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Gender experiences and your religion

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    Gender experiences and your religion

    So a thought occurred to me. In my former religion I was taught lessons and behaviors and ideas that were called Catholicism. But now as time and experience has creeped upon me, I realize I was probably taught those beliefs with a gendered slant. How has your past (or current) faith treated your gender different then the other? I realize deities love us all equally and blah blah. And we are all learning the same things in our religion blah blah.

    But you know in the day to day in and out living breathing guts, you know different things are taught on the same religion based on your gender. What comes to mind? Could be positive or negative. I just want to hear what you got.
    Satan is my spirit animal

    #2
    Re: Gender experiences and your religion

    In my current "religion," men and women are individuals - just plain ol' peoples.

    In my Catholic upbringing, women had to be "pure," and men had to be "manly, but polite."

    I much prefer being an equal amongst equals. Maintaining the hallucination of gender-based differences was just too much work.
    Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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      #3
      Re: Gender experiences and your religion

      In my current belief system of Satanism men and women are equal. Each is expected to use their particular set of skills to get on in life. It's based on who you are (are you the kitchen witch who gives out hugs to kids? Or are you a plumpy curvy gal with tats who gives out stone looks?) it all depends on your particular set of skills (lol, I sound like Liam Neeson). The strong is considered over the weak. Though the bully is not. A wolf, regardless of gender, is still a wolf. Though in that case we know usually the female of a species tends to be the more deadlier. Probably due to periods

      I remember sitting with my brother (the Theologian one) at his church when I was 15. We all sat in a small community church. It felt comfy and cozy. We all sat on chairs in an arc around the preacher. We opened our bibles and we read. I was a guest at this church. I was actively searching for religion and my brother had taken me under his wing to help me out. Then I distinctly remember hearing about the woman's place. And how she should know it and be silent. I remember those words exactly. And I looked around. No one batted an eye. I stayed silent and never returned. I called bs and that was that. I can never understand how my uterus is connected to my vocal cords. But whatevs. I don't like being in a religion that fears my tits. It's ridiculous.
      Satan is my spirit animal

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        #4
        Re: Gender experiences and your religion

        I was raised in the United Church of Christ....a historically liberal and progressive (religiously and social justice-wise) denomination that was one of the first mainline denominations to be integrated and have black clergy, women clergy, and even (eventually) gay clergy.

        The idea that there are theologically defined gender roles is completely foreign and even an anathema to me, especially as a female that has had to work her add off to be taken seriously in a very male saturated environment. I've been to churches and other organizations where women are held to different standards, and I find it generally insulting to both men and women.

        The idea in some traditions that men are the head of the church/women are the neck (or whatever other platitudes and teachings one finds in their holy book of choice)--reads to me like a bad attempt at code fo men being so weak and pathetic that women need to act and dress modestly because they can't control themelves, the idea that women need to be patronized and put on a pedestal so that men's fragile egos can be stoked into fooling themselves that they are the brightest lightbulb in the box....it's demeaning.

        Yes, there are differences between men and women, biologically. Yes, over an average, those differences stack up to help form the cultural ideas of gender...but ultimately, the variability of any given individual male and female is unlikely to fall in those norms...particularly without strict cultural reinforcement.

        In the religion of my youth, gender differences are simply one more thing that makes us who we are--beautiful and diverse.

        In my current belief, it's not much different.
        Last edited by thalassa; 08 Jul 2016, 17:48.
        Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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          #5
          Re: Gender experiences and your religion

          Originally posted by thalassa View Post
          Yes, there are differences between men and women, biologically. Yes, over an average, those differences stack up to help form the cultural ideas of gender...but ultimately, the variability of any given individual male and female is unlikely to fall in those norms...particularly without strict cultural reinforcement.
          Aside from a method of boxing people into asigned roles, what is "gender," anyway?

          Gender is not a spectrum:

          From the article:

          Every moment of a life is a horrible tragedy, a slapstick comedy, dark nihilism, golden illumination, or nothing at all; depending on how we write the story we tell ourselves.

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            #6
            Re: Gender experiences and your religion

            My favorite grad school course was Gender & Communication. I did my paper on "Pagans & Promise Keepers", focusing on how women are drawn to solitary, eclectic spiritual pursuits, while men go for the football stadium. large group experiences, and how those traits are instilled from birth and mainstream religions.

            I was born into a Catholic family and went to Catholic school until 6th grade. They were actually somewhat progressive, compared to others I've heard. Later, in 10th or 11th grade, there was a whole bit going on where we had a guest speaker in church shortly before time to vote on Roe v. Wade. This speaker was a female Doctor, and she went right up on the altar, behind the altar rail, to talk to us. Women weren't supposed to be there. And, church was supposed to be separated from state. As in any other part of my life, hypocrisy rang a three-alarm bell and I was unattached after that.
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            Can you hear me, Major Tom? I think I love you.

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              #7
              Re: Gender experiences and your religion

              Originally posted by B. de Corbin View Post
              I find it interesting that she is condemning the spectrum theory of gender as being an absurd and fundamentally sexist fiction that exists so that people can paint themselves as oppressed when they really aren't... and then goes on to talk about how women are systemically oppressed. :unimpressed:

              I had to read it several times, because I wasn't sure if she was joking or trying to make a point. I'm still not sure.

              Trust is knowing someone or something well enough to have a good idea of their motivations and character, for good or for ill. People often say trust when they mean faith.

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