Feminism and the Church

Two of my favorite things, that I wish were in dialogue more often. Each brings such a knee-jerk reaction from the other, however, that dialogue proposes quite the challenge. I recently read two articles trying to bring them together in some form or fashion.

The first discusses John Paul II as the "feminist pope." The second offers a woman's perspective on being a Catholic feminist.

Neither quite coincides with my views on the subject. The first because, in spite of my intense love of JPII, I can't come to terms with a man defining Catholic feminism. I love it when men are feminists, but feminism and femininity need to be defined by women, just as masculinity should be defined by men.

As for the second article, I like her definition of a feminist as "someone who agitates change." Certainly that is true of JPII as a feminist pope. However, her demands of the world are negative : she tells the world and the Church to stop doing certain things. I also wish she had chosen to discuss common ground, rather than divisive issues such as pornography and abortion. I think that Catholics and traditional feminists can find ways to work together in areas such as domestic violence and the beauty culture.

She hits on some of this at the end, and maybe I'm just disappointed because she is struggling with the same questions as I am and so she can't give me answers. She does call for a positive feminism in the penultimate paragraph. Maybe she and I are simply journeying together.