Women\'s Choice Lead a Celebate Life, Remain

¶ … Women's choice lead a celebate life, remain a virgin, a rejection societal expectations? A conclusion drawn thesis question. I attaching suggested books citation. Essay 12 pages length counting citations bibliography.

Was a Women's choice to lead a celibate life or remain a virgin a rejection of societal expectations?

The role of women in the society has been widely debated throughout the history of both philosophical thought and social sciences. Women have a particular place in society since ancient times and there are clear indications, in the religious literature, that women have had specific views and opinions regarding their own place in the society. In this context, the current research discusses the choice of women to lead a celibate life or keep herself a virgin and whether this choice was a reaction to societal expectations and social pressures. The perspective of the research analysis is focused on Christian traditions from the Apostles to the Reformers.

The research, in the first part, focuses on providing a short background of the current role women have in society and points out common signs of submissiveness. In the second part, the discussion takes into account the main perspectives of women in the Bible up to the Reformers in order to examine the situation of women as presented in the religious texts of the Apostles and further in the Middle Ages and the period of the Reformers. This approach is important particularly because it underlines the different types of perspectives of women and therefore justifies the lack of a conclusive answer to the research question.

Background

There is little doubt that the society is constantly experiencing new evolutions, whether one looks at it from a political, economic, or social point-of-view. Some transformations can be quantified in figures and the development of countries assessed mathematically. However, at the level of the society and the day-to-day activities, this development may not be as visible as statistics point out. One of the areas in which it is rather hard to determine the exact situation is the equality between men and women.

There have been many scholars that argue the inequality between men and women is directed by the role women have in the society. More precisely, Eric Rakowski argued that if women do not wish to be exposed to poverty and its associated vulnerabilities they should not bear children as these actions lead to the woman being limited in their capacity to interact at a social level and dedicate their lives to the home rather than personal achievement that would bring about equality among individuals.

Surely, opinion polls and social analyses do offer, to a certain degree, a rather comprehensive picture of the evolution of the social mentality and the transformations it suffered in comparison to different other periods in time. Consequently, it would be fair to argue the fact that despite the important progress humanity has undergone there is still a lot of negative attitude in respect to gender equality and more precisely to the role women play in the society, regardless of the type of society being analyzed. This constant tendency is present in all areas of today's society, and manifests itself in all shapes and forms.

One of the most important tendencies in relation to the treatment of women in the society is the supposition that women should lead a submissive life in the society. From a theoretical approach, the term implies the notion of patriarchal society and relationship

. Despite the fact that the term itself can be used to define the characteristics of different social orders, the general idea behind it is the organizational structure, which is based, and at the same time underlines the male dominance and, implicitly, the female's inferior role. Those who argue a radical point-of-view see patriarchy "as a social system in which men appropriate all social roles and keep women in subordinate positions. They further state that this social system has managed to survive for so long because its chief psychological weapon is its universality as well as its longevity. Patriarchal attitudes are bred in the family through the socialization process."

One of the first environments that is confronted with the issue of female subordination and which influences on the long run the direction in which the male attitude is developed is precisely the family environment. From an early age, boys are instructed to engage in "manly" activities, while girls, due to their more fragile nature experience activities that are domestically related. Even in the parental behavior, there is a clear distinction made, "the toys that parents buy for their children also aid the socialization process, for instance a girl child is given dolls or kitchen utensils to play with whilst the boy child is given toy cars, puzzle games and all toys that require physical energy or mental ability. As a result, the girl child is socialized to become a mother, soft, emotionally sensitive, and to have all motherhood features."

The phenomenon of female subordination is common in everyday life, whether we are aware of it or not. The simple image of a family going to their weekend shopping is representative for proving the point. While the woman is carefully in charge of choosing the right vegetables and groceries, the male is responsible for eventually paying for them. This in fact can be seen as a clear statement of the roles each of the two is assigned in the economy of the family. Indeed, the woman is more dedicated to domestic activities, while the man produces the means needed for the daily existence. It may seem a normal distinction nowadays, but this delimitation automatically puts women in a limited position and offers the man a net advantage. From a more practical point-of-view, it can be said that such an example offers the clear picture of what female subordination actually stands for.

Role of women in the Bible

The Bible can be seen as the most important book of humanity largely because it provides an accurate account of a time in history that was crucial for humanity and that allowed certain societal norms to form. Many in arguing that the Bible and the Church is a source of societal behavioral norms have used such a perspective. William Green and Jacob Neusner suggest, "Christianity, like Islam, has elements of female subordination and male hierarchy, as well as elements of possible egalitarianism and female independence. This statement is a broad generalization that applies to Roman Catholic forms of Christianity as well as to Protestantism."

Primarily, the idea of female subordination is suggested in the Creation act. The Bible preaches that God created the man first and afterwards the woman. However, the way in which this is presented leads to the conclusion that the female existence on this earth, be in the animal or vegetal regna is merely needed for the reproduction of the specie and for companionship, in the case of humans. Thus, from the early beginnings of Christian faith, one must submit to the idea that the woman was inferior to the man exactly because she was created out of Adam and in response to his prayers. Moreover, this perspective leaves room for interpreting the exact role of the woman. If she was created to respond to Adam's solitude, this would imply the fact that her man must be in the center of her dedication and worship, therefore offering the basis for what would later be adapted to some societies today, in which the woman develops her intimate and social horizon around her husband's person.

Another element that weights heavily in promoting the idea of female subordination is the image of Eve as the bearer of the original sin. According to the detailed descriptions in the Bible, she was the one that led Adam into temptation and encouraged him to bite from the forbidden fruit. This image of Eve as the one responsible for the banishment of man from the Garden of Eden also led to the creation of numerous theories and philosophical thesis according to which the woman thus deserves to be punished for having condemned humanity to an eternity of mortality. Even more, many consider the pains of birth to be the natural punishment for Eve's lack of judgment and inability to tame her worldly desires.

Further, throughout the entire biblical text, the overall image is focused on the male presence. A simple survey of the text can point out certain facts that lead to the conclusion that the Bible is regarded as the work of men. The idea of female subordination can be seen in the bible and especially in the writings of Paul or even in the detailed descriptions of the acts of Jesus. Throughout it all, the characters are mostly men, even if they are good, such as the Apostles or treacherous such as Judah or Pilate. In addition, God is perceived, or is addressed to as if His personification was undeniable a man, therefore, the Creator of the world is ab initio seen as a man, and not a woman, a situation which marks the start of the differentiation between the man and the woman in terms of spiritual superiority and authority.

There are few exceptional cases in which women are given the main role or which place the female biblical presence in a positive light, however they fail to compensate the male domination of the biblical text, especially seeing that today's society is rather reluctant to see the woman above her condition of worldly flesh. For instance, Mary Magdalene and The Virgin Mary are representative figures for expressing the sanctity of women in the Bible. Nonetheless, the modern society fails to perceive them and to acknowledge their contribution to the spiritual heritage of the world; rather, the society today tends to regard them still only in their capacity of women serving Jesus, God or their men.

The above could be seen as one of the reasons that motivated fiction writers to give a different interpretation to certain passages of the Bible. Through their narratives and theories, they suggest new dimensions of the relationship of Mary Magdalene and Jesus, for instance. This point is essential in debating whether women chose a celibate life in order to rebel against societal expectations. The fact that even such a sacred element of our Christian heritage is trivialized only comes to prove that, still, women are seen first for their capacity as women and not for their spiritual importance.

The idea that persists nowadays has a profound impact on the society as a whole. This is in most parts because the conviction and the fueling arguments in support of female subordination come from the most important text of the Christian faith, and religion, as the western world is discovering every day on the battlefields, is a major catalyst for supporting ideas, ideologies and convictions. In the case of the status of women, most scholars admit the limited benefits the biblical text has brought in this area. Thus, "the subordination of women in the order of creation has been a major fault line in Christian theology, from the biblical period on. Male headship in the order of creation, based on only one of the creation stories in Genesis- at 2:18-25 the story of Eve's subordination to Adam in the creation -- along with the doctrine of the Fall, for centuries has justified female subordination. In fact, because this order of male headship is considered to be God-given, any change is considered sin."

Therefore, the biblical text in itself fuels this continuous negative attitude towards female subordination because it presents the idea of inferiority and dependency of women for their husbands. In addition, the Church, in advocating the texts without any additional interpretation only adds to the negative perceptions.

At the social level, female subordination tends to manifest itself through docile submissiveness from the part of the woman and abusive even violent behavior from the part of the man. This occurs because the man sees himself as the one who offered the woman the possibility to exist and, extension, the one that can decide on her future. This often has violent consequences, exactly the type condemned by the Christian faith. Still, "because women are required by the order of creation to obey their husbands, there developed in Christianity the 'just battering tradition' where Christian theology permitted and sometimes even required the physical abuse of women."

In this case however, the behavior is motivated by the fact that the woman, in her sinful nature cannot refrain from tempting males and are unable to control their passions and desires and "they need to be kept under close control, so that they do not disturb even further male capacities for rationality and virtue."

Choice of women

The choice of women to follow a certain life and keep the norms by preserving their virginity cannot be considered without a doubt.as being a free choice. Depending on the period of their consideration, women had three possibilities. As per the Paul the Apostle, "I think that, in view of the impending crisis, it is well for you to remain as you are. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you do not sin, and if a virgin marries, she does not sin. (…) A wife is bound as long as her husband lives. But if the husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, only in the Lord. But in my judgment she is more blessed if she remains as she is."

Therefore, from this point-of-view, it can be said that the issue of virginity was not necessarily a mandatory requirement for the times in which the Apostles lived but rather it was a choice a woman could make. Furthermore, the woman, during Jesus' time would have one of the three statuses. She could have been a mother and thus catering for the earthly things such as family and honoring her husband; she could have been a woman of many men, as pointed out in one reference in the Bible with the Samaritan woman at the fountain which points out precisely the role women could also have played in the society; or, women could have chosen the virginity path and the ascetic life in which they dedicated their lives to honoring God in a profound and pure manner, saving themselves for the afterlife.

As part of the teachings of the Apostles, virginity represented the honor of the woman or that of her father. This is why the pressures to remain a virgin and to dedicate their daughters' lives to the worship of God were clearly encouraged. In this sense, in certain writings of the first centuries after Christ, in the Middle East, there are accounts of preachers that aimed to "persuade fathers and mothers to support and encourage their daughters and sons who desire to live at home in perpetual virginity and to convince young women and men that virginity is better than earthly marriage. (…) These young virgins and continents have not entirely left the 'world' but live at home under the supervision and discipline of their fathers"

. Therefore, the choice was not necessarily that of the women, but rather one, which, in extremis, can be seen as taken in common with their families.

On the other hand there are other passages from the Bible that can be interpreted as allowing a choice to women and men alike to differ from the lives initially set out. Therefore, in Matthew 19:9-12, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it."

Therefore a life of ascetic can only be embraced if there is a certain calling and rarely ascetics are man made and can follow the path of God without remark. However, this passage allows the individual, man or woman to chose the life to be followed.

In antiquity, women were often seen as having to overpass a certain social ritual in order to advance both morally and socially. In this sense, "the overwhelming majority of women in antiquity, becoming an adult both socially and psychologically meant having heterosexual intercourse and consequently, children. For free and freed women, this generally meant entering into a socially validated arrangement"

Therefore, the choice of a woman was, again even in this period, not a personal choice but rather one dictated, more or less, by a social custom. Perhaps the choice to be made was between the status of a decent woman and that of a low moral woman.