I'm trying to navigate this hellscape of a dating scene- bisexual girl over here, feminist over there... And I can really empathize with them, even though I view the world politically very differently than they do. Thought I might share that view with you all at KIA2.
One suggested I read Roxanne Gay's Bad Feminist, and I opted to at least listen to a summary of the book. And my mind makes connections.
"Reality TV...Rock of Love, relationships defined by flowing alcohol, forced Interactions, vicious conflict, stripper poles..." I don't know about stripper poles, but my brother- Christian, right-wing, 8 years in military+now going to law school- checks all the other boxes. Drinks too much, loves strife and brings it home to his (direct and extended) family, so forceful and insistent on having everything exactly the way he wants, with zero considerations to the wants and needs of others, that on his bookshelf he even has a book titled, "The Little Book on Getting Your Way".
And then..."Rape Culture- Men's Agression and Violence Normalized." I've watched my brother have to apologize to his wife for throwing things... 10 years ago, I watched him punch holes in walls and break down doors in his anger towards me. I've watched him not care for his wife or kids- he got two daughters, but he really wanted a son. He had sex out of wedlock at least once with a girl other than his current wife...But I would guess his actual body count was more than just two. And then, when our father died, he got so drunk he was flirting with other women, as a married man.
And so, I can't help but wonder if it's not """Christian""", right-wing men like my brother driving the feminist movement forward.
I start to see the current political landscape from the lens of men vs. women, with externalizers wrongfully lashing out in anger and impulsively acting on selfish desires, and internalizers, also wrongfully, deeply resenting and seeking vengeance for the harm those externalizers have caused.
And I wonder how we could ever sort out our differences- how to find the third path forward, where, even with greater emotional maturity on the part of both men and women (no externalizing or internalizing), men are seeking wedlock / family / stay-at-home mom's / etc., whereas women are seeking sexual freedom / abortion / homosexuality / one-night stands / etc. How could those differences ever be worked out, without trying to mold others to our liking, without trying to manipulate or control or deceive? (I can imagine someone commenting that women are more malleable... I'm against manipulative, controlling behaviors regardless. Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the like are a scam.)
I'm Christian. And Right-Wing. But I'm not my brother. I don't drink. I haven't been punching holes in walls in fits of rage. I haven't had sex and don't intend to until I get married. I just want to find a wife and start a family.
Where is the path forward, how are Christian, right-wing men to make it through this world, when so many other men also call themselves Christian as they cause destruction and strife and chaos in their wake? Where is the path forward when women have come to hate all that could be good for them- God, men, marriage, family, children, etc.- and love all that will likely be bad for them- abortion, sex out of wedlock, career, LGBT, etc...?
Just a lost soul trying to find his way. Thanks for reading.
Your brother is a sinner, no doubt. There is, of course, truth to feminine discourse. There are violent men. There are rapists. There are men who cheat and commit adultery. That men sin should be of no revelation to a Christian.
In my opinion, however, if one takes a Christian point-of-view, adopting feminism is more sinful than any of the above. Why? Because it violates the most important commandment of them all - you will have no other gods other than God Himself. Embarrassingly, I called myself a feminist once, and looking back at that time, I can see what it did to me. It turned me into someone who worshipped women. Who believed that anything a woman said was truth, and that the way forward for society was to obey women even more than I already did. I put it to you then, was I not violating the first commandment? In my mind, yes I was. I had made women, or perhaps feminism, my god, and I was committing a most egregious violation of the commandments.
I will make a further point in addition to this, and that is that it is not only feminists that worship women. In fact, it is almost the de facto religion of Western societies. Both "traditionalists" and "progressives" worship women, but in different ways. "Traditionalists" claim that it is men's main and only role to provide for and protect women. Perhaps ultimately to "build society" or some such excuse. Even if that claim has merit, it is still sinful as it is, once again, violating that first commandment. The role of men is to follow God, and that must be the focus, not "providing for women" or "building society".
You might despair. But then, if I don't have a wife and children, how will my society continue? Leave that to God. Make it your goal to be follow God as truly as you can, that should be your focus as a man, for good will flow on from there. After all, for everything else, unlike God, we are not omniscient, and we should not be trying to overthink what may happen in the future if we do this or that. Have faith that it will be, for God is on your side.