Overlooking Lesbians?
As a whole the LGBT community's relationship with Christianity is widely documented, both from those within the LGBT community and within the religious community, however, the relationship between lesbians and religion is less focused upon. Although this may seem to be a blessing in disguise, as Lesbians have often been ignored by major homophobic Christians, who choose to focus their aggression on the gay and transgendered members of the LGBT community. But why is this the case?The fact that a lot of homophobia now rightly belongs in the past, fortunately alongside the repression of women. The two combined can offer an explanation to the question as in the past women where wholly thought to be less important members of society, therefore the idea of lesbianism may of been seen as less of a threat to the male dominated world.
Writing for the website www.gaychristians101.com, the late Rabbi Jacob Milgrom discusses the two of the most popular quotes thrown around by homophobic Christians. The first being Leviticus 18:22 and the second being Leviticus 20:13. Although speaking from a Jewish perspective, he provides a simple list of reasons as to why these quotes do not discuss lesbians, including the fact that women were an underclass who had little choice in marrying a man, thus posing no threat to the family structure that Christianity holds dearly. Milgrom also reinstates my previous point that female same-sex relations could not damage a mans honour or challenge the male dominated society.
Thankfully, as the repression of women has ended, so has the overlooking of lesbians within Christianity, and lesbians are now free to be as accepted or as discriminated against as the rest of the LGBT community. Kind of swings and roundabouts isn't it.
From reading this im forming that you're basically saying that being a women within the church is now less of a taboo than before, that they are more accepted. Yet just a few months ago, Priests still refused to allow women priests. How do you explain this?
ReplyDeleteThe fight for equal rights between women and men is far from over. It is true that there are less taboos about being a woman in the Church, and indeed being a women in society, as there were fifty to thousands of years ago, however inequality still exists. The issues within the Church of England as to appoint women bishops is an example of how this inequality is still rife within religion and the world, however, compared to the place of women in Biblical times, the standing of women in society has vastly improved and sexism has been much reduced. Personally, i believe that the majority of the battle for equal rights has been won, and it is just the final push that remains before it can be said that women and men are completely equal in both everyday life and within religious institutions.
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ReplyDeleteYes there are less taboos, less being the focused word in that sentenance as surely we should not feel women have won equality until there are no taboos? Take equal pay laws for example, even though this it is a legal obligation now that women and men are paid the same, woman continue to be promoted less often withen the workplace etc. It is the glass ceiling effect, we are given opportunities that society will never allow us to have. I would argue that the fight for equality betweens genders hasnt even properly begun, we still have a long way to go, especially for those who are lesbian. We have won a battle, but we have not won the war.
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