As I’ve responded to this question, I’ve attempted to view this situation through the eyes and mind and heart of God, for this is what the original poster has asked of us. None of us truly knows how God views feminism. Most of the posters on Catholic Answers Forum respond to a question of this nature either through reference to what the Roman Catholic Church taught them as children or as converts. Strict adherence to dogma gives us permission to quit evolving, to ignore any internal signals which are inspiring us to strive for excellence, and that to be safe we should deny pursuit of the lives we believe God meant for us to live. The voice of the soul can be disturbing and can interject turmoil and angst into everything we were ever taught *at *age seven, the so-called “age of reason” .
Every age is the age of reason, and reevaluation of dogma is not the exclusive domain of women. Thankfully, there are men who have chosen to take a second and third look at the Church’s portrait of the “ideal family” and Madison Avenue’s clever representations of the “ideal family”, compared the two, and integrated the results with their own practical ideals which have been revealed through thought, prayer, intuition and experience. Today, the men whom I allow into my life as friends and respected colleagues are men who have discovered and walked this path.
I am dismayed by the cold, wet, horsehair blanket that is so often draped over this group of “upstart” women who have the “audacity” to think for themselves, admit their own feelings, take risks in business and personal affairs, continue to learn and to teach themselves new skills. If two men are competing for a promotion, one will get it and the other will not. If a man and a woman are competing for a promotion and the woman gets it, she is labelled a “Feminist”, even though her employer evaluates her skills and determines that she is the more qualified for the position.
I just don’t understand why, in 2008, we can’t let go of the stereotypes and allow men and women to be themselves, to live their lives according to their own understanding of God’s plan for them. Yes, men have undergone change since feminism arose in this country. Maria Montessori said it best: “Any unnecessary help given to a growing organism retards its development.” When women quit picking up wet towels off the bathroom floor and acquiesced when it came time to budget for the couple’s future, they initiated the beginnings of change in the home. Multiply this philosophy and the change it has brought about in friendships, marriages, the workplace, by a minimum of 10, and you can see that, yes, men have been affected by feminism. They have been shown that change and growth are necessary to keep alive the gift of life and the joy of companionship.
To those of you who find comfort in remembrance of a fifty-year-old dream - I’m sorry for your loss.
marietta