Raising Up Esther Workshop

1. The Disappearance of Women Raising Up EstherWorkshop The Disappearance of Women

2. Vae victis!Woe to the conquered! “In the codes of all the nations which are called civilized, man has written the laws which govern the destiny of women in these cruel terms: Vae victis!” Honore de Balzac (1799-1850)

3. misogyny • miso (hatred) • gyne (woman) • Misogyny = the hatred of woman

4. Social Darwinism “The chief distinction in the intellectual powers of the two sexes is shown by man's attaining to a higher eminence, in whatever he takes up, than can woman whether requiring deep thought, reason, or imagination, or merely the use of the senses and hands…. We may also infer … that if men are capable of a decided pre-eminence over women in many subjects, the average of mental power in man must be above that of woman.” Charles Darwin

5. The Death of Female • Femalicide: The death of woman • Feminicide: The death of the feminine metaphysic In the modern world a single, unfettered, male is the ideal!

6. The Disappearance of Women “By entering the public sphere at the expense of the private, woman legitimated the male world and rejected her own.” Lilian Calles Barger Eve’s Revenge

7. The Disappearance of Women These movements “allow us to become, in a sense, invisible as women and able to navigate the male-defined public world with less notice.” Lilian Calles Barger Eve’s Revenge

8. The Rise of Feminism • Christ was the first feminist • First wave – Maternal Feminism • Second wave – Modern Feminism • Third wave – Post-modern Feminism

9. First Wave: Maternal Feminism • 19th – early 20th century • Biblical worldview or its memory • Interested in others • Woman valued in • Being - humanity • Function - motherhood

10. Maternal Feminist’s Fight • Against male value system and power structure • To get women out of the sweatshops and into the home • For a family wage • Pro-life • Abolition of slavery • Woman’s suffrage

11. Maternal Feminists Leaders • Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) • Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1850-1902)

12. Second Wave:Modern Feminism • Mid to late 20th century • Secular Humanism – Meta-narrative • Interested in self • Women valued their being but not in their function

13. Modern Feminist’s Fight • Stood against female value system • To get women out of the home into the marketplace • Pro-abortion • Sexual revolution – sex without responsibility

14. Shapers of Modern Feminism

15. Influence of Communism • Materialism: Human beings are “instruments of production” • Woman’s ideal place is in the workplace • Woman’s worth is as a producer of products, not children

16. Modern Feminists

17. Worth in the Market Place “Money is the marker of success in a market economy; it usually accompanies power, and it enables the bearer to wield power, including within the family.” Linda Hirshman Brandeis University

18. Mothers Are Like Animals “… man was set apart from other animals by his mind’s power to have an idea, a vision, and shape the future to it. … when he discovers, and creates and shapes a future different from his past, he is a man, a human being.” Betty Friedan The Feminine Mystique

19. Being Female is Second Class The things that men used to do to degrade women, now modern feminists use to degrade women!

20. Peter Drucker on Modern Feminists “We are busily unmaking one of the proudest social achievements in the nineteenth century, which was to take married women out of the work force so that they could devote themselves to family and children.”

21. Be Child Free!

22. For a woman to be all she can be, she must be child free!

23. The Anti-Maternal • Women who change their children’s diapers have "voluntarily become untouchables." - Professor Hirshman • ”[V]acuuming the living room floor – with or without makeup – is not work that takes enough thought or energy to challenge any woman’s full capacity.” - Betty Friedan The Feminine Mystique

24. Un-Pregnant • Enabled women to be like men: • Not pregnant • In the marketplace • When sexism and feminism define personhood as being “male” [not pregnant] then knives and chemicals make women like men!

25. “The Pill” “For the average woman, the pill has provided a way to divorce sex from procreation, so she can make herself available to any sexual partner she chooses at the moment. A woman is now considered to be available 24/7/365.” Lilian Calles Barger Eve’s Revenge

26. Emptying the Womb:Abortion “The widely practiced violence of abortion is not a sign of progress but a sign that women’s reproductive ability needs to be exterminated in order for society to go ‘forward.’ In an environment hostile to women’s bodies and through abortion, women participate in a war against their own bodies, objectifying them.” Barger’s Eve’s Revenge

27. Consequences of the Anti-Maternal “Fertility in eighty-three countries representing 44% of the world’s population has fallen below replacement levels; in the developed countries, the net reproduction rate is 0.7 and dropping, which means that the next generation will be only 70% as large as this one.” Philip Yancey

28. Radical Individualism • “me” not “us” • self absorption not self sacrificing • being in authority, never under authority • self serving rather than other serving • personal freedom without personal responsibility

29. Late 20th and early 21st century Secular Humanism – No Meta-narrative Interested in Overthrowing male – female distinctions Interchangeability Female and male are equal (the same) Third Wave Feminists:Post-modern Feminism

30. Post-modernism • There is no Meta-narrative like: • Biblical Theism • Darwinism • No Essentialism – The idea that men and women are essentially different • 1st Wave – Women and men are different and equal • 2nd Wave – Men and women are different and men are better

31. Post-modernism • 3rd Wave Feminism • There is no meta-narrative • Monism: “All is one!” • All distinctions blur and disappear • Application • In the metaphysics of sex: no masculine and feminine • In the biology of sex: no male and female

32. Post-modern Feminist’sFight • Stand against male value system • Against sexual distinctions • Promote Androgyny • Transcendent sexuality disappears • Maleness and femaleness disappears

33. Androgyny • Two Greek words: • andros – male • gyne – female • Androgyny literally means: “male and female in one”

34. The Metaphysical Roots of Androgyny • Neo-paganism • Monism – “All is one” • Pantheism – “everything is god!” • Religions of Neo-paganism • Hinduism • Buddhism • Taoism • New Age

35. The Metaphysic of Androgyny • Monism: “All is one!” • This leads to a transcendent androgynous (fusion of masculine and feminine) • Because the metaphysical root is androgyny, ultimately: • gender roles are interchangeable • sex itself is elastic

36. Sociological Maxim • Before changing a society, you must first change the language of the culture • Whoever controls the language controls the culture

37. Sacredness of Life Abortion Pro-Life Baby Sex Quality of Life Pro-Choice Anti-Choice Tissue or product of conception Gender Elasticity of Language

38. Sex Biological term Implies distinction: i.e., male and female Is not elastic Is grounded in the essence of biological and psychological differentiation Gender Sociological term Defined by societal usage Gender is elastic We can construct our own reality Deconstructing Sex

39. “Lifestyle Choices” • Heterosexual: traditional female and male • Homosexual: gay and lesbian • Bisexual: relating sexually to both men and women • Transvestites: someone who dresses and acts like someone of the opposite sex • Transgender: someone who has undergone surgery to “change” their sex

40. Change Definition:Marriage • Marriage: “A sacred covenant, before God, between one man and one woman ‘until death do us part!’” • Marriage: “A social contract, before a civil society, between a man and a woman until we divorce.” • Marriage: “A personal commitment between consenting adults as long as it is convenient.”

41. In the Postmodern world, secular materialism is being combined with a pagan spirituality to shape a new language and ultimately a whole new world order.

42. The Elasticity of Sex:Gender Confusion • There is no ultimate meaning to our sexuality or to our bodies • There are no role distinctions between men and women • Equality, in modern feminism, means sameness

43. The Elasticity of Sex:Gender Confusion • This interchangeability takes place: • In work - the marketplace • In the military • In the home • In the church • It is even being pushed in the act of procreation

44. The Proto Change • Began with 2nd Wave Feminism • Unisex clothing • Unisex hair styles • Cross-dressing • Either as a uniform (women wearing ties and vests) • as a sexual statement (men dressing as women or women dressing in men’s clothing)

45. Proto Change • University Campus Housing • First, separated dorms • Second, men and women to house in the same dorms, but on different floors • Third, men and women living on the same floors but in different rooms • Fourth, men and women inhabit ‘gender neutral’ facilities, using the same rooms, restrooms and showers

46. Post-modern Feminism’s Blank Slate “The body becomes plastic, inscribed with gender and cultural standards. … The constitution of the body rests in its inscription; the body becomes the text which is written upon it and from which it is indistinguishable….” Pippa Brush 3rd Wave Feminist

47. Our Bodies Are A Blank Slate • In Postmodernism, our bodies reveal nothing. They are: • A blank canvas upon which to paint • A blank piece of paper upon which to write • A white board on which to draw

48. Cutting the Flesh Pt. 1Vanity • Cosmetic Surgery • Liposuction

49. Deconstructing Sexuality • Transsexual surgery • Reproductive technology • Abortion – sculpting the womb – like a man • Sperm bank – donor sperm for • Single women • Lesbian couples • (Research) genetic material from lesbian or homosexual couple used to make an egg and sperm, so child is genetic makeup of both partners

50. The Elasticity of the Body • 3rd Wave Feminists and Queer Theory advocates • Denying the reality of the hard facts of biology • Affirming the opinion of ideology