MALE FEMINISM

A detailed Summary of MALE FEMINISM

I chose to do my research report on Male Responses to Feminism. In which I read this book called "Who Needs Feminism?" by Richard Holloway. Richard Holloway, distinguished churchmen, and male theologians in this book discusses the key aspects of feminism and how it affects the way they live, understand the world and the Christian faith today.

I think feminism is based on the principle that women have innate worth, inalienable rights, and valuable ideas and talents to contribute to society. It is true to me that feminism goes beyond mere equality and insists not only that women be given equal rights with men, but also that they be respected for themselves as well. In addition, feminism has always been about more than just women's rights. From what I have learned thru all my years of school is that some of the same individuals who were key figures in the early women's rights movement were also influential abolitionists, fighters for workers and

children's rights, and reformers at all levels of government and church. For example in one of my history classes I remember learning about a women named Betty Friedan who was a women's activist and fought for the rights of women in the women's rights movement. In the

A male theologian named Stephen C. Barton sees Christian feminist writing, "Having the tendency to claim either too much or too little from history is a problem (Pg 34)." He thinks that this is not positive because it does not help the church by responding, "The effect of this is to cut women and men off from the past, from the Church, and from the biblical tradition of liberation and also, it denies the experience of many women themselves (Pg 34)." He responds to the feminist writing by sayings that are trying to get rid of history. That is most likely impossible because that is like getting rid of the bible and all of history of the world.

structure of our present system. Why have we adopted a male-perspective rather than a female-perspective?

James P. Mackey a Professor of Theology at the University of Edinburgh sees feminism in the Catholic Church as a waste of time by saying, "The Church will be no better than it is, and it will provide no more effective leaven than it now does in society at large, until the present forms of clerical/hierarchy domination are radically changed (Pg 112)." I would agree with Mr. Mackey because if women were given more power in the Catholic Church, there would be no real drastic changes. The only way he sees that the clerical/hierarchy domination of the Catholic Church will radically be changed is when, "A

heart Christianity is gospel-good news-for both woman and man (Pg75)." He is responding to a book called "Theology and Feminism" wrote by Daphne Hampson a feminists. He has set to defend Christianity from a feminist's point of view. First, Daphne Hampson says, "The problem of Christology for feminists is that 'Jesus was a male human being and that thus . . .as the Second Person of the Trinity, it would seem that 'God' becomes in some way "male". This then gives the male human being a privilege. How may women see in the Godhead an image of themselves (Pg 77)?" Then Iain Torrance responds to her argument by saying, "As far as she is concerned, Christianity is simply not true. Christ is one person from a union of divine and human natures, and a quandary how to express this (Pg77)."

In chapter four of this book Iain Torrance a minister of the Church of Scotland and a lecturer in Theology at the University of Birmingham defends that the church is not totally sexist by saying, "Much of the Christian culture has been and is deeply sexist. There is no doubt about that but it is something men must learn and repent of. But I want to maintain that Christianity need not be so; at its

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Approximate Word count = 2235
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Religion