[10] It is to be noted that both men and women are harmed at all levels -- physical, psychological, spiritual. Some pertinent references:
Chittister, Joan D. Heart of Flesh: A Feminist Spirituality for Women and Men, Eerdmans, 1998
"The models of power that arise out of the narrow perspective of a patriarchal worldview reek with danger. In systems in which power is more a commodity than an instrument for good, getting power and keeping it become the overriding functions of every decision. The need to keep control leads to secrecy, to manipulation, to tokenism, to ruthless disregard for others, to the carving out of unreal worlds. Patriarchal power keeps information to itself so that others have no material out of which to fashion alternative decisions. Skewing of information, disinformation, manipulation of data, spin-doctoring become the bedrock of communication in a system that assumes itself to be the first and last word on every decision." (page 67)
Naranjo, Claudio, The End of Patriarchy and the Dawning of a Tri-une Society, Amber Lotus, 1994
"Although I am concerned with all forms of pollution in phallotechnic society, this book is primarily concerned with the mind/spirit/body pollution inflicted through patriarchal myth and language on all levels." (page 12)
"Today we know that male and female nervous systems can be as different as male and female bodies, that already at birth women are (statistically speaking) more relational and less aggressive, and in the adult male there is more specialization of the cerebral hemispheres, while in the woman a more developed corpus callosum allows for greater interhemispheric coordination. Precisely because there is such a relationship it is important that women are not excluded from the decision-making process in affairs that concern us all." (page 31)
Mies, Maria, Patriarchy and Accumulation on a World Scale, Zed Books, 1986, 1998
"In this dynamic process of polarization between countries which are 'developing' themselves and countries which they in this process 'underdevelop', the rich and powerful Western industrial countries are getting more and more 'overdeveloped'. This means their development does not stop at a certain point where people would say: 'This is enough. We have enough development for our human happiness.' The very motor driving on this polarization of the world economy, namely, the capital accumulation process, is based on a world view which never says 'This is enough'. It is by its very nature based on limitless growth, on limitless expansion of productive forces, of commodities and capital. The result of this never-ending growth model are the phenomena of 'overdevelopment', that is, of a growth that has assumed the character of a cancer, which is progressively destructive, not only for those who are exploited in this process but also for those who are apparently the beneficiaries of this exploitation. 'Overdevelopment and underdevelopment' are, therefore, the two extreme poles of an inherently exploitative world order, divided up and and yet linked by the global accumulation process or the world market." (page 39)
Pert, Alan, Essays on Patriarchy and Consumerism, University of Sydney, Australia, 1999
"The essence of patriarchy is a pathological desire by certain men to control and dominate all life and matter.This is the patriarchal mindset. Its origins lie in the development of agriculture and later incursions by aggressive nomadic tribes c.3,000 BC ....Patriarchy is not a necessary stage in human evolution, as some apologists would have it. It is an aberration or virus. Not only has patriarchy made life miserable for many over the centuries, it is now threatening the very existence of life on this planet." Click here for complete essay
"Men have to see that their own best interests are served when they honour the feminine.The true masculine honours the true feminine, and vice versa.There is a need to re-vision the relations between the men and women, and see through the patriarchal propaganda that says things must be as they are. Women and men of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but the patriarchal blues." Click here for complete essay
Patel, Raj, Feminist perspectives on Ecological Sustainability and Equity, presented at the workshop of the Association of Women in Development Forum on Reinventing Globalization, October 3-6, 2002, Guadalajara, Mexico.
"Globalization has increased sexism and entrenched patriarchy the world over, but especially in Southern Africa. Rural women have borne the brunt of this assault. Structural adjustment policies have ratcheted back the progress made in sending both sexes to school. The HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the sexism around contraception issues, makes women face both increased risks of contracting HIV/AIDS and the burden of caring for people with HIV/AIDS and AIDS orphans. This impacts ecological sustainability directly. Poor farmers depend on their ability to work in the fields: increased burdens of care, and reduced levels of health and education, which fall disproportionately on women, militate against a sustainable future. Globalization’s erosion of social services, together with the refusal by international agencies to deal with land issues for women, mean that the fragile gains made by feminists in Southern Africa are under attack. There are, however, examples of sustainable, equitable and pro-feminist farming. Our task is to globalize them.
Sanford, John A., The Invisible Partners: How the Male and Female in each of Us Affects our Relationships, Paulist Press, 1980
"The most important contribution [Carl] Jung makes in his concepts of the anima and animus is to give us an idea of the polarity that exists within each of us. We are not homogeneous units of psychic life, but contain an inevitable opposition withinh us, call them what we like -- masculine and feminine, anima and animus, Yin and Yang -- and these are ternally in tension and are eternally seeking to unite. The human soul if a great arena in which the Active and the Receptive, the Light and the Dark, the Yang and the Yin, seek to come together and forge within us an indescribable unity of personality. To achieve this union of the opposites within ourselves may very well be the task of life, requiring the utmosy perseverance and assiduous awareness. Usually men need women for this to come about, and women need men. And yet, ultimately the union of the opposites does not occur between a man who plays out the masculine and a women who plays out the feminine, but within the being of each man and each womanin whom the opposites are finally conjoined."
[11] A brief bibliography at the intersection of gender equality, solidarity, sustainability, and spirituality:
Armstrong, Karen, A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ballantibe Books, NY, 1993
Beneria, Lourdes, Gender, Development, and Globalization: Economics as if People Mattered, New York, Routledge, 2003
Brock, Ann Graham, Mary Magdalene, the First Apostle: The Struggle for Authority, Harvard University Press, 2002
Butler, Thomas W., Let Her Keep It, Quantum Leap Publisher, 1998
Cobb, John B. Jr., Has Europe Become Theologically Barren?, Religion Online, Catholic Faculty at Graz, Austria, March 14, 2002
Coward, Harold, and Daniel C. Maguire, Visions of a New Earth: Religious Perspectives on Population, Consumption, and Ecology, State University of New York Press, 2000
Geitz, Elizabeth R., Gender and the Nicene Creed, Moorehouse Publishing, 1995
Hemmati, Minu and Rosalie Gardiner, Gender and Sustainable Development, Heinrich Böll Foundation, WSSD Paper 10, 2002
Knijin, Trudie and Aafke Komter, Solidarity between the sexes and the generations: transformations in Europe, 2004
Le Doeuff, Michèle , The Sex of Knowing, Routledge, New York, 2003
Lerber, Gerda, The Creation of Patriarchy, Oxford University Press, 1986
Lorber, Gerda, Gender Inequality: Feminist Theories and Politics, Roxbury, 2005
McNamara, Jo Ann, Sisters in Arms: Catholic Nuns through Two Millenia, Harvard University Press, 1996
Miller, Vincent J., Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture, Continuum, New York, 2004
Moghadam, Valentine M. Ed., Patriarchy and economic development: women's positions at the end of the twentieth century, 1996
Nageer, Farah et al, Gender, Sustainable Development, and Trade, IGTN, United Nations, 2003
Osborne, Kenan B., Priesthood: A History of the Ordained Ministry in the Roman Catholic Church, Paulist Press, 1988
Eisler, Riane, The Chalice and the Blade, Harper, San Francisco, 1987
Eisler, Riane, Sacred Pleasure: Sex, Myth, and the Politics of the Body--New Paths to Power and Love, Harper, San Francisco, 1996
Torjesen, Karen, When Women Were Priests, Harper, San Franscisco, 1993
Trible, Phyllis, God and the Rhetoric of Sexuality, Fortress Press, 1978
Winter, Miriam T., Out of the Depths, Crossroad Publishing Company, NY, 2001
[12] Specifically regarding the exclusion of women from roles of religious authority, see the following:
- Religious Roles of Women in Buddhism
- Religious Roles of Women in Christianity
- Religious Roles of Women in Hinduism
- Religious Roles of Women in Islam
- Religious Roles of Women in Judaism
- Religious Roles of Women in Other Traditions
[13] Crossan, John D. and Jonathan L. Reed, In Search of Paul: How Jesus' Apostle Opposed Rome's Empire with God's Kingdom -- A New Vision of Paul's Words and World, Harper, San Francisco, 2004.
[14] United Nations, Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), United Nations Millennium Declaration, resolution adopted by the General Assembly, 8 September 2000 (to read the declaration, click here). The are 8 MDGs, supported by 18 measurable targets and 47 progress indicators. The MDGs are defined as follows:
Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
Goal 5: Improve maternal health
Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
Goal 8: Develop a global partnership for development
[15] United Nations, Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals, delivered to Secretary-General Kofi Annan by the Millennium Project under the direction of Jeffrey Sachs, Columbia University, January 2005. The report is available online and can be downloaded for free. The report provides 10 key recommendations. This report has been generally well received, though it assumes a degree of human solidarity that may not materialize by 2015.
Copyright © 2005 by Luis T. Gutierrez
