Violet Voices

21
July
2006

Women’s History, Part 2

Yesterday, I began a response to my friend Camy’s post about the book Captivating.I’m continuing it today with my thoughts about why the history of women has been filled with such violence and oppression.

Camy remarked:

I donâ€™t know if I buy that Satan goes after women more than men, but I also donâ€™t know any statistics. And because of how women have been abused throughout history, I can kind of believe that maybe women are targeted by Satan more.

I think it’s fair to both question and reflect on this. I found the following site to have a wealth of historical information relating to women’s history and the oppression women of various times and cultures have faced: Internet Women’s History Sourcebook You can also find out specific stats for different kinds of abuse and oppression at sites concerning domestic violence or other types of abuse. Here is another great set of articles about violence against women.

In the majority of world cultures, women have been in a position of having less power and often of being in subjection to men in some way or another. Scholars will point to factors such as a relative disparity in physical power compared to men, or the fact that women are “burdened” with the role of child-bearing, which allows men to subjugate them. And to a large extent, I would have to agree with that assessment.

I LOVE my kids, for certain, but pregnancy definitely slowed me down a bit, as did nursing and caring for a newborn. It took a toll on my body and my emotions and energy level. I’m in awe of new moms who seem to pick up right where they left off and keep on going.

But I treasure very much the privelege it is to be a mother and to nurture life. And, as a follower of Jesus and someone who believes the Bible has something to say to me, I think the dismal history of women is due to something much greater than simply our reproductive functions.

The first male and female were both created in the image of God, according to Genesis 2. They were created as perfectly corresponding partners, patterned after the community of the Godhead (meaning the three-in-one image of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, also known as the Trinity). They were ONE, in every sense of the term.

Of course, we know something went terribly wrong with that scenario. Few of us experience that sort of oneness now, with anyone.

But I will have to finish this story tomorrow, so my post doesn’t become too long.