#women and religion

[haggishlyhagging]

Because religion has such a compelling hold on the deep psyches of so many people, feminists cannot afford to leave it in the hands of the fathers. Even people who no longer "believe in God" or participate in the institutional structure of patriarchal religion still may not be free of the power of the symbolism of God the Father. A symbol's effect does not depend on rational assent, for a symbol also functions on levels of the psyche other than the rational. Religion fulfills deep psychic needs by providing symbols and rituals that enable people to cope with limit situations in human life (death, evil, suffering) and to pass through life's important transitions (birth, sexuality, death). Even people who consider themselves completely secularized will often find themselves sitting in a church or synagogue when a friend or relative gets married, or when a parent or friend has died. The symbols associated with these important rituals cannot fail to affect the deep or unconscious structures of the mind of even a person who has rejected these symbolisms on a conscious level—especially if the person is under stress. The reason for the continuing effect of religious symbols is that the mind abhors a vacuum. Symbol systems cannot simply be rejected, they must be replaced. Where there is not any replacement, the mind will revert to familiar structures at times of crisis, bafflement, or defeat.

-Carol P. Christ, Why Women Need the Goddess, 1978

[formywriyinglalala]

this genuinely breaks my heart

[lovelyreny]

[radykalny-feminizm]

This is sick on so many levels

[hadesoftheladies]

i view religion as a colonial force for the patriarchy. women will have the most vibrant lives until male religions come in and all of a sudden women are wearing ugly-ass uniforms, their art is thrown out, and their way of life is completely altered.

[munegirl]

[mikasasrippedtoenail]

Profanity and Misogyny

"Motherfucker", "cunt" , "bitch", "Whore" etc. are words that are so commonly used in colloquial language that one almost forgets the nuance attached to them. In almost every language there exist a myriad of swear words that refer to the degradation of the female vagina. A woman's sex is seen as her badge of shame and if she has control over her it then she has become astray from the path of the virtue.

"To insult a man, you insult his woman". I remember awkwardly shuffling in my seat, getting very uncomfortable when male peers would call each other "motherfucker" or "cunts" so casually. A woman much older than them was reduced to her sex, a tool to insult their friends. My sex- the organ that I was born with- was a sign of weakness. If you are meek or a coward you are a "pussy". In my language, I could never find the word equivalent of vagina, for it was too sexualised to use in society. Before I was even old enough to understand the workings of my body, a organ that I had been born with was left redundant to its function to please a man-villified by porn.

"Fuck" is seen as an insult because men consider sex a defiling act that takes away the dignity of the woman. Another misogynistic implication is the term "deflowering"; having sex takes away her innocence. After sex, the woman is not a human to them but a "cunt". The sexual paraphernalia of a woman is associated with purity. There is such a huge emphasis that is put on the concept of virginity, because it brings control to the patriarchal society over a woman's autonomy.

The sexual liberation of 70s was brought as a rebellion to these norms- young women were groomed into thinking that sex is empowering. Hookup culture also emerged as an aftereffect of the sexual liberation. The politics of a woman's sex is argued all day while the male penis remains as a neutral organ despite having been a tool to oppress women.

Sex is a completely neutral act of pleasure that is neither degrading nor empowering. However, this statement would only exist in a vacuum. Men use sex as a form of violence upon women-rape is a political tool. For women to take back control of their sexual autonomy, they must acknowledge the politics of sex-or lack thereof. Selectively choosing whom you are having sex with is the first step.

I implore everyone to stop using degrading profanities that have misogynistic connotations. When others around me --especially men-- use these swear words, I ask them why their insults always involve a woman to be degraded and humiliated. Not acting as an accompalice to patriarchy, not keeping quiet against the patriarchal violence and spreading word against misogyny is the best silent mutiny.

[bizarreaizen]

can we talk about the sexualization of nuns and how odd that is? like sexualizing a group of women who literally dedicated their entire life to modesty just feels so wrong, i'm not a religious person but sexualizing people who literally try their hardest to stay away from that is not okay /gen

[divinum-pacis]

April 2024: Harar, Ethiopia Women sing and dance during the Shuwalid festival, which is celebrated by the Harari people and marks the end of six days of fasting to compensate omissions during Ramadan Photograph: Michele Spatari/AFP/Getty Images

[vouam]

(I believe this happened a few months ago, absolutely heartbreaking. Rest in peace.)

This tweet is currently going viral with (of course) a lot of men claiming ‘this is because of culture, not religion!’

They clearly lack critical thinking skills because while yes, the religion does not state women should be killed for showing their hair, she is still ordered to wear it by the Quran and threatened with Jahannam (hellfire). A woman revealing her hair is seen as a dishonour to the family - the exact motive for this case. Misogynistic culture obviously is a factor too. The entitlement to women’s bodies, control over their life or death, normalised violence. This case is clearly a result of both religion and culture.

Religion and misogynistic culture thrive because of one another. They use religion to justify their misogynistic cultural views and then claim ‘it’s culture!’ when something bad happens as a result.

In response to these comments from men, maybe do something about the mistreatment of women rather than play mental gymnastics because its culture not religion. Have some accountability. It’s still your culture and your religion, women are dying and you don’t care.

[haggishlyhagging]

“Men have actively shaped their experiences of self and world by creating the stories they have told. Their deepest stories orient them to what they perceive as the ultimate powers and realities of the universe. We women have not told our own stories. The dialectic between experiencing and shaping experience by storytelling has not been in our own hands.

Women have discovered more and less adequate ways of circumventing this basic situation of being without their own stories. Some women have read their own lives into the stories men tell about women. They have become Eve or Mary. Others by incredible contortions have read themselves into stories about men. . . .

Still other women were unable to conform to alien stories and went mad — their speaking a gibberish to those who knew only men's stories. Others spoke in tongues (and do so today in the charismatic movements) — the nonlanguage of tongue speaking enabling them to express things untold in the available stories. Still others became mystics — perhaps recognizing an essential kinship between the silence of the mystic and the silence of culture about women's experience.”

-Carol Christ, Spiritual Quest and Women’s Experience

[prettyjesusfreaks]

in need of prayer warriors

let me put it this way: i was the worst of the worst. drugs, witchcraft, sex... you name it. i'm not sure when exactly i walked away from God, but walk away i did. i remember a few times when i called myself a Christian when asked. it didn't feel right to disobey... but then i would get wrapped up in everything from wicca to luciferianism (satanism). when i tried to talk to God, i would try to twist the Bible to suit my interests, or i would out and out deny the truth of certain scriptures. on and on it went for years. it was only in 2018, after suffering from severe schizophrenia for years, that i bought myself a bible - but that was just the beginning of an uphill battle. apostate. backslider. i don't know what i should be called. i just know that i walked away.

now i'm here. something is different this time. since buying that bible in 2018, i have tried multiple times to come back to God - but i could never make it last! i'd get angry about the suffering in hell. i'd be hurt that this or that thing was a deadly sin. i struggled with difficult verses and interpreted them in the worst way. i was attacked by intrusive thoughts. i tried. i'd give up, and then, later, i'd try again. it is only now that my heart is at peace. i can actually FEEL the presence of the Holy Spirit inside. i know it. i'm still just... scared. scared that it isn't real when i KNOW it is. heck, i'm scared that just voicing my fears counts as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

i'm suffering. i just want it to last this time. i just want it to last. please pray for me. if you made it to the end of this long and winding post, please, just pray for me. pray that God's grace is sufficient for my failures. pray that i may find peace in my spirit. please.

Love,

Samantha

[radykalny-feminizm]

Another based TikTok woman being 100% right about religion, love the tendency ✊

[pratchettquotes]

Besides, she thought as she watched Wazzer drink, you only thought the world would be better if it was run by women if you didn't actually know many women. Or old women, at least. Take the whole thing about the dimity scarves. Women had to cover their hair on Fridays, but there was nothing about this in the Book, which was pretty dar--pretty damn rigorous about most things. It was done because it had always been done that way. And if you forgot, the old women got you. They could practically see through walls. [...]

Polly had forgotten her dimity scarf. She did wear it at home on Fridays, for no other reason than that it was easier than not doing so. She vowed that, if she ever got back, she'd never do it again.

Terry Pratchett, Monstrous Regiment

[cellakershek]

We are not linear, We are Taiji

oil, paper, tin and bismuth on wood panel 2024 cella kershek

[shiftythrifting]

Found in Boulder, CO goodwill. Alt text: God does not say to his children "Go to War", Enslave your Brother & Sister, and trust a Symbol over the reality of generic jobs to control free spirit and make souls absorb fear & submit rather than Love. This Church tells us to Pray but never to meet Pain in the Eyes. My God is a Women (sic) that Creats (sic) Life, Sings, Dances, Loves, and Discovers!