Someone once said something like this: “If your mama says she loves you, check it out.”
your mama
This is the reason why I posted the Alice Walker quotation on Monday and will post other poets’ thoughts, too. Alice Walker is considered a mother of black feminism. I want you to check out even what your mothers say. You might not consider Walker a mother, but many in our American and Christian cultures do; she is an icon. Often we take the words of icons as pure gospel just because we love the people. Let’s scrutinize and never be hoodwinked from sweet sounding words that move our hearts. Let’s also scrutinize so we can give credit where credit is due. Someone may not be a Christian, but they can speak truth, and all truth comes from God.
The Alice Walker quotation was provocative to me because at first reading it seemed anti-biblical. I agree that animals exist for reasons apart from for humans; they help to balance the world’s ecosystem, but it’s arguable whether or not animals were created for humans. After God created animals he placed humans (Adam and Eve) in charge of them (Genesis 1:28). Walker was right about black people not being created for white people. God created us all in His image for His good pleasure not for one race to demand pleasure from another (Revelation 4:11).
Finally, Walker was right in one sense about women not being created for men. All women weren’t created for all men; in other words, women weren’t created so men could dominate them, but women were created for men to have as wives. So the woman who becomes a wife was created for the man who becomes her husband, and vice versa (see 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 and 11:11-12). Man was created first but men cannot continue to be created without a woman. There is definite interdependence with a man and woman, the husband and wife. So you can see I didn’t totally disagreed with Walker, but I just wanted to get you to think without inserting my opinion. Thanks to the many of you who read the previous post and the brave one who responded. I always want to hear from you so tell me what you think of this post or any other one. Can’t wait to hear from you.
I have not read any of Alice Walker’s books, although I did see “The Color Purple” movie back in the 1980s. Beyond that, I don’t know a lot about her, except that she is described as a feminist.
Last year, I read about Ms. Walker’s daughter being estranged from her, because she thought her mother was detached and neglectful toward her. I am not passing judgment on the woman, but I can’t help but wonder what role feminism played in the estrangement of her daughter and the breakup of her marriage.
I am convinced that feminism did much damage to the natural interdependence between men and women that God ordained, especially when you consider the rampant divorce rate. I have read that most divorces are initiated by women; I cannot help but believe that feminist ideology contributed to this tragedy.
I know a lot of daughters who are estranged from their mothers. And believe me, their mothers are far from feminists. So to assert any causal relationship between feminism and strength of relationship between mother and daughter cannot be made. What about all the feminists who have great relationships with both their daughters and husbands. I think when we oversimplify things our arguments beome foolish.
Where did you get that I asserted that there is a connection between feminism and the strength of a relationship between mother and daughter? My point was that you must test what anyone you love tells you to see if what they are saying is true. Some do assert a causal relationship, however; Rebecca Walker, Alice Walker’s own daughter, does so. And did you read all of my post? I agreed with 90% of what Walker said. I don’t understand your opposition to my statements.