Feminism, Religion, and WOC

“Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression,” was written by bell hooks in her book called Feminism is For Everybody. She elaborates on the question regarding the definition of feminism. “What is feminism?” has been a question that many have answered, yet many answer from their own perspective. Feminism takes into account rights. More essentially, women gaining equal rights. 

Throughout my Christian Feminist Theology course, understanding the major issues regarding women and gender are the main topics. More so, this course takes it to a deep level as it involves the ways women, sexuality, and gender are intersected with Christianity and feminism. Growing up in a religious Christian family, myself, this course was important in understanding the vast issues that surround feminism and religion. So far, there have been multiple readings that have touched down on these important concepts. 

The author bell hooks has been crucial in her book, Feminism is For Everybody, in explaining the feminist movement and the issues that lay around feminism. This book has really stood out to me as it addresses these issues. Something that hooks addresses is the issue of how our society continues to maintain a “Christian” culture that has allowed individuals to believe that God has “ordained that women be subordinate to men in the domestic household.” Coming from my religious background, I have noticed this more prominently as I continue to grow up. More so, I began to notice how common this has become in our society. This superiority over the other gender has continued to bleed into this patriarchal society that still exists. From the workplace to one’s household to the Church and so on, this domination has continued on for so long. Something else that is interesting within this reading is that hooks does not say men are the main problem, but that the main culprit is sexism. Our society and mass media has curated this idea that feminism is anti-male, however, the deep root of it is sexism. Sexism comes in all shapes and forms. It is found in people of all genders. By first understanding the concept of sexism, allows one to understand a major root of feminism. Throughout this course, this reading has stood out to me the most. The way hooks elaborately discusses these important concepts and topics revolving around feminism and women’s rights has resonated with me. With the way our society is today, these topics remain more important than ever and should be discussed more. 

Going back to hooks’ statement on Christian culture, I have grown up in this culture as I had a religious upbringing. For my whole family, religion has been an important aspect for us. Now as I am older, I have realized that there have been circumstances where the Church has demonstrated this oppression against women. I can somewhat recall a distant memory where I remember where we were being taught about the roles that females have in terms of the Christian culture. The roles did resonate with what hooks was talking about the roles women have in a household and the roles they have compared to men. This stuck out to me as a young teenager, and still does to this day. There were some instances where I felt like the Church I was at had a more patriarchal stance. This brings me back to another core memory, where a female cousin of mine recently became a female pastor. She had a calling to become a pastor and happily continues to preach to this day. Where my family and I reside, there are mainly males who preach, so having her become a pastor was something big. 

As my Christian Feminist Theology course began, a requirement for the class was to pair up with an organization for the semester. As my professor began naming and describing all of the partners, I knew immediately that I wanted to pair with an organization that I resonated with. The Women’s Ordination Conference stuck out to me immediately after learning more about their values and leadership. Coming from my experience with the Church and religion, I immediately decided to intern for WOC. Their activism and work in ordaining women as priests, deacons, and bishops in the Roman Catholic Church was moving. Another part of me was drawn to this organization because of my experience seeing my cousin work to become a female pastor and the obstacles she went through to get there. I do think this is an important issue to advocate for. As well, their values in equality, empowerment, anti-oppression, social justice, and collective decision-making aligned with my own values when it comes to feminism and activism. I think WOC is doing huge things in order to transform the Church and include the voices of everyone. This is an important organization, and I am excited to be interning with the WOC. 

Isabella Sanchez-Rodriguez is currently a senior attending the University of San Francisco where she is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She is currently interning for the WOC as a blog editor.