The Christian F-word

I read this great posting by Laura Turner on the Christian F-word in Christianity Today.  I was inspired to come here to blog about my personal experiences within the Christian world and use of the word feminist.  Like Laura, I rarely ever heard this word in my world growing up.  That is rather unusual since I grew up during the exciting 70's and the 2nd wave of feminism.  However, in my Christian world, feminism was not something that was discussed - it was unilaterally rejected as sinful and ungodly.  I regret that I was well into my 30's before I read Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystic.  When I did read it, it rocked my world.  It told my story.  It gave me hope.  That was when I started calling myself a "Christian Feminist."  I received much the same reaction as some of my LGBT friends tell me they got when they came out of the closet.  I do not mean to imply that my self-identification cost me the same as my LGBT friends, but it was a shock to me that the Christian world rejected the premises of feminism and rejected me when I labeled myself as one.  Later, when I joined the faculty of a Christian university, I was told to never use the F-word to identify myself.  That it would be political suicide on this campus.  Again, shock and disbelief.  In my years on that campus, I rejected the advice and proudly proclaimed feminist ideology.  I taught feminist theory, researched feminist topics, and surveyed the students for their attitudes toward feminism.  And I experienced progressively greater isolation from students and faculty due to my identification.  There was a small group of faculty and students that banded with me to try to enact change on our campus.  Mostly we were met with disdain and sometimes even accusations of heresy.  I am no longer at that institution and as I look back on the experience and look at where that institution stands today, I am heartsick.  Today, this institution has banned females from speaking in chapel, identified strongly with the complementarian viewpoint, and is working to remove females from all positions of authority, including teaching in the Bible classes.  For several years while at this institution, I would have students write down 5 words that described feminism.  I got responses such as:

• God haters
• Unbiblical
• Bra burners
• Man haters
• Bitches

This is just a short list.  There were many responses I could not even use here.  And there were sadly only a handful of positive attributes.  I wept in my office every time after collecting their responses. I am no longer at a Christian university.  I will never again teach at one.  At my present university, I have found that my gender matters very little to the students or the faculty.  I am accepted for who I am and not judged for being a feminist.  It is refreshing and liberating.  So I relate to Turner's article today and encourage all of you who are still fighting the fight in the Christian world to stand strong.  For myself, I abandon the fight to you.