In the seventies, Gloria Steinem
famously quipped, “A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
Then she and the rest of her feminist buddies set about to convince us
of this idea. Sadly, we swallowed the bait. And now a whole generation
of girls is being raised to believe that men are inconsequential, and
that women can make it just fine without them.
Take the T-shirt a friend of mine spotted for sale in Target, for
example. In large, garish print designed to splash across a girl’s
developing breasts the T-shirt proclaims, “Who needs boys, I can WIN by myself!”
Just think about it for a moment. On the surface, the slogan seems to
encourage a girl to develop a healthy self-respect and avoid getting
enmeshed in dependent relationships. But there’s an underlying message
here. The slogan insinuates that men are inferior, and that they are
expendable. It fosters an unhealthy, independent,
a-woman-needs-a-man-like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle, type of attitude.
Honestly, what would you think would happen if Target started selling
a boy’s shirt that spouted: “Who needs GIRLS, I can WIN by myself”? Can
you imagine the outrage?
Power and Independence
Today’s young woman is taught to value personal power and
independence. She can WIN! She doesn’t need men. Indeed, in order to
truly win, she must do so without them. Men are the bad guys. They’re
the ones who stand in the way of a woman reaching her full potential.
They’re the optional and disposable piece in a woman’s life.
Independence is the highly prized and sought after trait that will
guarantee her success. So she approaches relationships with the resolve
to retain her autonomy at all costs.
Even in Christian circles, we cultivate an attitude of independence
in our girls. The underlying message is that women need to be
independent because men are untrustworthy, and will almost certainly let
them down.
But can a woman truly “win” in a world without men? Is she better off
without ties to a godly father, uncle, cousin, husband, or brother?
Will she succeed when she fiercely exerts her autonomy and regards and
treats men as non-essential? Will this attitude actually enhance her
relationships and her life?
I think not. Continue at Mary Kassian
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