feminine-genius

SSA Source

We are living in a very confused age, with the realities of "male" and "female" undermined, watered down, rejected, twisted, stretched, misrepresented, or flatly ignored in virtually every arena. The mass media, the educational establishment, and the entertainment industry have joined forces to provide a drumbeat of lies that are captivating and compelling in their dark way. Thankfully, a friend has been blogging on the topic and cataloging good sources for the benefit of all. Please visit her at Same Sex Attraction: Speak the Truth in Love. Prayer and sacrifice must be combined with compiling the facts and knowing the Church's teaching, so that we are ready to respond coherently and lovingly when the opportunity arises.

A symposium

A symposium on women and veils here. One comment stands out:

The veil should not be banned as a matter of individual choice. But it cannot be treated as an expression of religious freedom, or even as the implementation of a religious duty. It is neither. Not only is the veil not mandated in the Koran, but it is clearly an instrument of submission for women. It decrees the inferiority of women and their subordination to men. It is the expression of a worldview that we reject as contrary to Western values. It does not mean that women who freely choose to wear it and live by the rule of the veil should be punished. It means that a) those communities that embrace it as a moral and social imperative cannot but be left at the periphery of Western society, due to their rejection of our fundamental belief in the equality of the sexes and b) that Western society is entitled to fight a democratic battle of ideas against the veil and the logic that hides behind it, in order to ensure that women who wear it choose to do so rather than being forced to wear it by a strict system of social control, personal intimidation and moral intrusion (Emanuele Ottolenghi).

Muslim logic: women = meat

This from a sermon preached in an Australian mosque:

"If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside on the street, or in the garden or in the park, or in the backyard without a cover, and the cats come and eat it ... whose fault is it, the cats or the uncovered meat?

"The uncovered meat is the problem."

Now what could he be referring to? A problem with stray animals not picked up by the SPCA? No, it's a string of thousands of rapes, many of them gang rapes, which must be pinned -- not on vicious males, but uncovered women.

"If she was in her room, in her home, in her hijab, no problem would have occurred."

He said women were "weapons" used by "Satan" to control men.

"It is said in the state of zina (adultery), the responsibility falls 90 per cent of the time on the woman. Why? Because she possesses the weapon of enticement (igraa)."

The mere visible presence of women is the problem; thus they need to be hidden from view. Interestingly, "women as meat" is virtually identical to the depraved view of women in the post-modern west, where men cruise "meat markets" for hook-ups and satisfaction for their lusts. (What he also says is that basically men are animals and cannot be expected to live virtue, not far from the depraved western view, either.)

Neither side of this message can be tolerated, and it's obvious that this form of Islam cannot coexist with any other view of male-female relations. Hence the friction -- mysogyny cannot live side-by-side with the rest of the world, however much needs to be done about authentic modesty and healthy views of sexuality therein.

At least Cardinal Pell has enough fortitude to apply pressure.

Fighting back

I see a woman with fortitude and common sense:

A British Airways employee fighting to openly wear a cross necklace at work has rejected a compromise deal. Nadia Eweida, 55, said BA has offered her a job in recruitment where she would not have to conceal her cross. The check-in worker, from Twickenham, south-west London, plans to sue BA for religious discrimination after being told to conceal her necklace.

The airline said its uniform policy stated such items could be worn if concealed underneath the uniform. Ms Eweida told the BBC she did not see why she should compromise "when my colleagues of other faiths are there in public view in uniform and they are accepting of their religious apparel".

True enough. Christians aren't offended by religious apparel -- only bigots are. Sauce. Goose. Gander. You know the drill.

Miss Eweida, who has an unblemished record during seven years at BA, is suing her employer for religious discrimination after being suspended from work without pay for two weeks.

She said her treatment was all the more extraordinary as she and fellow employees had just undergone "diversity training" - including receiving advice from pressure group Stonewall on how to treat gays and lesbians in the workplace.

British Airways has offered her a non-visible job which evades the question: Why are some religions/lifestyles more equal than others? Prayers for your constancy and perseverence, dear sister.

Signs of the times

Dawn Eden highlights a recent decision in NYC:

Transgender people won the right to use the restroom for whatever gender they consider themselves to be at MTA rail stations in an agreement reached by the MTA with a woman who sued the agency.

The "woman" in question is really a man, obviously, who now opens the door of all ladies rooms to men who want to use them. She nails the decision:

His victory, however, is a victory for perverts, voyeurs, and rapists — and a tremendous loss for all the women who will now be exposed to such creeps and criminals because of the MTA's fear of lawsuits.

I guess we're still a step ahead of Europe, with its coed bathrooms, but this is unsettling. Queer is here, and ready to greet you at every turn.

Well, at least the store responded

We shouldn't be surprised, now having taken a look at this and this. Here we have a new, ahem, exercise kit for 5-7 year olds.

The Tesco Direct site advertises the kit with the words, "Unleash the sex kitten inside...simply extend the Peekaboo pole inside the tube, slip on the sexy tunes and away you go!

"Soon you'll be flaunting it to the world and earning a fortune in Peekaboo Dance Dollars".

The £49.97 kit comprises a chrome pole extendible to 8ft 6ins, a 'sexy dance garter' and a DVD demonstrating suggestive dance moves.

Tesco is Britain's leading toy retailer. They decided to stock a pole dancing kit marketed to elementary school kids. Some things still shock.

I've been panned!

Sister So-and-So at Catholic News Service reviewed three books and mine was ripped. She liked the one where women were to imitate Eve, work on "re-imaging," and practice "subversive remembering" services. She also liked the one where women are profiled who don't go to Mass, don't read scripture, and stay away from the oppressive hierarchy of the Church, because lived experiences trump "abstract theology," doncha know. But mine, well, certainly not for the educated.

Kineke, in The Authentic Catholic Woman, uses literalized and confusing figures of speech, suggesting that women "image" themselves after holy mother church in all aspects. Specifically, she recommends that women mirror the sacraments: baptism by diligent housecleaning analogous to cleansing the stain of original sin, reconciliation by repeated cleanings coupled with forgiveness of mistreatments, and the Eucharist by providing meals for others.

Pervasive literalism and inaccurate theological examples fill the book. Kineke states that men reflect both God the father and Christ the bridegroom. The title father is appropriate for priests, she says, since they are "husbands of the church" and supply "spiritual seeds to bring forth children destined for heaven." Women are to be subject to male authority, and whether a religious or a wife, "a woman's fruitfulness is a function of a man's fidelity and oblation."

According to the author, women who embrace their position and "cleave with it to the cross for the good of all" will be the hope of the church and the world. Although sincere in tone, Kineke's book will not appeal to well-educated Catholics in today's world.

Considering the company I would keep on her shelf if she liked the book, I'll settle for the trashbin. (Btw, my house is a wreck!)

Just a reminder

I'll be giving three talks in Covina, CA this Saturday. Email me for contact information. All day affair with confession available.