Clarifying Feminism and All the World's 'Ism's' Since Before 39AD

Something really awesome has happened to me over the past several months. About 6 months ago, I discovered the Anti-feminist Movement and the Men’s Rights Movement. Initially I found their perspectives on the topics of civil rights and equal opportunities for women and men to be a breath of fresh air.

I enjoyed the feeling of having support for my criticisms of ideological feminism. I enjoyed feeling as though my view was right, and others' views on the topic were wrong. On occasion, I even delighted in the antagonistic and snarky spirit with which many writers and speakers were attacking ideological feminism and its proponents.

These voices became a  source of great comfort to me, for I cannot count the number of times I have been told by a feminist how I should believe, feel, think and act in regard to ‘women’s issues.’ I cannot count the number of times I have been told to look up the dictionary definition of ‘feminism,' and that if I believe in equal rights and opportunities, I am a feminist (even if I am too stupid to know any better). And I cannot count the number of times I have wanted to scream at the top of my lungs that I refuse to wear the label of a movement that I perceive to be largely responsible for the disintegration of mutual respect between the sexes and the breakdown of families (regardless of what Dictionary.com says feminism is). But then I realized something: None of it matters.

And with that realization, a huge weight lifted from me. As I recognized the error in my thinking, my heart became so light that I laughed out loud at myself for the weight I had been carrying around for so long: A weight that I had been choosing to carry and a weight that meant literally nothing; a weight that is entirely inconsequential and irrelevant. In that moment, I was set free.

All at once, I no longer felt vindicated by humanist counter-theory proponents and anti-feminists. I no longer felt compelled to participate in any debate or opinion about feminism or any other 'ism.' I no longer cared which side of the debate was right and which side was wrong. I saw that they are both wrong. I saw that they both miss the point entirely. They both are missing the one true unifying force of the universe: Christ.

With my new eyes, I could finally see why neither side of the spectrum seemed to be able to accomplish any meaningful and lasting good. Neither side has Christ at its center. And when Christ is not the center, priorities and motivations are guaranteed to be askew. How's that for total awesomeness?!

I thank God for these new eyes and the lightness in my heart and I pray that He will continue to revise my eyes and heart towards a life that honors Him first.

I still care about the social and political impacts of feminism and I still perceive the movement to have accomplished mostly negative things in American culture. But the beautiful thing is: It doesn't matter. And thank God for that!