I find it interesting that women by default are considered the more vulnerable gender. You might disagree with me on this one, but I believe that though there are several reasons for this, it all starts with the fact that we are the ones who are able to bear children. Women are the only ones who are able to be "knocked up" and are therefore more vulnerable. Let's face it. When a man and a woman have relations, the man basically has a choice whether he wants to be involved in the baby's life or not because he is not physically attached to the fetus. The woman however, doesn't have that choice because she has now transformed from one being into two.
I realize this would be the perfect time to talk about it, but right now, I don't want to discuss the abortion/adoption issue. This posting is about something else....
Why Eve, did you just have to eat that darn apple?
I have asked myself a time or two why Eve did it. After all, isn't this is where gender issues really started? "To the woman He (God) said, "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you."" (Genesis 3:16)There is a lot packed into this one little verse. We could pick it apart piece by piece but instead I want to focus on one part, "Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you". Perhaps we could generalize it and say that women will always be the ones on the reciprocating end of the relationship, "waiting with desire" as opposed to the male aggressors. We could also look at this from the angle of which men will always be physically stronger, or that women will always be the more needy, vulnerable sex. Again, some of you may disagree with me as there are always exceptions, but though we may not always like it, in general the curse plays out.
"Barefoot and Pregnant"
Those who are closest to me know that my relationship with my father is much better these days than it once was. After six back surgeries, thousands of dollars later, and years of not being able to physically provide for our family, my father became a very angry man when I was young. One time when I was late for school, and out of rage over a boyfriend I had, my father said to me, "One day you are going to end up barefoot and pregnant with some guy from the sticks of Oklahoma! What kind of life will you have then?" I wasn't even sexually active with the boy. My dad just didn't like him. Perhaps he said this because there is a part of him that has always resented where he himself came from. With tears in his eyes my dad would tell us stories of how their family moved out west and kids would tease him and call him the "country coody-boy." I know now, that though the approach was wrong in every way possible, my dad just wanted the best for me. He wanted me to grow up, go to college, have a successful life, and marry a successful man. My dad has since apologized for the harshness while I was growing up and thankfully our relationship has come miles.I wanted to share this personal story about myself and my father for a reason. One, it gives you some insight to what I experienced as a young girl, and two it brings me to my main point. For my teenage years, I lived with the secret fear that I would become this "barefoot and pregnant" type of girl, and it played a huge part in developing or under-developing my self-esteem. It seems this is a constant issue that young girls are up against around the globe. Though it may be a long time since you were a teenager, I know I am not the only female who at one point feared this exact same thing and for some it has become a reality. I know a few girls in fact, who got pregnant in high school and in the end chose to have the baby. These are some of the bravest women I know.
Are Women Really the Weaker Sex?
On that note....To bring life into this world is not only a miracle. It is a true gift that only women will naturally have the reward of experiencing. I find it interesting that our greatest gift as women can also be what makes us most vulnerable. Our sexuality and the ability to have children is often an area of conflict in life and something that lends itself to some of our deepest fears. This is undeniably the case with rape. Again, our greatest strength (ability to have children) can lead to a dramatically life-changing outcome, which results in women being the more vulnerable sex.While we may be the more vulnerable, are women truly the weaker sex? Some would argue that we are. Other people will defend that we are not. I don't have the answer to this, nor do I believe it is really relevant. What is relevant, is the fact that, until men are miraculously able to carry a child in their womb for 9 months, inevitably most of the world does see, and will always see women as the weaker sex.
Some would say, as women, it is out of our vulnerability that we are weaker. Others would argue that it is out of our vulnerability therein-lies our unique power. More on this later....
Vulnerability of women - the fall - Eve, childbearing, pregnancy
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