Embracing the spirit of the autumn season, I took to watching Gilmore Girls and recently finished the series that follows Rory’s life from high school through college as she navigates her relationships with family, friends, lovers, and her own ambition. A pivotal moment comes in the final episode, where watchers find Rory rejecting a marriage proposal from her college boyfriend so she can pursue her own journalism career. Her place, she believed, was in the professional world–marriage and the traditional family life would prove to be a distraction and disadvantage. This decisive juncture in the show serves a compelling entry point for a broader discussion about the nuanced narratives surrounding women’s roles and the feminist movement.
To truly understand the evolving landscape of womanhood, it is helpful to evaluate the evolution of the feminist movement. First wave feminism originally sprouted out of abolitionist movements and primarily advocated for civil rights and greater access to employment and education. At this point in history, women could not own land, get a divorce, file for a lawsuit, or even make a decision for themselves.
The second wave of feminism came in the 1960-1970s, building upon the ideals of the first wave while incorporating more open views on sexuality and bringing to light both public and private injustices; issues like workplace harassment, rape, domestic violence and reproductive rights. [2] However, some critics viewed this sexual openness as a ploy to perpetuate a masculine-dominated society, thus hindering female empowerment. The gradual progression of social norms becoming more provocative is intriguing–an entire subject of study in itself.
The third wave of feminism brought a greater female presence in global politics and markets beginning in the 1980s. It too was an essential step. Nevertheless, it was during this period that the concept of gender as a social construct emerged, challenging the traditional definitions and roles of gender. In my view, this era acted as a catalyst, pushing feminism to extremes, to the point where recent iterations of feminism have raised questions about the very definition of womanhood.
In recent years, the total fertility rate in the United States plummeted from 2.12 in 2007 to a low of 1.65 in 2022, which is far below the replacement level of 2.1 needed for population stability. [3] While it is inevitable that there are multiple factors contributing to this large-scale decline in reproduction, I find it equally unequivocal that society’s narratives regarding women are having an effect. I believe that women belong wherever they want to be, and that they have the intellect, grit, and capabilities to accomplish incredible things and break glass ceilings. Simultaneously, I believe that the female sex has a unique purpose, granted solely to them. We are divinely designed–biologically and emotionally–to be mothers. As a female, of all the ambitions I have for my future, by far the greatest is being a wife and mother. The beautifully inherent purpose of women is to love and nurture the future, whether that be in their own homes with their own children, or in the lives of those around them. Femininity and nurturing qualities are gifts that should be celebrated and shared!
The feminist movement, originally rooted in the pursuit of equality of rights, has evolved to prioritize “equality of outcome”. In this quest, society has begun to impose the idea that women should bear no obligations that men do not share, even when such obligations arise from basic biological differences. While this narrative emerged in the name of feminism and equality, I feel it has taken on a twisted form. The world often degrades divine female abilities and places value solely on worldly metrics of success–primarily professional and financial. In the pursuit of true equality, women lose sight of the beauty of their uniqueness. Modern feminism deems men ripe with toxic masculinity, all the while attempting to diminish innate femininity, the nurturing qualities that set them apart from the male species. This paradoxical turn in the pro-woman agenda undermines the beauty and divinity that define womanhood.
Men and women are intended to be equals. While they should enjoy equal rights and opportunities, God did not intend for them to be the same. Rather than diminishing the essence of womanhood, we should celebrate it! Women have endured centuries of oppression, objectification, disrespect and abuse, and while the forms of mistreatment have changed, it seems to me blatant disempowerment to deny women the chance to embrace their femininity. We owe it to the women who have shaped our lives–our teachers, mentors, bosses, friends, aunts, grandmothers and mothers–to honor femininity and womanhood for what it is, and willingly embrace the divine roles that come with it.
