Woman...Just another one of the guys.

Last week I attended a women's retreat with my church, and one of the discussions brought up the concept that the Women's Liberation Movement in America helped to bring about the decline of the nuclear family. There was some heated disagreement on the subject until we realized that we were talking about two different movements. The feminist movement began with women like Elizabeth Cady Stanton at the turn of the century who set out to earn women the right to vote and the choice to work outside the home. It was later resurrected to bring equality to the workforce, and ensure equal pay for equal work. These were things that all of the women present agreed were positive. 

But then the feminist movement underwent a paradigm shift. The goal was shifted from making it acceptable for women to work outside the home to making it unacceptable for women to choose homemaking and child-rearing as a career (unless, of course, they were paid "domestic engineers," "au pairs," or nannies...). The self same women who spent years screaming for the independence to choose their own careers now mock, scold, and deride the women whose choices lean toward the traditional.

Which is it, ladies? Did we crusade for the right to choose? Or did we crusade for the right to choose only what mainstream society finds acceptable?

The end result of the crusade is that women have been turned into "just another one of the guys." They use language in public that should be shocking, but it has become normal. Why? Because in order to be accepted into the fraternity, women have lowered themselves to the standard that had already been set. 

And the sexual revolution is included here as well. The old stereotype that feminists site is this one: "If men sleep around, they are called heroes. If women sleep around, they are called whores." What they want is to also be called heroes when they sleep around. Shouldn't they be asking men to raise their standards? Instead, they are asking to be rewarded for exhibiting reprehensible behavior. Again, instead of demanding better behavior from men, they seek to lower their own standards.

The person who really irritates me is the "truly independent" woman. You know, the one who takes off her clothes for money because she is enlightened and comfortable with her sexuality? Why does she irritate me? Because she has reduced those of us who remain fully clothed on a first date (and the men who respect us as well) to intolerant prudes.

How does all of this affect the nuclear family? Simple. God calls men to be the heads of their households. When women achieve success and prominence in the workplace, it only stands to reason that they should get the same kind of respect (and in some cases, obedience) in the home. Instead of submitting to their husbands as God calls them to (Eph 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.), they fight against the authority that God has placed over them for a reason. 

So, now what do we tell the boys? How do you teach your sons to respect women who go out of their way to disrespect themselves? How do you teach them to treat a woman as God says he should (Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.) if the girls he dates are offended when he pushes in a chair, holds a car door, or asks permission for that first kiss?

Women complain all the time that chivalry is dead. If that is indeed the case, ladies, we killed it.