This morning let's begin with a prayer, because Jesus is my cornerstone and I like starting out that way. The following is a prayer published by Ann Voskamp:
Lord, nobody knows how hard we're trying to be brave
To show up when it'd be easier to give up
To go do hard and holy things when it'd be easier to go do happy things
To not quit when we don't know how to keep going on
And you lean close and breathe warm courage into our exhausted places
"Just call to ME, I guarantee I will answer you
I will make you strong and brave" (Ps. 138:3)
Be brave
Hold on to your light to hold back the flood of dark
Be brave
Your bravery wins a thousand battles you can't see because your bravery strengthens a thousand others to win their battles, too
Be brave
And do not pray for the hard things to go away
But pray for a bravery to come that's bigger than the hard things
Be brave
Angels are closer than you know
And all the brave and courageous and the never-give-uppers who cling to the bravest one who loved us to death and saved us back to the realest and forever life, we all believed angels were close and we all said amen.
Most, if not all of us are trying to be really brave. The feminists in my life are hands-down some of the most courageous women (and men) that I know. We aren't working for this cause for no reason; we are working for it because we believe it to be good.
We are working for this cause because we believe it to be necessary.
We are working for this cause because we believe it to be full of, how does Ann phrase it?
Hard and holy things.
I grew up with a feminist mama, and each day I become more and more grateful for that. She's always been strong and smart and independently her own, and she's always had a heart for the bold work of empowerment. She recently worked with the Institute for the Economic Empowerment of Women to campaign for and encourage women across the globe to do big and successful things with their existences, and I couldn't be more proud because wow she's changing the lives of actual people.
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| There she is, isn't she cute? |
I think that's maybe how marriage, and ministry is supposed to be. It's teamwork, a friendship. It's mutual submission and all sorts of sameness.
Walking through life alongside Lori this summer was the best. I learned how to be kind yet firm, brave yet gentle. She taught me how to listen well to the stories of other people, and when the time is right you speak truth out.
Right there over the darkness; shine your love light bright.
She's funny and authentic, and she knows the good fruit that feminism can bear.
There are so many women and men in my life who get it, they really do. They know that feminism isn't a big scary "F" word, and in fact if we all work together it becomes one of the most beautiful causes in existence. All of us together know how necessary it is, because patriarchy is hurting us all: men, women, and children.
I forget sometimes that not everyone believes in this cause. In the past people have asked me, "Isn't it just a phase?"
"Is it really that big of a deal? Are women really that oppressed?"
"Why should I be a feminist?"
"Isn't that overturning God's plan for us all?"
Oh, loves. There are many ways to answer all of these questions, but for now let's rest here: I believe feminism to be one of the most necessary causes that exists and that has ever existed.
It's not a phase; feminism has been around for ages. Women all over the globe have been crying out for centuries, and for years we have been demanding equality.
For years we've been declaring who we are: we're people, too.
Forever, it seems, we have been desperately asking you to stop objectifying us by our bodies, because we are so much more than the skin on our bones.
We are three-dimensional. We are complex. We are different but all the same, and we are wholesome because we are human.
The world sees us not.
And this, dear friends, is why feminism is more than necessary.
Have you ever wondered any of the questions I mentioned above? If you have, or if you've ever needed a reason to believe in feminism, then I want to give you three. Just this past week, various events took place that only emphasized the need for women to speak up and out and for men to simply sit back and listen to our worn and weary voices.
1. Women are fighting for their rights to drive cars in Saudi Arabia
You can read a bit of the story here. This is actually taking place in multitudes of countries all over the world, but this particular location has been in the spotlight due to women taking brave and scary steps toward gender equality. These women simply want to drive, and for this they are receiving death threats, discrimination, backlash, and physical oppression, to put it lightly. Not only does this world event highlight the need for feminism, but it highlights the need for intersectional feminism, which is the idea that some women are privileged above others (read: white, American, middle-class females). What's happening with the women in Saudi Arabia and in other places this week is brave and scary and nothing short of heart-wrenching.
2. A female was hanged in Iran for killing her rapist (source)
God, this one pains me deeply. Say what you will about self-defense, but don't you dare undermine the truth that rape culture is alive and real. The fact that women are afraid to walk home at night, the fact that we teach girls self-defense, the fact that we don't teach boys not to rape? Rape culture, all of them. We ask these questions: what was she wearing? Was she drunk? What did she do to make him mad? Nope, nope, nope. Rape is never justified. Self-defense, on the other hand? Well, what do you think? Better yet, what would you do if you were being raped?
Take a moment to mourn for the family and friends of Reyhaneh Jabbari today.
3. People are dressing up like abusers and victims of abuse for Halloween
In a trend that many are calling "blackface", couples are dressing up as Ray Rice and his wife, Janay Palmer for Halloween this year, referencing the recent assault that took place between the couple a few months ago. To summarize, Ray Rice is a professional football player facing suspension by the NFL for physically and verbally abusing his spouse, Janay. He literally punched her and then dragged her out of an elevator, and if you think this is funny then you might be part of the problem. Domestic violence isn't funny, and dressing up for Halloween as an abuser and/or victims of abuse is only undermining the seriousness of the entire situation. It's insensitive to Janay, because to her this isn't a joke. This shit is real, and we need to start acting like it. Abuse, harassment, assault, all of it: it's all more than real to those who have experienced it. Feminism seeks to end such injustices, gender-based violence and the like. If you don't think that's a really good thing, then do you understand just how real of a problem this all is? The culture and world that we live in makes violence out to be a joke, and I'm going to say it right now: violence is anything but.
These are merely three reasons from this past week that made feminism necessary. The reasons are endless, and they are abundant and overflowing day by exhausting day.
Feminism isn't scary; it's an incredibly marvelous cause. I hope you can see this, and I hope your heart can be broken for it. My passion is taking it inside the Church walls, because it's necessary too (maybe even more so) within that context. In the world and in the Church, we've made being a woman out to be a really demonic thing. Isn't this saddening? I rather like being a girl, except when the patriarchy tells me otherwise.
You don't have to be a blogger or an author to be a feminist. You don't even have to make feminism your one and only cause. I hope you can, however, choose to believe in this cause. I hope you can see feminism as a positive word, and I hope you can be intentionally aware of the injustices going on around you in the world. I hope you can be contributing to ending those injustices, whether through prayer or activism or simply changing the language you use or the mindsets you have. The biggest act of feminism, though?
Giving voices to those who have been silenced for so long.
Listen to the voices of those around you, because they are screaming to be heard.
Slam poetry is just the best! Gives me chills.
