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4 Sexist Myths That the Church Should Reject

sexist myths

We’ve all heard them. Stupid jokes and thoughtless comments. Sexist sayings and caricatures. From the pulpit, at the altar, in school, from boyfriends, girlfriends, teachers, parents and friends. People pass off myths as facts and case-by-case examples as universal truth.

Women are like this and men are like that. Women are obnoxious. Men are arrogant. Women are needy and men are emotionally unavailable.

These statements are infused with cultural and gendered assumptions. They have no basis in the gospel, and what’s more—they are rooted heavily in socialization. And yet, despite Christians’ pledge to reject unhealthy and sinful cultural messages, these painful and divisive gender jokes and ideologies have infiltrated the church.

1. Men Are Bad Parents

This one is a classic. Men are hapless, bumbling fathers who hold their kids incorrectly, forget to warm up the bottle and have to pass their wailing infants over to their wives, who can then use their superpowers to pacify them. I’ve watched this scene in more than a few comedies. And I. Don’t. Buy. It. This line is cheap and it sells men so short it breaks my heart.

Women are not naturally superior parents. We learn and we make mistakes. It’s just that society isn’t always watching quite as amusedly when it observes the failings of mothers. Men love their children just as fiercely as women do. They are completely capable of tenderly holding their babies and consoling them in the early hours of the morning.

But when we make jokes that portray men as foolish, incompetent fathers, we participate in a system that says that men can’t be gentle, that they can’t be tender, that they can’t be sensitive and trustworthy. In short, we encourage men to fall short and women to compensate (and the same goes for housework).