The safest bluff ever
I listened to a Cultural Hall podcast the other day while unpacking kitchen boxes. The host (Richie T, I believe) had a good chat with Lisa Butterworth, the creator of Feminist Mormon Housewives. When they discussed ways that things could be made more fair for women in the Church, the host asked if sometimes "fair" might be impossible. For example, he said, he looks at his wife and maybe he thinks it's not fair that she gets to experience childbirth, but there really isn't anything he can do about it because that's just the way it is.
Now, number one, I wasn't sure if the host was expressing his own feelings or if he was simply relating the kind of argument one hears, but . . . yeah.
I mentioned this to GH as he was trying to sleep we were going to bed, because he had listened to the same podcast earlier.
Me: So the host brought up the whole motherhood and priesthood thing. Man, that bothers me. They're not even apples and oranges, they're like--apples and baseballs.
GH: Mmm-hmm.
GH: Right.
Me: So. Would YOU trade getting up in church and blessing the Dark Lord for doing what I did? (Note: see here, here, here, here, and especially here)
GH: No.
Me: I didn't think so.
GH: I would never want to do what you did.
See? I can always count on him to be honest. After that pleasing answer, I let him sleep.
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I'm Steph, a librarian and mom of 3 (not sure how that happened). Let's chat books, food, Sumptuous Literary Adaptations, poop, knitting and maybe some crazy Mormon Feminism.
4 comments:
I've never listened to the Cultural Hall podcast, but please tell me FMHLisa smacked down that comparison for the fallacy it is.
The first thing I thought when that comparison was made was that my husband would NEVER want to go what I went through, even if it meant he wouldn't have to stand in front of the entire congregation to bless his children.
Apples and baseballs. Perfect.
I think my husband gets jealous of my nurturing instincts which may be actual instincts, or just the product of staring down the kids for countless hours while he was at work. But I don't think he would ever ever want to be pregnant. He's constantly reminding me how awful it is in an attempt to get me to not want any more kids.
I think I mentioned before, that I really think the Church is trying to move the comparison away from motherhood and instead to Relief Society, that a woman's membership and participation in Relief Society is imperative to upholding the Priesthood. Because the motherhood comparison just doesn't make any sense. It'll be a hard transition to fully make, since a lot of women don't take Relief Society very seriously.
I find motherhood to be my greatest calling in life, but I'd feel that way even if I weren't a member of the Church.
Also, you couldn't pay my husband to be pregnant--he would never in a million years want to give birth. Perhaps there are some weird guys out there who really do, but I sure don't know any of them personally.
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