the power of story [esther part #2]

"When women’s work of caring is rendered invisible by society, a social feminicide is in process.” –Ivy George, Gordon College

What is the root of this feminide, this pervasive sexism that has dominated our world for so long?

One might give many answers to this question, but the one most compelling to me is the cultural story, the meta-narrative that forms a society's values and on which their social order is constructed. In Korea, for example, one creation fable explains that women come the gods' relations with bears. "Oh, no one actually believes that anymore," you might say. Except that to this day in Korea, there exists a saying: namjob yobi, which means "men are honored, women are despised". Whether or not anyone believes the fable, the values represented by that story (that women are somehow less than fully human) are still reflected in the language and attitudes of the people. Closer to home in Latin America, the Virgin Mary is frequently lifted up for her piety, or submission to the will of God; from this, a distorted cultural story is formed--to be saintly like Mary, women should accept their fate as Mary did; the more suffering they endure, the more they become like the Virgin herself. And in North America? Well, one only has to turn on the television to see how the current meta-narrative tells everyone that their value is based on their production--the amount of money they have, the size of their car/house, etc. A value that a majority of men and women now embrace without even thinking of what that implies for the value of work that does not "produce anything". How many times have you heard someone say, "Oh she doesn't work; she's just a mom."

Thus, the transformation of society requires much more than money, education, infrastructure, investment and/or employment opportunities. It requires telling a different story.

A story of a Creator God who is both one and community, whose very nature is just AND compassionate, whose own character demonstrates the high value of mututal service, submission, and sacrifice; who designed men and women equally in the image of the Divine, with distinct characteristics that only together reflect the fullness and the glory of the Trinity. A story of a God who called both men AND women to equally important roles the wholistic development and stewardship of the earth--which is about much more than the creation of wealth--but in fact is a call to pursue the reconciliation of all things.

Without a cultural story that celebrates the dignity, beauty, and value of both male and female, this kind of transformational and wholistic development will be impossible.

[to be continued...]