I have been struggling recently with what I refer to as “the sorry state of our world.” I sit in prayer, wonder, and ask God why it seems that my beloved country seems stuck in the muck of anger, division, and confusion that ranges from coast to coast, seemingly 24/7.
Providentially, I recently received a bit of insight into my questions through my book club’s reading of “The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us” by Carrie Gress. Gress traces the history of feminism, beginning in the eighteenth century, and lays out several arguments that point to feminism as the ideology at the root of so many of today’s social ills, from abortion to the transgender movement. This was an eye-opening read for me, as it showed the original intent of feminism’s main proponents went far beyond the feminist ideals I happily embraced as a young woman, i.e., education, equal rights, career opportunities. I learned that feminism swept through our nation’s history in two currents, each with a different objective. However, taken together, these objectives have logically led us to our current point of questioning the whole notion of what Woman is, and with it, the whole of our social order.
Gress details that the first aim of feminism was equality. She explains the movement toward equality taken by women whose names I recognized and remembered from high school and college history and literature classes: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and Mary Shelley (author of Frankenstein). But the equality for which these women, and others, were striving, went well beyond the admirable goals of suffrage and recognition in literary circles, goals that, if met, supposedly would place them on equal footing with men in the eyes of the world.
Instead, the equality they wanted focused on rejecting the conventions of their day, which they viewed as yokes that enslaved them to men. They wanted freedom from monogamous marriage, pregnancy and child-bearing, and homemaking. Organized religion, also rejected as too restrictive, was replaced with occult practices, which aligned with the free-love thinking sweeping through the nation at that time. Abortion was promoted as the solution to breaking the chains of oppression that feminists felt in their homes. Without the burden of caring for children, they would be able to work outside of their homes, like men. This work would stimulate their minds, and allow them to engage in meaningful intelligent conversations, like men. Finally, they would escape the drudgery of a monotonous homelife and become equals to men. The bottom line for these “first wave” feminists of the nineteenth century was that if men were free to act as they wished, as long as they didn’t injure anyone else, then women should have this same “freedom” too.
In the mid-twentieth century, the feminists’ push for equality morphed into a push for power, the second objective Gress discusses in her book. Beginning with Betty Friedan, and progressing with Kate Millet and Gloria Steinem, these feminists were not satisfied just with “equality with men.” They wanted to dominate men as well as the women who did not subscribe to feminist views in all areas of society and culture. They adopted and advocated for the liberal political stance, and communist and Marxist ideals, and they partnered with those who supported those positions. While these three ideologies professed slightly different ends and the means by which to achieve them, they shared some underlying principles: pushback against oppression of a specific sector of the population, rejection of organized religion, and promotion of the freedom to live as one chooses. Because feminism shared these same principles, the women pressing the feminist agenda in America simultaneously pressed these radical ideologies forward as well. The ugly fruit of their work is now evident in numerous corners of the culture, from educational institutions to the halls of government; and from the entertainment industry to athletics to the business world. Even the Church has, arguably, been infected.
The power objective Gress discusses is illustrated by the origins of “victimhood,” and how this phenomenon has sprinted through the American cultural mindset in the last ten years. A “victim” is now defined as someone who “feels” oppressed by others in any way. Examples include women who are not affirmed in their choice of abortion, adolescents who are not affirmed in their choice to “change” their gender, and same-sex couples who are not affirmed in their choice to “marry.” Feminists exert their power in these, and other, scenarios, publicly supporting the “victims,” while silencing the brave few who risk their livelihoods and reputations by daring to speak out to defend the truth found in God’s design of the human person. The power of feminism grows with each instance of “canceling” they achieve.
Over my adult years I have watched feminism morph into something I am uncomfortable with, and Gress’ book gave me the language to articulate what I knew in my heart to be true but didn’t have the words to express. Her articulation of the real story of the development of feminism opened my eyes to what is arguably the movement’s fundamental flaw: that in purporting to support women it denies and rejects God’s design of the beautiful gift of femininity.
As Gress states, women are created by God to primarily be nurturers, comforters, and bearers of life. In trying to correct real injustices in how women have been culturally treated, feminism mistakenly chose to try and erase that God-given design of woman. In truth, it is only by protecting, honoring, and embracing these qualities – while also working for equality in opportunity – that women will be what they were created to be which will then lead to their happiness. Instead, the manipulation of authentic womanhood by feminists who claim to support women has led us to a place where many cannot even define what a woman is. Oh, the irony that feminism could lead to the “end of woman!” And yet, here we are.