The
question – why - has always been at the back of my mind in regards to the order
and nature of things. Why am I a woman? Why am I black? Why am I here? Why is
Jesus portrayed as being white? Why did Eve eat the apple? Why do people that
do not believe in Christianity, but believe in other religions go to hell? Questioning
the order and nature of things comes naturally to me. During my enlightenment
in this course on the Politics of Gender & Religion, one question preceded
another. Questioning the patriarchal (and class and race) system comes
naturally, because I have always been considered (by Western colonial
patriarchy societies) to be at the bottom of all of societies class and race structures
as a woman of African descent. Therefore, it is only natural, that I question
the institution of something that has held me at a lower esteem than others in
general.
At its core, religion can be and has
been a beautiful practice. However, it can also be an oxymoron of sorts. The
historical structure of society has favored the male patriarch for so long,
women as matriarchs, priestesses and goddesses diminished to the point of
becoming defined as mythical, ethereal, idol worshipping myths of the past. “The
decline in women’s status was followed eventually by the decline of goddesses
and the rise to the supremacy of gods.”[1] The Dinah’s, Mary’s, Rebecca’s, Khadija’s and
A’isha’s became second-class citizens, whores and idol worshipers in the name
of patriarchy and politics. However, arguably, the emergence of the
monotheistic religions, took on the images of the current societal structures
at the time of their birth, but did not evolve and did little to raise the
status of women. Instead, male leaders within these religions perpetuated and
pushed gender roles and norms, while utilizing religious texts to validate
their arguments for the order of things.
This class has debunked many myths,
stereotypes, and views I held about religion in general. Although, I am still a
bit mistrustful of religion as an institution, the class discussions and texts
have opened up other epiphanies as to the nature of gender and its discourse
overtime. In deconstructing gender and the matrix of religion as it pertains to
gender, I am now able to dissect some of it tenets as being one-dimensional patriarchal,
Western interpretations and the institutionalization of religion itself.
Further, in evaluating the construction and deconstruction of gender, I surmise
that gender performance will always exist; it is up to us to see gender on an
egalitarian continuum. This paper outlines a small piece of what I have learned
and will take away from this course as a foundation to build upon, in my
continuous quest for knowledge.
[1]Ahmed,
Leila; Women and Gender in Islam, pg. 13 - from this point forward, I
will refer to her as Ahmed, with page citation in text.
