Are Women Human?

Are Women Human?

Before we can speak a word about womanhood, we must speak about our humanity. Before we can speak about what a woman ought to be we must lay the foundation of our anthropology. What does it mean to be human? What does it mean to be made in the image of God? I love something one of my theology professors says, “you do not have the image of God, you are the image of God." As a person there is a qualitative difference between you and a plant, a flamingo and string cheese. You are not one in the same. You are elevated above the rest of creation and given dominion over it (Gen 1:28).You are made of dirt and the breath of God. You have inherent value and dignity as you are made in the very image of Elohim.

Are Women Human? is the title of a brilliant essay written by Dorothy L. Sayers. Dorothy was an amazing Christian theologian, apologist, and writer and a friend of C.S. Lewis. I know many people have never heard of her so I want to bring her to light today and share some of this essay. Even though much of the subject matter in Are Women Human? is centered around the issues of women in her day (such as the scandal of women wearing bloomers!), the main idea remains the same. The bottom line is women are human before they are female.

“The first thing that strikes the careless observer is that women are unlike men. They are “the opposite sex” —(though why ‘opposite’ I do not know; what is the neighboring sex’?). But the fundamental thing is that women are more like men than anything else in the world. They are human beings.” (53)

Men and women share more than society (and I would argue Church society included) would lead us to believe. We are all human, and we are all made in the image of God. Society has attempted to place us in culturally appropriate boxes according to our sex, insisting that women must think and desire differently. Another professor of mine brought up the absurdity of the Christian adage, "men need to feel respected, and women need to feel loved." I would argue that women also need to feel respected, and men also need to feel loved. It is as if males are humans and women are some mysterious, wild creature, never to be understood by the mind of men. However, men are not the standard human, and women the exception. Eve was not an afterthought in the mind of God.

Once humanity is taken from us, so is all of the believed rights of a human, such as dignity. Of course, I do not believe anyone would say or truly believe that women are not human, but it is implicitly said by putting women in an exclusively female box which shares no likeness to men.

“Indeed it is my experience that both men and women are fundamentally human, and that there is very little mystery about either sex, except the exasperating mysteriousness of human beings in general.” - Dorothy L. Sayers

Even today, there is something scandalous about a female pastor or female theologian (the very fact that we need to specify female pastor, speaks volumes).The irony is that even in praising women there is a hint of condescension. “Look at this successful woman and all that she has accomplished, amazing!” If it was a man, we would not be so amazed, because that is what we expect of men. They have been the successful ones so far in history so it is nothing exceptional. If women were allowed to be seen and treated as humans like the rest of the lot of men, we would not have to view this as such a fantastic scenario.

I believe the foundational understanding of the humanity of women is vital before we can talk about women specifically within the framework of the Christian Church and society as a whole. Every conversation must begin with the common ground of humanity and work up from there. These conversations will go nowhere if we begin with the assumption that men are from Mars, and women from Venus. Men and women are made in the image of God and reflect his nature equally. Are men and women different? Absolutely! It is for this very reason we desperately need women in leadership roles as pastors, theologians and teachers. When we relegate women to "the women's sphere" everyone loses out. But at our core we are all human, sharing the same needs and desires...and probably more alike then some might think.

It is extremely frustrating as a woman in a world run by men, to feel like you must constantly be working to prove your intelligence, work ethic, emotional stability, etc. Many women work so hard at this to the point of acting like men, others find it easier to succumb to the expectations of their sex, and do not try at all. But with Jesus, we can rest assured that we don’t have to prove any of this. Our Creator knows us and calls us by name, in His presence we have nothing to prove.

To finish, I leave you with my favorite quote from Dorothy Sayers:

“Perhaps it is no wonder that women were first at the cradle and last at the cross. They had never known a man like this Man — there never has been such another. A prophet and teacher who never nagged at them, never flattered or coaxed or patronized; who never made arch jokes about them, never treated them as ‘The women, God help us!” or “The ladies, God bless them!’; who rebuked without querulousness and praised without condescension; who took their questions and arguments seriously; who never mapped out their sphere for them, never urged them to be feminine or jeered at them for being female; who had no axe to grind or uneasy male dignity to defend; who took them as he found them and was completely unself-conscious.”

P.S. I am NOT discouraging praising women for their accomplishments (in fact I encourage the opposite!) Rather, I am attempting to make a point that women are often viewed in light of their accomplishments measured by the accomplishments of men, rather than the accomplishments of humankind doing something great and wonderful—male or female.

In the next post I will speak on inherent dignity and worth of women instilled at creation - stay tuned!