Faith and feminism

[Spindelina]

Inspired by another recent thread, I’d like to talk about feminism in the context of faith and/or faith in the context of feminism.

I grew up in a Quaker family, then took a detour via evangelicalism to somewhere in the middle. My feminism is more recent - really since having DD.

My church has become much less evangelical in the last decade or so. We started out on a path of wanting to “do good” and kind of realised that running the holiday lunch club was much more important than meeting on a Sunday morning.

I don’t have any particular questions, but I’d just like to chat. There were a lot of wise words said on the other thread.

But in the past wasn't the answer to a woman not breast feeding for another woman to take over? So all babies would have been breast fed? The current 'dislike' of breast feeding in some circles seems to be a product of the fact there are now options not to. It might still be misogynistic of course, buy not historical.

Are you saying there was historic dislike of women not being able to breastfeed?

@Spindelina can I ask how growing up in a Quaker family affected your views on feminism, or didn't as the case may be?

Are you saying there was historic dislike of women not being able to breastfeed?

I believe it was historically revered as a life-giving, nuturing and highly valued. Eg- there are so many fountains with water spraying from the breasts of female figures. The fact that only women can do it and it is so important threatens male authority.

Making women ashamed of breastfeeding is part of an ongoing misogynist agenda. My feeling that all these female figurines falling out of favour has been part of this.

I remember watching a programme on an archaeological dig somewhere in Somerset I think, where a former lake was full of these 'unknown' female deities dating to about 150 AD (approx).

I wonder if in times of scarcity women instinctively start creating female Goddess figurines, which then 'needs' to be stamped out by the patriarchs?

Italian

can I ask how growing up in a Quaker family affected your views on feminism, or didn't as the case may be?

Good question! Obviously impossible to extrapolate from a sample size of one and a biased observer, but...

I think it’s made me a radical (not just in feminism). The view I got of pacifism / Greenham common / animal rights etc certainly wasn’t typical for a Tory heartland market town, and shaped my views as a teenager and beyond. I’m instinctively very disestablishmentarian.

On the other hand, my parents’ roles in family life were very conventional, as were most of the families at our meeting. It was at my very conservative, academic girls’ school (which I nearly didn’t get sent to) where I decided that I was going to be a physicist.