Gender and Sexuality

Carol Christ talks about women creating and publicizing the concept of a 'Goddess' and the popularity f the Goddess concept for women, particularly given that the male 'God' has been created by a male populace who has created God in his image and often used Him to penalize women.

Carol likewise discusses how all aspects of women that were condemned because they were seen to be earth bound -- such as birth, menstruation, caring for the living and dying -- are elevated by some feminists today into ceremonies that promote their life-giving and unique contribution.

Carol too notes that, even thoguh taboos against female characteristics (such as menstruation) persist in some religions today, the woman of today is less likely to allow herself to be knocked down and more likely to see God as a Goddess too, either within or from without herself or to be both internal and external to herself. Carol, too, draws a striking distinction between the respect accorded elderly men and that accorded to elderly women.

Generally, in the Western world, at least, it is the young woman who is admired for her beauty and youth whilst some old men are still admired for their wisdom. The woman is always in a stage of passivity: She depends on youth to gain the admiration of others. She knows that as soon as her youth passes she may lose that. She waits till her breasts are developed; she waits for menstruation; she waits fro marriage; she waits to sleep. Thus the traditional life of a woman.

But the modern wife refuses to be passive. She is determined on shaping her own life. Thesis: Even thoguh Carol does not draw any parallelisms, the conclusion that seem evident to me from woman's leveraged situation is that woman has now become more of a goddess than she previously was in that, just as Goddess implies creation, so, too, is woman now more effectively resolute and capable of creating herself and the world rather than being passive recipient for changes to be wrought to her.

It is no wonder tehn that is precisely during such an epoch (rather than ever before) that woman can visualize and formulate a Goddess being. Woman the Creator A God is traditionally seen as someone who creates. All major religions start off their historical catechism with the assertion that "in the beginning, God created..." God is also thought to create and maintain human as well as to bring all life into creation and destruct it at its end. In short, God is known as omnipotent, omniscient, and al-mighty.

The interesting thing is, that God is created in man's image as scholars have noted. Man have decked him out to resemble that which they wish Him to be with white man, for instance, making Him into a white God who, according to the American South condoned slavery and according to the American North forbade it; and black man recently see Him as a Black God who tends to their plight and is more drawn to them, the oppressed race than to the oppressor man.

It seems, then, that whenever the race or gender seems confident and able in their abilities, they publicize their power of creativity, and make God as themselves. Rather than their following God, God has to follow them.

God, too, seems to be fickle in his political tastes, for instance, siding here with Zionist nationalists who claim the land belongs to them, whilst siding simultaneously with Islamists who claim the land theirs; and then God sides with Irish nationalists and with the Taliban, and with Bush in the White House and with anti-abortionists who burn clinics, whilst God is also a skinhead and a White supremacist. God is so many things.

Rather than man having been created in his image, man smug in his ability of creating, have turned God into theirs. And at oen time, man, who -- for whatever reason -- despised, felt threatened by, hated woman -- made god into a misogynist. Women have now come into their own power of creation and acclaiming their unique abilities as creative, have imbued themselves with sufficient esteem to prevent man from oppressing them.

It is no surprise accordingly, that in this heretofore unprecedented age of female esteem, where woman sees herself as creator, woman now calls herself Goddess and speak of God as Mother as well as Father. Woman has come into her own, and having come into her own asserts a power that she once never felt. With assertion of that power, come the ability to not only be liberated but to feel herself on the par of God. Nay, to be a God.

It is for that reason that women can hold ritual ceremonies o f birthing themsves from their birth.