Feminism

I know so very little about feminism and feminist movements, but I have noticed social trends in Relief Society. We women gather and discuss ourselves, and the fact that we are not allowed to hold or exercise the Priesthood like the men. The feminists among us have several reactions to choose from - they can freak out and apostatize, or they can decide that they're better than men anyway and don't need it. They can petition the church to change its policy and/or doctrine. They can repress and subordinate themselves.

In our women's meeting on Sunday we discussed the Priesthood, and several women (everyone who spoke up, actually) seemed determined to assert the power of womanhood, rather than discuss the actual topic. I support this discussion only theoretically; in practice, it sounded wrong.

Only a fool would pretend that women don't have power or influence on every level of society, overtly and covertly. Why did these women feel the need to vocalize it? One woman pointed out "What the Lord needs is good women to push their men."
My bullshit'o'meter went off. At that point it was ringing so loudly I could barely hear the rest of her pseudo-feminist diatribe.

I believe that what the Lord needs is humble women who'll shut up and do the right thing. I think what He really wants is for every person to show more love, and less condemnation. Why waste time talking about how much power we have when we could be discussing how to use that power in a way that's more attuned to our eternal natures? It seems that our current boardroom strategies could use some tweaking. I think we should follow the examples of our righteous men, and humbly use the tools we've been given to help others.

The truths are simple. I am not oppressed. I don't feel the need to measure my influence on the world at large. I acknowledge that such an influence may exist, but what's more important to me is that I learn to make better decisions. I learn how to show more kindness. I learn how to participate in the work of this life. And if I start worrying about all the ripples I might make, I'll go mad, or power-hungry.

Sisters: Forget yourselves and go to work.

Comments

  1. sjrocheMay 25, 2010 at 2:41 PM

    Stop the Femimenace!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nancy RocheMay 26, 2010 at 4:25 PM

    Even if I technically agreed with you, I must say it's not quite "the thing" for either of us to say so.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JenSeptember 1, 2010 at 4:42 PM

    Dude. Feminist movements no longer matter as much. Granted, there are situations where people need to argue it out still, but we need to move forward, not keep spinning our wheels on the same drivel. Glory in the priesthood! Be grateful we have the power of God here on the earth! Let us all help our priesthood holders and leaders learn how to use that priesthood more often and more fully! And let each of us learn what our role in the priesthood is as well. We have a responsibility in it, too!

    (This coming from the girl that begrudgingly had to ask Bryan for help this morning and has been upset the rest of the day because I thought I was perfectly "capable" of handling the project on my own!)

    ReplyDelete

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