I'm a Mormon.
There, upfront and honest about it.
Mormon and feminist? Yup! And darn proud of it. Because my feminism stems from my membership of THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS (heretofore referred to as "the Church'"). They go hand-in-hand. Time and time again, Church leaders have taught women of the church that-
1) they are precious daughters of a loving Heavenly Father who wants the best for them, just as He does for His sons;
2) women should gain the best education possible;
3) they are equal partners with the men in a marriage, meaning that it requires complete mental, emotional and physical fidelity from both spouses and sharing of child-rearing responsibilities;
4) every ordinance/ ritual necessary for salvation is equally available to them as they are to men;
5) women have a divine purpose on earth and responsibility to nurture those around them;
6) they will make mistakes, but that's why the atonement and grace of Jesus Christ is vital for salvation;
7) once again, God loves His daughters.
The Church also teaches members that Mother Eve, the first female creation of God on this earth, did not bring about the curse of mortality due to her partaking of the Forbidden Fruit. Rather, Eve took a courageous step in leaving the Garden of Eden, which paved the way for Mankind to be born, gain a mortal body and experience mortal life, i.e. if Adam and Eve continued to live in the Garden of Eden, we wouldn't be here on this earth.
Examining the above list, I dare say that Church theology and teachings are rather *gasp* feminist. Yes it is. Which is precisely why I'm a Mormon and feminists.
Now, the Church is a patriarchal church. It's theology is not, but the church structure and leadership hierarchy is patriarchal in nature. Let's just admit that. It's something feminists who are members of the Church have to grapple with- are they content to accept it and move on from there? Or are they going to agitate for change?
More liberal feminists will vote for the latter. Me, I'm okay with it, more a "neutral." There are many reasons why, but I'm not going into them for this post. All I'm going to say for now is that I have found value and benefits from voluntarily "submitting" to the patriarchal structure of the church. A paradox but it's my reality.
Which is why I do not follow the Feminist Mormon Housewives or the Young Mormon Feminists blogs, and I do not support the Ordain Woman Movement. Let's get that out of the way as well. I have a friend (an active member) who has contributed a few posts to the Young Mormon Feminists blog, and I have enjoyed reading some of her postings. But there are also other postings on that blog that I disagree and feel uncomfortable with.
Therefore, here are some things to note about my blog:
a) This is not a feminist blog that will advocate for change to the patriarchal structure of the Church.
b) This blog might comment on the cultural aspects of being a Mormon that consciously/ unconsciously promotes gender inequality, depending on my mood and how passionate I feel about the issue. E.g. I would have posted something about lowering the age at which sister missionaries can serve from 21 to 19 = eradicating the cultural stigma that sisters serve missions because they can't get married => a positive change. However, this change took place before this blog was created, but you get my meaning.
c) This blog is focused mainly on non-Mormon issues pertaining to womanhood, sisterhood and feminism. That's right, non-Mormon issues. Feminism is so much more than just talking about gender inequality within the Church, although there is a place and time for that. I'm more interested in talking about gender inequality outside of it. You may not agree with the direction my blog is going in, but this is me and this is who I am.
I am a Mormon and a feminist.
Let the postings begin!
Monday, April 7, 2014
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Beginnings
WRONG.
- Do you believe that women should have equal access to educational opportunities as the men?
- Do you believe that women should have the right to vote?
- Do you believe that women should receive equal pay for an equal amount of work performed as the men?
- Do you believe that men and women should be treated with respect and dignity?
- Do you believe that women's voices need to be heard with regards to political, economic and social issues, alongside the men's?
- Do you believe that men and women should NEVER be raped? That under no circumstances is rape ever permissible?
If you answered "yes" to all the above (that's right, ALL of them. If you said "no" to even one, I don't think we can be friends), guess what?
You
are
a
FEMINIST!!!
Notice how the Oxford English Dictionary (2014) defines feminism: the advocacy of equality of the sexes and the establishment of the political, social, and economic rights of the female sex; the movement associated with this.
"Really?! That's not true. I believe in all those but I don't agree with much of what feminists write on Facebook/ twitter/ other forms of social media," you say.
Such a misunderstanding on feminism stems from how people perceive feminism and feminists. I wrote a post on my other blog back in December 2012, explaining that people usually think of feminists as this:
The truth is, feminists are really like this:
There is a spectrum of feminism that ranges from conservative to liberal. Feminists will disagree with each other over the definitions of "equality," the methods of obtaining equality, and the limits of equality.
Thus, liberal feminists will push more boundaries than conservative or moderate feminists are comfortable doing. They tend to be more vocal and will agitate for greater change. Liberal feminism also dominated the Second Wave Feminist Movement of the 1970s in the United States, and continues to do so in contemporary times. This is why most popular articles and talks by American feminists today fall on the more liberal side of the spectrum, and is part of the reason why people simply lump all feminists together. At the end of the day, whatever side of the feminist spectrum you are on, feminists are all trying in their own way and through own method to do one thing: improve the status of women.
There are many women and men who are feminists, but who simply don't agree with or only agree with parts of the dominate discourse of liberal feminists. I'm one of them. I'm a more moderate-conservative feminist.
Which is why I decided to start this blog. I got tired of reading feminists articles that spoke to me 80%, but left me feeling uncomfortable with the remaining 20%. I got tired of hearing current feminist discourse that claimed to speak on behalf of all feminists, but really ignored the voices of conservative feminists.
On the other hand, I also got tired of defending feminism to my family and friends who think I'm some sort of radical hippie that is going to start revolting against authority. I got tired of receiving dirty looks and hurtful remarks for proudly proclaiming that I'm a feminist. And I got tired of hearing my more conservative friends deride feminism as an evil that needs to be eradicated.
In short, I got tired and fed up, and need an outlet where I can simply refer everyone to what I mean by feminism.
So this is what my blog is about. It's about MY OWN UNIQUE TYPE OF FEMINISM. It's mine. No one else. I don't speak for anyone else or even for any side of the feminists spectrum. This is
My Kind of Feminism.
So settle down and please check back regularly. I will be writing posts and sharing articles/ videos that I love as often as possible. You may not agree with all I say, but I do hope that overall, you will enjoy reading this blog.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)