I find it immensely useful to read feminist critiques of patriarchy as a means of reminding me of my own sinful tendencies. After all, too often the critique is accurate! Consider this quote from Allan Johnson’s “The Gender Knot”:
“When men’s reflection is obscured by the reality and demands of women’s own lives, men are vulnerable to feeling left out and neglected. Like cold-blooded animals that generate little heat of their own, this dynamic makes it hard for men to feel warm unless the light is shining on them at the moment, something well-known to women who spend inordinate amounts of time worrying about whether they’re paying enough attention to their male partners, about whether they should be sitting quietly and reading a book or spending time with women friends when they could be with the men in their lives. It is a worry few men wrestle with unless women complain.” (p12-13)
If our “patriarchy” is rooted in a heavenly Father’s love and concern for his children, then we should be far more “warm-blooded” than this! If our meaning and purpose is found in Christ, the one who humbled himself to bear our sin and guilt, then our presence should warm and encourage others.
Certainly the feminist critique of modern American patriarchy has a lot of accurate points. No Christian should endorse the sort of social system that encourages the sexual objectification of women and the cold-blooded male who exists for his own glory. When humility becomes the central focus of masculinity, then we will see a patriarchy worthy of the name.
