Rhetoric Race and Religion
Far too often, the conversation about what feminism means and why it matters stops before it even truly starts. This is especially the case for many who grew up in conservative religious communities that vilified the other f-word, labeling all feminists as bra-burning, man-hating, and baby-killing women. While clearly hyperbolic, this trifecta of terms successfully upheld a straw (wo)man argument against feminism in communities of faith because it appeared to denigrate the top three holy expectations for women: femininity (by “bra-burning”), marriage (by “man-hating”), and motherhood (by “baby-killing”).
Since the coordinated backlash against feminism developed during the second and third waves of the movement, many of my millennial peers grew up with a warped understanding of what feminism is. This is even more the case among my peers who were raised in conservative and/or fundamentalist Christian communities in which feminism was not only vilified, but also considered literally evil.
As a self-identified feminist and Christian, the perpetuation of this mischaracterization of feminism among my more conservative religious peers grates heavily on me. So a few weeks ago, I decided to do something about it. Two fellow bloggers and I hosted a three-day synchroblog called Feminisms Fest (#FemFest) on what feminism really is, share stories of our experiences with it, and what questions we have as we wrestle through remaining issues. Over the course of these three days, more than 130 posts poured in, the majority of which were from Christians who are finding healing and empowerment through feminism. As #FemFest contributor Emily Joy Allison shared, “Where the prevailing [Christian] culture said you are wrong, you are dangerous, you are unsubmissive, you are undesirable, you are not enough, you are too much, feminism said you are a person.”
Sifting through the #FemFest posts from mostly Christian feminists illuminated three main themes. First, mainstream and/or secular feminists need to better engage feminists of various faith backgrounds, and in particular Christians if they are going to keep the movement going forward in our still heavily religious society. Second, faith-based feminists are best-positioned to translate and dismantle the pseudoreligious sexism in our policy and politics. And lastly, these feminists of faith are most qualified to disseminate feminist values in their religious communities as trusted, non-threatening representatives of feminism.
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