The world is very busy congratulating itself for the surge in advancement of technology and the wonder in how far we’ve come. It was only 10 years ago that you were considered cool if you owned a Nokia with snake on it. I’ll admit, it’s remarkable how quickly things have moved along.
However.
Sexism is far too real for my liking.
I was absolutely outraged to see the synod reject women bishops after failing to secure a two-thirds majority in the House of Laity. Actually, I was shocked.
It’s been 100 years since the Suffragette movement, where there was violence and extreme measures taken in order to gain equality. And it was only in 1992 that women were allowed to become priests. All together more recent than we would hope.
I remember my mum carefully telling me that when a female priest was ordained where we lived, people were driven out in droves from the services. They actually stood up, in the middle of the prayers, and walked out. Just because 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 and 1 Timothy 2:11-12, supposedly show that women have subordinate roles in congregations and are not allowed to teach men.
This was 20 years ago, just after Margret Thatcher had been Prime Minister. She may have been one of the most slated Prime Ministers, but she proved that women could still reach the top. And in New Zealand, women have been ordained as Bishops for decades now, showing just how overdue this reform is. Ironically, Swaziland consecrated its first woman Bishop just days before the vote.
Yes that’s right, the small developing country in South Africa is actually the more modern. Embarrassed, are we?
Now in 2012, we are experiencing blatant discrimination. Whilst the government pathetically stamps its foot and whines, the nation is slapped in the face by reality. It was quite depressing for those looking forward to the change a positive outcome would bring. I think it was generally unsaid, but everyone had a feeling that gender equality is still an issue and saw this as a chance to prove our abilities, not only in the church, but universally.
I know that as a species of woman, we have managed to break some sort of barrier somewhere, but it’s hard to quite put a name to what’s changed. I’m not an extreme feminist (as in men should be hit with whips whilst cooking us dinner, meanwhile we’re burning our bras outside of parliament chained to a cot) but it’s only fair to want general human well-being regardless of age, colour, sex, religion ect. It is in fact illegal to make sexist remarks or engage in harassment, so why is this even being allowed? They can’t seriously expect us to shrug our shoulders and admit “well, that’s that!” and get on with our lives.
If you visit the Anglican Mainstream website there is a ton of debate (comments off, I noticed) about the issue, and it was interesting to read that if teenagers had a woman Bishop, they would be more likely to go to church, with 59% of 15-19 year olds not going to church at all. This proves that outdated, unfair values will eventually cost the church its future, something they no doubt want to prevent. Not to mention that once again women have been insulted. Will history never change? It makes me feel hurt to know that some of those against it are women themselves. Do they have no loyalty?
Medieval values can no longer be accepted. And this was not what I was taught.
The tiny dreamer 