A Feminist Approach to Understanding the Bible
Substantive Blog Post #3
Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative: Reading the Bible as a Women (review)
The third article I have selected for my final paper is Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative: Reading the Bible as a Woman (originally by Esther Fuchs), a review by George W. Savran. Initially, Savran details the theoretical perspective and main foci of Fuch’s book. From the perspective of a critical feminist, Fuchs approaches the Bible by centralizing her argument around an overarching patriarchal society. The primary focus of her research is the following question: How is the patriarchal agenda progressed by the Bible? Savran is able to examine her successes and failures in addressing this research question, throughout his review.
From a gendered perspective, she sees the Bible as a text that progresses a patriarchal agenda. For instance, she uses her perspective as a woman to examine the various female roles in the Bible including mother, wife, daughter, bride, and sister. By observing stories that present women in these respects, she pinpoints the patriarchal narrative that is so explicitly stated in the Bible. More specifically, she shows how many mentions of women in the Bible revolve around the goal of motherhood. In several instances, women are depicted as having conversations with God about their desires to be mothers. This fact illuminates the patriarchal force that women serve the purpose of procreation, and without this capability they are not of much value.
Another example that she uses is in the context of being a wife, women are depicted as subordinates and only offer their husbands what they need when they can provide a male offspring. Women are also displayed as somewhat powerless in both their ability to resist and progress their own interests, as males have the capability to steal someone else’s wife when they please. Women are not displayed as having this same ability.
Savren does offer several criticisms of Fuchs’ approach to the Bible. For one, he argues that she does not consider previous feminist thought in her analysis. He also discuss the fact that she is too narrow in her focus on the patriarchal structure of the Bible, without consideration to the social/cultural context of its time. He emphasizes that many of the Biblical characters mentioned by Fuchs are reduced to only their role as a mother, wife, etc., when in reality their actions were much more complex.
Ultimately, Fuchs work has several implications for policy and practice. When analyzing the Bible for gender inequality, it is essential to consider multiple references to feminist thought. It is also important to examine the Bible in reference to the social/cultural dynamics of the time, which should also be applied to the present understanding of the Bible and its social/cultural influence. Overall, it is important to have a diverse understanding of the Bible in order to adequately understand how it influence the social, political, and cultural context of today.
References
Savran, G. W. (2003). “Sexual Politics in the Biblical Narrative: Reading the Bible as a women (review).” Nashim: A Journal of Jewish Women’s Studies & Gender Issues, 6, 209-215.