misogyny, then and now

[sophiaserpentia]

Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon, feminist blogger, has chosen to resign from the presidential campaign of John Edwards after being embattled (by certain right-wing zealots) for several weeks. The final straw, in the eyes of the Catholic League's head, Bill Donohue, was this comment in her review of the movie Children of Men:

The Christian version of the virgin birth is generally interpreted as super-patriarchal, where god is viewed as so powerful he can impregnate without befouling himself by touching a woman, and women are nothing but vessels.

This apparently qualifies as a "vulgar" and "intolerant" anti-Christian comment. To say that critique is intolerant shows an utter misunderstanding of the concept of intolerance, which seems, from the perspective of people like Bill Donohue, to mean, "any act or utterance which offends our oh-so-delicate sensibilities."

The right has tirelessly labored to misappropriate the idea of intolerance, so that people think it refers not to efforts to counter structural power imbalance in our society, but to improve the niceness of language. By focusing on language they hope to take the focus off of actual oppression.

There is absolutely no measure whatsoever by which Christians are oppressed in this country. Keep that in mind. Christians run this country; they utterly dominate the public discourse, the cultural institutions, the laws, the mores, the standards of decency. Isolated instances of anti-Christian discrimination (which do occur) do not constitute institutional or state-sponsored oppression, exploitation, or disenfranchisement of Christians.

So, in order to accomplish the seemingly impossible task of misappropriating the idea of intolerance, they have to make people think that saying mean things (or things you claim are mean) in your blog is the equivalent of a pogrom, or a gay-bashing, or a clinic-bombing.  It is insulting to anyone who is working to end real intolerance in the face of violence and numerous other obstacles.

All that said, i also happen to think Amanda is absolutely right about the Christian idea of the virgin birth.

The gospels' authors must have felt some pressure to distance themselves from Pagans, who depicted divine impregnation of mortal women in a sexual way. In fact, Mary herself had to have been immaculately conceived, so that she would not bear the stain of Adam's sin -- because, apparently, sex itself befouls and stains your soul.

Amanda's comment about women only being a vessel applies too, because this was a widely-held belief about pregnancy in the ancient world: women were only a vessel through which men brought children into existence. This desire to cut women out of the picture is the very essence of misogyny. This view is most obvious in the account of the Gospel of John, whose author claimed that Jesus existed long before Mary did, making Mary's womb nothing more than a tunnel through which he passed into this world.

Comments

[neitherday.livejournal.com]

I hear the right complain again and again about liberal "political correctness", all the while enforcing their own version of political correctness with as much, if not more, vigour than the left does.

[nebris.livejournal.com]

This was my comment in Wapo's The Fix (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/02/fool_me_once.html) this morning.

"The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." -Pat Robertson

"And, I know that I'll hear from them for this. But, throwing God out successfully with the help of the federal court system, throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools. The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way -- all of them who have tried to secularize America -- I point the finger in their face and say, "You helped this happen."
-- Rev Jerry Falwell, blaming civil libertarians, feminists, homosexuals, and abortion rights supporters for the terrorist attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2001

Next to these statements, both on national television by major Christian leaders, the contents of Marcotte and McEwen's blogs seems pretty tame and low key to me.

~M~

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Just here in Massachusetts there's been a bit of that:

Is it exaggerated to see prophetic significance in the fact that on September 11, 2001 Boston served as the point of departure for the deadly forces that spread so much destruction and havoc in this nation and all over the world? What took place at the material level is now being carried out at the moral and spiritual level, as the virus of homosexuality and gay marriage begins to spread dramatically all over this nation and perhaps the world.

from the same people who later said,

Advocates for same sex marriage routinely have called supporters of the marriage amendment hateful and bigoted, while amendment supporters say they are simply following the constitutional process to have their voice heard on what they view as an important social issue. ... The tone and rhetoric around this public policy issue have escalated to a frenzied level, too often with shouting that does nothing to promote understanding. Denouncing individuals as bigots does not bring people with honest differences together. We would like to work with our opponents to raise the quality of the dialogue.

F*cking hypocrites! Respect is earned.

[nebris.livejournal.com]

Personally, I have already declared war on these Judeo-Christlamic motherfuckers. They've been so worried about Communist mankilling lesbian witches...well, now they're going to get them!

~M~

[dorothy-g.livejournal.com]

Slightly OT, but one wonders if they even know what a Communist mankilling lesbian witch looks like. Or even a lesbian witch. Little did they know that for years I was in their church playing the piano on Sunday mornings wondering why I was still there living the lie. (yes, I finally came to my senses). If they knew I was *gasp* one of "those people" how quickly would they have ousted me from Sunday morning duties, and convened the elders to save my soul from this evil choice I made.

*sigh*


Back to the virgin birth, if these christian zealots would stop for a moment and study their own scholars' historical accounts, they would know that women are nothing but vessels for man's seed to grow in.

Oh wait. If they admitted that, they'd have to admit that all along they have wanted women to remain servile, and remember their place as their husband's property.

[brontosproximo.livejournal.com]

one wonders if they even know what a Communist mankilling lesbian witch looks like.

Oh that's easy.

She's the woman with a pair of hedge trimmers wearing Birkenstocks in the picket line who weighs the same as a duck.

[x-bluerose-x.livejournal.com]

I gotta get me a pair of Birkenstocks!

[brontosproximo.livejournal.com]

I am unsurprised that you already have a pair of hedge trimmers.

[x-bluerose-x.livejournal.com]

You've seen my...hedges!

[brontosproximo.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's why I know that you weigh as much as a duck.

roflmao

[dorothy-g.livejournal.com]

Well, I weigh more than a duck, but hedge trimmers are ok (power tools are better!) and I own more pairs of Birki's than I should probly admit.

Re: roflmao

[brontosproximo.livejournal.com]

Well, I weigh more than a duck

*giggles*

I'll take your word for it as you're probably not interested in the method I use to estimate weight.

[frahulettaes.livejournal.com]

I'm curious if you've seen the movie, the god who wasn't there?
The film's maker postulates that the bible authors, or at least a few of them, viewed Jesus as existing on another plain and that all of the writings in the bible are meant purely metaphorically.
I agree with you. And I also want to point out that people, in my opinion, tend to see their own foibles magnified in those around them. I believe it's called countertransference. That does not excuse what's being said. I just wonder how much of this can be attributed to that.
I think it's important to voice our true view of situations. I don't always think that direct communication is the most effective with this group.
They are so virulently opposed to simply hearing that someone can and does have a different view, that it quite effectively closes the door on communication.
I believe Sam Harris addresses this really well in his book, The End of Faith.

[supergee.livejournal.com]

And this poor victim of anti-Catholic bigotry goes on YV to say that the Elders of Zion run the movie business.

the bleedin' phallocrats

[notabu.livejournal.com]

hang 'em by their dicks on st peter's square!

[brontosproximo.livejournal.com]

Political correctness?

Watch what happens when you refer to the sacrament at a Catholic Mass as ritual vampirism and cannibalism.

I love fireworks.

[el-christador.livejournal.com]

In fact, Mary herself had to have been immaculately conceived, so that she would not bear the stain of Adam's sin -- because, apparently, sex itself befouls and stains your soul.

If I understand correctly, which is far from guaranteed...let's restart: I thought the Immaculate Conception of Mary was not a sex-free conception, but a regular with-sex conception made exceptional by the no-Original-Sin attribute.

From here:

Others think the Immaculate Conception means Mary was conceived "by the power of the Holy Spirit," in the way Jesus was, but that, too, is incorrect. The Immaculate Conception means that Mary, whose conception was brought about the normal way, was conceived without original sin or its stain—that’s what "immaculate" means: without stain.