A Response to a Reader: Views on Feminism and Inborn Gender Traits

I recently received the following questions from one of my readers:

“I am curious if (1) you have tried studying or thinking about feminism from another point of view, and (2) if you have considered the sociological aspect of femininity (i.e. that gender traits come primarily from being raised in a certain environment, or studies that show male babies tend to be more emotive, etc.)?”

~Anonymous

Hi, Anonymous! First let me say welcome to my blog, and thank you for taking the time to ask these questions. I appreciate the opportunity to hear from one of my readers as well as the opportunity to better clarify where I’m coming from.

In response to your first question, I think many people have the idea that the only way I know anything about feminism is solely by reading the points of view of ladies who hold to Titus 2 and try to live out its teachings as closely as possible day to day. The common thought may be that I have only studied feminism through the reading of books and the watching of DVDs produced by those who are criticizing feminism. However, this is not the case. So, in answer to your first question, I have studied feminism from the point of view of those who were instrumental in beginning the movement as an organized agenda, as well as through the eyes of those who are modern-day feminists. For example, I have read books such as The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan; The Woman Question, which contains writings by Karl Marx, Frederich Engels, Joseph Stalin, and Vladimir Ilyich Lenin; and On the Emancipation of Women by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. I have also read articles here and there written from the feminist point of view, as well. Quotes from some of these works have been included in various articles of mine.

In regards to your second question, this topic has been raised quite a bit, not just to me but to others, as well. I have stated in articles before that girls grow up loving to play with dolls, toy vacuums, toy kitchen sets, and doll houses, but that, something that is unfair about feminism, is that as little girls grow up, they are increasingly told that caring for babies, cleaning homes, cooking and baking, and being homemakers is not good enough. They may like all those things with a passion, but they have to actually do something with their lives, implying that to simply care for their homes and children is unacceptable-that they must go out and do as men do in the workforce, going through life as strong leaders who get their way and embark on their own paths. I have received comments stating that my sentiments are erroneous, because there are certain studies that seem to suggest that some girls would rather play with trucks, toy police sets, and the like, and that it’s the boys in all actuality that sometimes would rather play with dolls and kitchen sets. However, I believe there are several things we should take into consideration before we consider viewing these studies as absolute truth.

First of all, personalities are different. And just because there may be some girl who prefer to play with fire trucks and there are certain boys who like to play with dolls, this does not change the fact that by and large, this is not the norm

Second, while there may be some studies that imply that boys prefer dolls and girls prefer toy guns, there are a myriad of studies (and personal experience from parents themselves!) which prove just the opposite. This is why I don’t lend as much credence to simple studies. Studies have to be so carefully controlled in order to produce true facts. The girls in the study, for example, may come from families where they have just boy siblings, and so they are used to playing with them and their toys. I know of a large family where one of the daughters is surrounded by boys in the age line of the family, and so she tends to play more with boy toys than girly toys. So, again, we cannot simply go by studies alone and take what they say as absolute truth, because we all know that after one study comes out, it seems that the next day another study comes out which says something totally different and is in stark contrast to the first study. As another example, you mentioned studies that show that male babies tend to be more emotive. For the particular boys in the study, this may well be the case. But that does not mean that most boy babies are like that. Again, it all goes back to having somewhat different personalities. There are some men who are more sensitive and emotional than other men. But that emotion in no way lessens their masculine traits (and, I would say that if a man is sensitive, he tends to be a better husband and father than one who is more hard-hearted!).

Third, you mentioned gender traits coming primarily from being raised in a certain environment. To this, I would simply say that while there may indeed be certain traits here or there that come more from America or more from Egypt, for example, as cultures are different, by and large gender traits tend to be the same from country to country. This seems to go back to the fact that ingrained in girls is the desire to care for the family and home, while ingrained in the nature of boys is the desire to go out and provide for their families, protect them, etc. Down through the ages in all different countries, we see women being mainly responsible for caring for the home, preparing food for the family, caring for the children, reaching out to neighbors and others in the community, etc., while we see men primarily farming, working to provide for their families, fighting in armies and other spheres to protect their families, etc. So, regardless of what a certain environment may be like or what a certain study may say, it seems apparent that gender traits are actually ingrained, I believe by God, into girls and boys.

I hope this has been helpful to you, anonymous, and that these answer will prove helpful to my other readers, as well. Thank you again for your questions!

Respose to comments received regarding "Biblical Guidelines about Clothing"

About two weeks ago I published this post on why I wear exclusively dresses and skirts. I'm amazed about how much of a response this post has generated, and I was so excited about receiving all the comments from you dear ladies about this post. Thank you so much for leaving your comments; it was a joy for me to get to know all of you, and to respond to your comments and questions. I have responded to the majority of them there in the comments section of that post, but there are a couple that I would like to respond to here, in a new post. For those of you ladies who may not have read the above mentioned post, please do so now, before continuing on with this one. Thank you! :)

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I received the following comments from a dear lady named Lynne:

I find it interesting that you use arguments about the cultural aspect of clothing, especially since in our American culture, pants are seen as women's clothes as well as men's.

You brought up a great point, Lynne, that I was wanting to discuss! :) Now, before I continue on with answering your question, I want to make something quite clear to all of those ladies reading this post. Not a single thing that I say here about the whole "jeans vs. skirts debate" is said in order to point a finger at those females who wear jeans, trousers, slacks, pants, or whatever you want to call them. Nothing I say here is said in order to be judgemental towards those ladies. If I ever ever come across as being rude, mean, or judgemental towards ladies who disagree with me, then please accept my deepest and most heartfelt apology! What I am writing here on this blog about femininity is written in order to edify and encourage you ladies.

As I said above, you brought up a great point! Deauteronomy 22:5 says, "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God." This can also be translated that they are "detestable to the Lord your God." Those who disagree with me on this subject often point out that today, pants are considered women's clothing, and so that makes it ok. But, I want to draw up an analogy to begin with here, if you don't mind. When someone lies, that is a sin. Now, if someone has been lying profusely over a long period of time(of, say, 5 years), does that make it automatically ok, just because it's become a very common occurance? That person commiting lies was sinning when he began doing so, but just because he continued to do so very very often for the next 5 years, and it thus became an everyday occurance, doesn't mean that it was allright for that person to be lying all that time. Likewise, when women began switching from wearing skirts and dresses(a female's distinct clothing) to wearing pants(men's clothing) in the 1960s, that was a sin. The above mentioned verse points that out clearly. Pants were clothing that pertained to men, and so to begin wearing them was a sin, by this verse's standards. This was not to be done. So, just because this sin has lasted for a good 40 years, and because it's become more prevalent as time goes by, doens't mean that it's any less of a sin today than it was 40 years ago when it first began.

There's something else I want to point out on this subject. The precise wording of this Deuteronomy verse is very noteworthy. It's very interesting and important. Notice what it says: "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment". This is very noteworthy, and I'll tell you why. This verse could have been written "A woman shall not put on a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment." If it said this, then women could argue today that they're not doing anything wrong as long as they're not wearing a piece of clothing that was purchased in the men's section of a clothing store(thus, a "man's garment"). If this was the case, then women could easily argue that they can wear pants if they want to as long as they were purchased from the women's section and not the men's. But, as we can see, that's not how the verse is worded! Instead, it says, "A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, not shall a man put on a woman's garment." That's a big difference! From the way this verse is specifically worded, it shows that wearing pants (clothing, that for centuries and centuries has pertained to men), is a sin. I think this verse is worded this way for cultures like the one we have here today in the West, where many many women are wearing jeans, pants, etc.

Also, something we have to understand is that the "women wearing pants movement" came about because of feminism. For articles on why it's so important that we, as Christians, do not support any of the philosophies of feminism, please check back soon. I'm currently working on many articles on the subject of feminism(its history, hidden agendas, destructiveness, founders, etc.) and will be posting them here in the near future.

As long as you're not showing a personal, private part of your body that belongs to your future husband (or the Lord), you are dressed modestly.

I must say that this is a dangerous argument to have! Because, by saying this, then that means that bikinis and speedos are modest. Because, by your argument, in both items of clothing, the private parts of the body are covered with clothing material. Yet, both of these items of clothing are extremely immodest and are not to be worn by Christians. Recently, I read an outstanding book by Mr. Jeff Pollard entitled Christian Modesty and the Public Undressing of America. In this life changing book, Mr. Pollard uses his extensive knowledge of the Hebrew language and the knowledge he's gained from in-depth Bible studies to prove that the Bible teaches that any article of clothing that does not reach the knee is immodest, and is against what God requires for a Christian's clothing. I will be posting exerpts from this great book here on my blog shortly, so be on the lookout for those! :)

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I received the following question from Caitlin:

Hi Rebekah, I had another question for you, and for other people who wish to share. What do you wear to swim in?

That's a great question, Caitlin, and I'm glad you asked it! :) I used to wear the regular 1-piece swimsuits, thinking that I was modest because I wasn't wearing the 2 pieces! However, after reading the above mentioned book, the Lord showed me, so clearly, the horrible error of my ways.

This past summer, my family was planning a vacation to Savannah, Geogia, and the beach there:Tybee Island. We were in need of modest swimming suits! We came across this website, and Mama decided to purchase one of their patterns instead of the modest swimwear they themselves sew, in order to see if she could make them herself. She succeeded beautifully, and the finished product can be seen here and here. I felt so blessed to be able to go to the beach and not feel self-conscious. I was able to go to the beach and have fun while being completely modest and glorifying God at the same time! It truly was a blessing, and I look forward to wearing this swimsuit in the future. :)

What about the rest of you ladies? What do you swim in in order to preserve your modesty?

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Again, I want to offer a big thank you to all of you ladies who commented on the Biblical Guidelines about Clothing post. To those of you whose questions/comments did not appear on this new post, please refer to the comment section of the Biblical Guidelines post, and there you will find my responses to your comments! :) And, for those of you who may not have read that Biblical Guidelines article, please do so now! And I welcome your comments on it as well as on this one!

May the Lord richly bless you all!