I’m a feminist because

Feminism

Women are created in the image of God and have inherent value. They deserve the same opportunities, respect, rights and freedoms that men enjoy.
Persistent and pernicious patriarchal oppression permeates virtually every facet of society.
Men have been running the show for the thousands of years and have screwed things up for long enough.
Our culture has marginalized and suppressed women for so long that, even given the chance, far too few women are truly empowered to take advantage of the opportunities afforded them.
The Internet, for all its promise of unfettered expression, is still only a reflection of our societal shortcomings regarding gender issues.
Whether in movies or television or music or advertising, women are objectified and sexualized and used to sell and market and promote.
Women are recognized more often for their outward appearance rather than their inner beauty.
Our culture, even when pretending to defy stereotypes, still reinforces them.
Stereotypes are bullshit: I know men that excel at cooking and knitting and are stay-at-home dads and love fashion and paint watercolors. And I know women who fish and hunt and drink beer and burp and work with power tools.

The institutional Church continues to tolerate, endorse and even promote misogynistic theology and practices.
Christians loudly proclaim freedom in Christ, but regularly negate that declaration by relegating women to second-class status.
I’ve sat in a chapel service where a female leading prayer was shouted down by quotations from 1 Cor. 14 and 1 Tim. 2.
I’ve listened to pastors preach about submission and why women shouldn’t be allowed to teach while their wives silently listened.
I know an 18-year-old home-schooled girl who thinks it’s right for a man to make more than a woman for doing exactly the same job.
Complementarianism amounts to little more than sanctioned subjugation.
Words like submission and headship and help-meet are used as a theological façade to obscure latent misogyny and sexism.
Women are not “saved” through childbirth, nor is their value derived from the number of children they bear or whether they get married.
Christianity is best advanced through conversion, not procreation.
“Biblical” womanhood includes rape, polygamy and servitude.

Of Eve, Deborah, Huldah, Tamar, Vashti, Esther, Ruth, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Leah, Dorcas and Junia.
Of Hildegard of Bingen, Julian of Norwich, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Amy Carmichael, Rosemary Radford Ruether and Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza.
Of Kathie Sarachild, Carol Hanisch, Simone de Beauvoir, Barbara Kruger, Cindy Sherman, Susan Brownmiller, Shulamith Firestone, Valerie Solanas and Erica Jong.
Through Eve we are shown the first glimpse of the gospel.
Women stayed with Jesus at the cross and encountered him after the resurrection.
The Kingdom of God demands justice.
I’ve seen first-hand how a lack of female role models leaves a hole in the lives of women and how a single vibrant, self-confident woman can make a difference in the lives of countless people.
I’ve benefited enormously from the eloquent, wise and spirit-filled preaching and teaching of women and I want to continue to learn from them.
Within the Christian faith (and despite Christian tradition) I find the deepest resources for recognizing and celebrating women.
My wife is the most intelligent, wise, funny, creative and engaging person I know.

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