Gender roles

In defense of gender roles let me first make a couple observations. In nature we see that animals and insects have gender roles and these beings likely do not consider one gender superior to the other. Superiority is probably not an issue when the survival of a species is at stake. I cannot use this observation to dictate what the gender roles for humans should be but only to establish a principle that gender roles are part of nature and these roles do not mean that one gender is superior to the other. Another observation is that ancient cultures, mostly Asian since those cultures have remained intact for longer than our western blends of cultures, have preserved traditional gender roles. In these ancient cultures it is apparent that gender roles serve the purpose of simplifying relationships. By contrast here in the west we currently need to re-invent each relationship from scratch. In traditional relationships it does not need to be resolved that men are responsible to take certain responsibilities and women also theirs. When I look at so many of our social problems today such as unwed mothers struggling to survive while the play boy father runs around impregnating other women, I see our desperate need for cultural reform. These kinds of issues motivated Confucius in China several centuries before Christ to lead reforms of what we today call family values.

The negative side of gender roles is how they are abused for oppression. It seems that the human tendency is to pervert all that God created as good. The love of power, the fear of losing control, and greed all contribute to abuse. We find parts of our scriptures to endorse what we want to see. But if our hearts are inclined to the heart of God we will seek those parts of scripture that provide justice and liberation for the oppressed,

 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loosen the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear;

Then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”(Isaiah 58:6-10 NIV)

    If we are truly seeking liberation we will find that gender roles carried out voluntarily, with respect, can provide a very peaceful way to coexist. But any time we find ourselves using roles as an excuse to abuse or oppress then we should fear that we might be offending our Creator who seeks protection for the oppressed.