see any common feminine qualities (gentle, compassionate, caring, etc.) in Hillary Clinton? No! She comes across as hard-lined, tough, and completely unfriendly. (Political Note: Bob Dole came across that way in ’96. It didn’t work.)
Feminism deceives women into believing that the way to find worth in the world is to be as masculine as possible. Even highly intelligent women, like Mrs. Clinton, have fallen prey to this awful lie. Modern women have been “liberated” only to find themselves behind the bars of guilt and confusion. God’s Word, our sole basis for truth, affirms femininity as valuable and honorable.
Act like a man.
Elizabeth Edwards is right. In order to get elected, Mrs. Clinton has to exert every ounce of testosterone in her body. For instance, when’s the last time you saw her wearing a dress (she’s the pantsuit princess!)? Have you noticed her hair getting shorter? Don’t you think her speeches seem unnaturally aggressive?
Do you see any common feminine qualities (gentle, compassionate, caring, etc.) in Hillary Clinton? No! She comes across as hard-lined, tough, and completely unfriendly. (Political Note: Bob Dole came across that way in ’96. It didn’t work.)
Feminism deceives women into believing that the way to find worth in the world is to be as masculine as possible. Even highly intelligent women, like Mrs. Clinton, have fallen prey to this awful lie. Modern women have been “liberated” only to find themselves behind the bars of guilt and confusion. God’s Word, our sole basis for truth, affirms femininity as valuable and honorable.
My prayer is that today’s women would know this truth, and that the truth would set them free from the oppressive chains of feminism!
6 comments:
Josh, I'm concerned by the lack of comments on this post. I think you may get more of a response on an article on "Is John Edwards Woman Enough?".
Its only because no one really reads Josh's blog.
SO I started listening to Francis Chan this week. WOW! Its awesome.
He is a passion speaker. http://www.francischan.org/
Jason, I have to admit that even I haven't read my blog much lately! I looked at Francis Chan's website and he seems to be the real deal. I'll have to download a sermon.
As a Christian AND feminist, I do not want or strive to be "masculine" (and just as a side note, the length of one's hair hardly denotes the level of one's femininity!) It's really quite an oversimplification of what it means to be a feminist, which is different for every woman who considers herself one. I want, and work for, equality of opportunity for both genders, which has nothing to do with pursuit of the "masculine". It DOES include equal access to jobs, education, health care, parenthood, etc.
Besides, Hillary has no choice but to act "masculine"---our country (over) values masculine characteristics in our society and certainly in our leaders. If she wants to be elected, she has to "act like a man". If she "acted like a woman", all her opponents would jump on her for being "too emotional" or "not strong enough". It's a doubled-edged sword that stems from silly gender stereotypes, much like the ones you endorse in your blog.
Anonymous,
Thanks for commenting! From what you said, it seems like you see no distinctions in the genders (I apologize if that's a wrong assumption). Since you're a Christian, I know that your basis for truth is Scripture. As such, I commend to you Genesis 1:27. Men and women are both made in God's image, both equal in worth/value. And, without diminishing our equal value in any way, we have different functions in life. Men & women were created to complement each other, not be exactly like each other.
Because of both genders' equal value, I agree with your efforts to fight for eqaulity in healthcare & education. But because of the God-given gender differences, there are certain jobs that are not well-suited for men (that's why you don't see many male daycare workers). And I'm not sure what you mean by equal access to parenthood. In fact, that struck me as odd. As Christians, you & I must agree with God's command to marry & have children (Gen. 1:28, 2:24-25, 1 Corinthians 7:2-5, Hebrews 13:4). These verses would seem to clear up any questions about 'equal access to parenthood.'
Again, thanks for the comment! I really do appreciate the diaologue.
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