When it comes to the feminist conversation, the only opinions you seem to hear are the absolute extremes. On the one hand, there's (mostly) men claiming that a woman's place is to be "subservient" to men and to pretty much keep her mouth shut. On the other hand, there's women shouting that men are evil and the church is evil and that "we must revolt!" And then somewhere trapped in between is the group of young, "modern" women that have a complicated path in the conversation. I am not here to argue for or against feminism or Christianity. I am here to discuss the spectrum by which the conversation is held, that is, through extremes.
First, some background information. Hi, there, my name is Emma. I am a seventeen year old lady. I go to a public high school and am heavily involved in theatre. I am graduating this year and plan to attend a private Lutheran college to study traditional church music. I am surrounded by friends who believe vastly different and often opposing things to what I believe. I feel suffocated in many political, social, and religious conversations because my opinion is not the popular opinion. I feel as though I could be strangled for simply speaking my opinion that is different from the popular opinion. This is an injustice, the same injustice done when men don't allow women to speak their opinion.
I'd like to speak for the small group of young women that have a point of view that seems to be so confusing, convoluted, and contradictory to all sense and to all logical, worldly thinking, that it is often overlooked. I am not a feminist. *cue gasp* I believe that men and women have different roles. I believe what the Bible says about women to be true and right. I do not believe these things because I have been made to feel "so terrible" about myself that this is my only consolation. I do not believe this because I am not aware of the other ways of thinking. I am not "brainwashed." I am not helpless. I have an informed opinion. It just happens to be somewhat uncharacteristic of the demographic to which I belong. It appears as if, in the grand scheme of things, no one understands it.
I am an independent woman who takes her faith seriously (yes, you can do both!) My dream in life is to get married and raise a family in the Christian faith. I have other dreams of course: to be an accomplished composer, to possibly write scores for movies. I want to be an inspiration to others. I want to show the young women I raise and those I teach to see that it is possible to be a successful woman and still hold fast to God's Word. This seems to be a contradiction in the world of extremes. The way the media and most of my peers present their arguments prevents me from comfortably and confidently contributing to any conversation.
It's a weird place to be, the middle. It's almost both things at the same time. It confuses me and makes it even more difficult to maintain my values. I do not wish to be treated like I'm less than a man. No one should be treated as less than another. But I must stay true to what I believe my place is: women are called to serve others, whether that be in marriage, in parenting, in work, in teaching, in writing, in whatever you do. Defining yourself as a young woman doesn't have to be so confusing, but because of this extreme spectrum view, it is very difficult for people like me to find my definition, simply because I don't fall under a specific category. And I'm okay with that.
