Tag Archive for gender

Words Have Meaning

August 15, 2015 Intellectual Formation 2 comments

A little while back I ran across this short, clear summary of the reality of gender and gender norms by Theology of the Body scholar and popularizer Christoper West, entitled “A De-Gendered Society Is Bound to De-Generate.” Three things struck me about this piece. First, it explains what’s wrong with idea of gender fluidity, for the lay person, pretty clearly,  in about 600 words. Second, it boggles the mind by introducing a new chart of gender symbols (click to see it full-scale) and explaining, essentially, that Facebook now offers 50 options or so for gender, plus a fill-in-the-blank if you can’t “find yourself”

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Women and Beer: A Pro-Choice Post

July 11, 2015 General Interest One comment

Despite my apparent inability to pour a beer without spilling at our last meeting, I do love a good brew and enjoy trying new beers as often as I can find and afford them. As a family man, however, I have avoided certain beers based on the content of their labels. The brewing industry has long used sex to sell its product; I generally steer clear of the more risque, tasteless, or immoral labels. I simply don’t want these labels in the house, and given the volume of new beers being produced, I’m never at a loss to find something else to

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Athlete, Hero, Woman!

June 15, 2015 Intellectual Formation, Moral Action 4 comments

America loves sports heroes, especially improbable ones.  That’s why the newest superstar on the scene of women’s sports is garnering such unprecedented accolades (except from the usual Catholic dinosaurs).  With 5 victories in her first 10 LPGA events, this previously unknown woman has rocketed to celebrity status in a matter of a few months.  But what’s more amazing, she’s done it all since declaring her womanhood only a year ago! Unlike most gender transformations, Hank Purtzel’s was a sudden one.  “It was strange,” she says.  “I went home after missing another cut on the PGA Tour, knowing that I had

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Our Missing Rib, Part 4: Belated Mother’s Day Edition

May 17, 2015 Moral Action One comment

Blogger’s Note: This is the fourth in an irregular series of posts on the differences between the genders in order to spread peace and understanding. Mother’s Day was last weekend. In honor of those life-givers whose love and labor sustain our presence in this tilted world and civilize us savages, I thought I’d share two items: The first is this post from our Catholic comrades-in-arms, Those Catholic Gentlemen, entitled “What You Owe Your Wife.” I’ve run across a number of articles lately slamming Christianity, the “patriarchy,” traditional families (why “families” need such a qualifier is beyond me), and men in general for

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Is All ‘Inequality’ Created Equal?

May 3, 2015 Intellectual Formation 2 comments

Over the last several weeks, I’ve seen a 2009 opinion piece by former President Jimmy Carter resurface on social media — apparently it went viral over Easter this year. Entitled “Losing my religion for equality,” it offers Mr. Carter’s rationale for breaking off his longtime relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention on the grounds that the group’s leadership “quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be ‘subservient’ to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.” As

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Q Is For Quackery

February 16, 2015 Intellectual Formation, Moral Action No comments

As recently discussed here and here, the craze for redefining our humanity is picking up steam (I use craze in the proper etymological sense of “crazy”).  One trend is to add a Q to the end of the LGBT acronym.  This is not for the nemesis of the Star Trek Next Generation crew (would that it were), but for Queer or Questioning.  It is sort of an “all other” category.  Consider it another weight added to the soap box racer speeding to the bottom of Humanity Hill – the destination is the same, we just keep going faster. Last week

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Our Missing Rib, Part 1

July 19, 2013 Intellectual Formation 3 comments

Blogger’s Note: This is the first in an irregular series of posts on the differences between the genders in order to spread peace and understanding. This video was making the rounds on Facebook not long ago. Recognizing that Dove is getting a fair amount of attention (and presumably, free marketing) from this and the related videos, I still think it provides valuable insight for those among us who have wives or daughters. It’s striking how they focus on the negative, and how complete strangers can provide a more accurate depiction of them than their own eyes, which see them in

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