Feminism's collateral damage is the breakdown of society

I’m watching from afar as my soon to be former sister-in-law is blowing up her marriage to my brother-in-law (my wife’s brother), and certainly feminism does play a role. She’s more or less assuming that she’s the victim in the Duluth model, even while her actions paint her really more as the victimizer.

That noted, it’s worth noting that feminism has a variety of expressions, including some—e.g. along the lines of Susan B. Anthony—where we all could endorse a good portion of what they believe (e.g. women should be able to own property, work in most fields, and vote). So I think that while Venker does have a point, she’s painting with a bit of a broad brush. There is also the reality that a lot of women who don’t consider themselves to be “feminists” nevertheless have absorbed some of the viewpoints that Venker (and I) would consider objectionable. Calling these women “feminists” merely insults them—it doesn’t get you anywhere.

(if you don’t believe me, look up Wikipedia’s articles on feminism…we are not talking about one monolithic movement where all involved will recognize themselves as “feminists” in that mold)

It’s more complex than these short opinion pieces can convey. Venker is mostly interested in the latest waves of femnism. I’m not sure I can accept her superlative claim, but it’s hard to see how anyone can doubt that late feminism has encouraged a lot of role confusion, mostly in the home and family life. So we have so many couples marrying with very different (and often unconscious) assumptions about where each of them fits into the family dynamic—often slowly expressing themselves over years of conflict. Often killing the marriage and deeply disrupting the lives of everyone in the family and many whom they influence.

But for Christians it’s a simple (but not easy in our culture) thing: do we have the faith to believe that God knows best how families are supposed to work? Does He know best where each of us is supposed to find our meaning and purpose in life… or does the “wisdom of this age” have the answers? (1 Cor. 1 and 2)

I for one believe that Feminism (esp. second and third wave) is what Satan has used to upend society. It is Eden redivivus. Gay and LGBTQ rights, abortion on demand, the breakdown of the family, and more would never have got a foothold without it.

Women are far less happy than their grandmothers, and the outlook for the future look bleak. Fewer and fewer men are going to want to marry a competitor.

Yes, there are other factors, but Satan’s fingerprints are all over this one.

I’m not sure that this is really breaking news. While I think (hope?) all of us would affirm the benefits of the first wave and even some of the second wave feminist ideas, the third wave (and this final phase that we see now of gender anarchy and everyone doing what is right in their own eyes) is clearly dysfunctional and doomed to self-immolation. Watch the online debates over women have to have female organs or if it is enough to ‘identify’ as a female in a male’s body. Yes, sex reassignment surgery is a thing, but all of this is symptomatic of a larger issue - what is a woman worth? For that matter, what is a man worth as well? How do we explain what it means to be in the image of God at all?

The Christian faith holds the answers - we are created in the image of God, and that anchors our feet to something eternal and solid. My question is - which side will overreact first? Do we respond to the foolishness of feminism by doubling down on theocratic patriarchy, with women once again reduced to being ‘barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen’? Or will we confront the inanities of culture by affirming that both are of value and worth in the eyes of the Lord?

So far, I’ve not been impressed with what I’m seeing, as John Piper argues that women shouldn’t be police officers and CBMW continues to grasp for a legitimate and coherent rebuke of hyper-complementarianism. Even cries for “biblical patriarchy” are…ignorant and dangerous, perhaps even life-threatening.

Truly the Preacher had it right - there is nothing new under the Sun. The trick, it seems, is to avoid one sides’ excess by overreacting in the other direction.