Ask A Feminist

Dear Ask a Feminist,

I personally and through study and experience have learned that the priesthood is here on earth for the benefit of men. I come from a home with an anti-feminist father and 3 brothers. Being the only girl, and daughter of a totally subservient mother, I have seen firsthand how men are naturally less righteous than women. In fact, they desperately need the priesthood to help them step up and progress in life and in the church. Women don’t need that regimented order to stay faithful and good (again, this is what I have gathered from my own experience). Perhaps we are the ones who put the priesthood here because we wanted our weaker sexed brothers to get back to God with us!

I guess I’m rambling, but I’m trying to grasp the inequality…in every ward I’ve ever been in, the relief society president runs the ward….and we all know it. I look at the bishopric as a controlled training ground for men…and I think they desperately need it, and I’m thankful it is there.

Please…help me out….?

Sincerely,

Superior Sex

Dear Superior Sex,

Thank you for writing. I recognize that your life experiences inform your question and I’m sorry that you have had so many negative  examples of male spirituality and nurturing.

Here at WAVE we do not seek to be superior or inferior, just equal. We recognize that men and women are different. However, difference shouldn’t preclude equality.

Many people find it insulting to hear gender generalizations that demean men: they are less spiritual, nurturing, and capable; they need the priesthood to be equal, etc. There are many great men in the world who don’t have the priesthood and many fantastic nurturers who are male. With any type of human trait we will see variation that exists within and between genders. Using stereotypes to teach principles will inevitably neglect many people and they are extremely damaging to both men and women. Teaching men that they are spiritually inferior or less nurturing is in direct opposition to the examples of Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ, who both just happen to be male.

Feminism is not about making assumptions about either gender, but about creating opportunities so that everyone, regardless of gender, can fulfill the measure of their creation.

Sincerely,

Ask a Feminist