Razwana Wahdat
Professor Papaccio
English 1202
11 April 2005
Is God Sexist?
Step back a moment and imagine living in a place where the interment of living baby girls is considered the norm. Although this is a chilling and surreal proposal, this type of place did indeed exist in the past. At a time before the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) arrived, Arabia, being one of the darkest parts of the world, was a place where such barbaric acts took place simply because of the shame the female gender brought upon the family name. From this horrific example we can bear witness to the idea that religion undeniably plays a vital role in molding society and, hence, the lives of all mankind. It serves as an influential component that can be viewed in both a positive and negative light. Serving as a potent influence, religion is heavily responsible for how an individual�s behavior and personality is molded. On the other hand, religion has not completely solved the m�lange of dilemmas society faces everyday but, at times, has rather provided the impetus for some of them to persist. These less obvious consequences of religion often go unnoticed. Frequently neglected are the misogynistic ideas that are entrenched in some of the world�s major organized religions. Because of this inference of misogyny, organized religion has served as a leading contributor to the oppression of women and has gradually, yet undeniably, enforced this misogynistic view in society. Religion�s expression of the inferiority of women has spilled over into all parts of society in one way or another. Poets, acting as the seekers of truth, often expose such veiled societal flaws through their works. Eavan Boland, in �Anorexic,� reveals her perception of the truth regarding religion�s, specifically, Christian misogyny�s detrimental effects on modern women.
Boland utilizes �poetic license� to express this idea of the repressive nature of organized religions towards females in �Anorexic.� The misogynistic views of Christianity and the Bible are apparent from the very beginning of the poem to the end. At first glance, the poem seems to be one that expresses the emotions of a woman of low self-esteem who is suffering from the unyielding claws of anorexia. However, as one delves deeper into the words and dissects them at a different angle, one can discover a sort of self-hatred for the subject�s gender as influenced by her religious, apparently Christian, beliefs. An evident inference to the Bible is the allusion made to the �thin rib� (Boland 1052).The fundamental Christian idea is that Eve was made from the rib of Adam, a concept that implies that women are inferior to men. This secondary attitude toward the flawed women roots from this religious myth. In their book The Hammer of Witches, approved by Pope Innocent VIII, theologians, Jakob Sprenger and Heinrich Kramer, say, �It should be noted that there was a defect in the formation of the first woman, since she was formed from a bent rib, that is, a rib of the breast, which is bent as it were in a contrary direction to man. And since through this defect she is an imperfect animal, she always deceives� (Wijngaards 2). One can clearly see the suggestion that since Eve was created second and from a mere insignificant rib, that the female gender is trifling. Man does not rely on a single rib to survive, so, consequently, he does not need to rely on a woman. However, women, as a fragile and single rib, rely heavily on a man because he is the entire rest of the body, without which there would be no life.
In �Anorexic� the woman wants to �slip back into him� so that she can feel whole again and in this form she could be more acceptable to God (Boland 1052). This idea that women are subordinate to men is thought to be the natural role of women as implied in the story of the Garden of Eden. Majella relates the male gender with God, to provide justification for this subordination, when he says, �God is a supreme male with power over all is the role model for other males with power over woman � perhaps her husband or minister� (96). He adds a similar but more disturbing statement in reference to male �powers� over women when he says, �within such a system, each of these males may feel he has the right to abuse her by virtue of the position he has over her�(Majella 97). These ideas can be directly derived from the Holy Bible. “Thy will shall be subject to thy husband, and he shall bear dominion over thee” (Gen. 3:16). If God, the Supreme Being, utters such demeaning words then the reason for the presence of misogyny is no mystery.
Christian doctrine has long held that females have an inherent spiritual hindrance due to their descension from the original sinner, Eve. All women are considered to be connected to Eve, who many consider to be evil and the source of sin. Because of Eve�s tremendous mistake, her daughters (all women), live in an unremitting state of punishment and it is believed that women, as a whole, are damned or damnable. �As descendants of Eve women were wanton, lustful creatures bent on seducing men into committing a multitude of sins� (Meyers 4). From this we can see, that through some Christian perspectives there is rarely anything positive to be said about the female gender. Regarding women�s damnation, the Latin father, Tertullian, says, �Every woman should be ….walking about as Eve mourning and repentant, in order that by every garb of penitence she might the more fully expiate that which she derives from Eve,-the ignominy, I mean, of the first sin, and the odium of human perdition� (Wijngaards 2). Simply because of their gender, women are born evil and must live their entire lives trying to compensate for this evilness that is so deeply rooted within them.
Because of the fact that women are �prone to sin� they are also thought to be more easily associated with the devil. They are not as closely connected to God as men are. A clear example of this took place during the infamous witch trials. Church fathers believed witches tended to be female because women�s feeble souls would allow them to fall into Satan�s hands with ease. This idea implies that the women, the �weaker vessels,� are not only physically inferior but also �morally frail,� which encompasses both body and soul � leaving females completely inferior (Meyers 4).
In reference to the relationship between women and witches, Reis says, �� sometimes understood his [the devil�s] interaction with women witches in particular ways in light of their sexuality and their female bodies� (115). It is believed that not only do women have a spiritual connection that impels them towards wrong-doing, but a female�s physical anatomy is naturally a place that houses evil. A woman�s body is considered to be dangerous and serves only one purpose: to seduce men and promote sin. �But a clear message in all the world�s religions is that it is men who engage in spiritual quests; women are their great distractions� (Groenhout 223). When an adulterous act takes place, blame is almost instantly placed on the female. This act is demonstrated through the stoning of the unfaithful wife in an interpretation of Ezekiel 16, � All of these interpretations serve to let the lovers [men] off the proverbial hook and hold only the woman accountable� (Day 247). Under no circumstances were any of the men to blame but rather they were portrayed as the victims. �For Eichrodt [a literal interpreter], the male adulterers, like the aggrieved husband, can properly exact vengeance because they too have been wronged� (Day 250).
Because women were so tempting and regarded to be the prime cause for any adulteress act, it was their duty to remain chaste. �Traditionally, the concept of seduction is intertwined with a sexual standard that assumes that women, in contrast with men, should value their chastity� (Groenhout 178). In correlation with this concept, if women valued their chastity there would be very little adulteress acts taking place, for there would be no temptations for men to deal with. This statement can be considered an oxymoron since women are commonly characterized as �tender, sensitive, and easily influenced� while men are �independent, self-sufficient, and emotionally controlled� (Kaveny 3). It�s quite ironic that these �easily influenced� women are thought to have the power to manipulate these strong, �independent� men.
This idea of the evil body was also illustrated in Boland�s �Anorexic.� She begins the poem with: �Flesh is heretic. / My body is a witch. / I�m burning it� (Boland 1051). This clearly shows that women view their body as the source of evil and the only way to be acceptable to God is to �burn� it. The voluptuous, therefore sinful, nature of a female�s body is not the only issue women have to contend with; women are also considered to be impure because of menstruation. In most religions, including Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism, women are not permitted to partake in religious activities during this cycle because they are considered tainted or unclean. Since women are not allowed to be present during Holy practices for one-fourth of their lives then they have fewer opportunities to become closer to God and rid themselves of sin. Men, on the other hand, do not have such a restriction and have every moment in their lives to be faithful to God. �Men are less impure than women because their bodies are the source of fewer conditions of impurity� (Majella 86). Again, this advocates the idea that women are naturally subordinate and can do very little about it.
Women are deemed to be one way or another. They can be put into only two categories: a virgin or a whore. Most references made to females in religious texts are negative seductresses or �problematical figure�, like Mary Magdalene, or they are the true, perfect, gentle creature like the Virgin Mary (Majella 74). Majella suggests this idea when she says, �Thus there are usually two roles for women in religious discourse � evil seductress or docile virgin/wife� (85). The Virgin Mary is the epitome of the perfect woman in the religious perspective and if a female cannot emulate Mary she is automatically sinful. In Boland�s poem, �Anorexic,� the woman is desperately trying to escape the tight mold Eve left for her as she is �slip[ping] back� into the males side to feel whole again because, once again, women are absolutely dependant upon males (Boland 1052). This idea is possibly the most common topic found in literature. More often than not, women are put into the negative category. This is because it is an extremely arduous task to follow in the steps of Mary and remain a virgin. However, any woman can easily follow in the steps of the corrupt Eve and is supposedly naturally inclined to do so. Simone de Beauvoir refers to this idea in her essay, �Woman: Myth and Reality,� when she emphasizes the idea that women are considered to be innately evil, �� the women, employ their erotic attraction, can induce young men and even fathers of families to scatter their patrimonies�women appropriate their victims� fortunes�this role being regarded as evil, those who play it are called �bad women�� (822). Beauvoir also expresses the idea that it is difficult and �confusing� to picture someone as the �Goddess Mother� while they can also be regarded as the �Demon� (822). The women�s �evil� qualities unfortunately seem to outweigh the good portrayals of women for there are numerous myths that support this idea. �Few myths have been more advantageous to the ruling caste than the myth of woman: it justifies all privileges and even authorizes their abuse� (Beauvoir 823). Although this idea seems barbaric it is commonly practiced even today, but often done instinctively and without knowing so.
Many have spoken in great length on this issue of the misogyny that is correlated with religion. Surprisingly, every world religion is directly connected to such a misogynistic view. Some of the world�s most esteemed and highly respected religious leaders have made blatantly misogynistic remarks. In his renowned letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul �affirm[s] a husband�s leadership over his wife� when he says, �let your women keep [silent in the churches] palpitations� (Kaveny 1). When asked about why women do not take part in public office, the Buddha replies, �they [women] are uncontrolled, envious, and weak in wisdom� (Majella 127). Even the Pope, the leader of all Catholics, one of the largest and most prominent religions on the entire planet, has said that women have a certain role, which consists of staying home to take care of the children and working outside of the house �compromises� that responsibility (Groenhout 53). Although many theologians attempt to re-evaluate the anti-feminist remarks in religious texts, there still remain literal interpretations that do not meander from the original text. These religious reinforcements allow culture and society to further repress women and do so with some �authority.� Women�s rights are consistently being trampled upon and religion, the source of guidance in life for many, does not assist in ensuring these rights. As Eavan Boland conveys, misogyny is an enormously serious issue that has caused self-hatred for a majority of females. A single story, a story that is centuries old and one in which three of the world�s major faiths adhere to, is the prime source for the misogyny leading to women�s suffering and self-hatred.
Works Cited
Boland, Eavan. “Anorexic.” Literature. Ed. Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2002. 1051-1052.
Day, Peggy L. “The Bitch had it Coming to Her: Rhetoric and Interpretation of Ezekiel 16.” Biblical Interpretation July 2000: 8. :231-254. ATLA Religion Database. Internet Explorer. Seton Hall University. 12 Mar 2005
de Beauvoir, Simone. “Woman: Myth and Reality.” A World of Ideas. Ed. Lee Jacobus. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2001. 822.
Groenhout, Ruth E., and Marya Bower. Philosophy, Feminism, and Faith. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.
Kaveny, Cathleen. “What is the Vatican Saying About Women.” The Washington Post 15 Aug 2004. 21 Apr 2005 <http://www.jknirp.com/kave.htm>.
Majella, Franzmann. Women and Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Meyers, Debra. Common Whores, Virtuous Women and Loving Wives. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2003.
Reis, Elizabeth. Damned Woman. Ithica: Cornell University Press, 2001.
Wijngaards, John. “Women were considered to be in a state of punishment for sin.” Women
Preists. 20 Apr. 2005. <http://myweb.shu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab= courses&url=/bin/common /course.pl?course_id=_154774_1>.