Feminism vs. Feminity | A spiritual perspective.

Feminism and Women empowerment have become buzz words nowadays and many women get so impressed by them that they do not hesitate to desert their men and children or reject the entire notion of marriage and family, in pursuit of liberation and a career. Many women take pride in calling themselves feminist and even prepare their daughters to be like sons. However, not many of them are aware of what it actually means and how the ideology of feminism affects a woman as an individual. There is no doubt that it makes the women independent and better in some ways, but it also poses threat to their own identity and affects them in various destructive ways.

In this post, we would reflect upon such issues and see how feminism, despite of its achievements, has failed to deliver the justice, liberation and quality of life as it promised.

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The feminist movements arose in the different parts of the world as a reaction of the domination and exploitation of women by men since ages. Their goal was to empower the women socially, economically and politically, thereby ushering in an era of gender equality and freedom.

On the face of it, it is evident that the women, all over the world, have performed well to empower themselves. Gone are the days of subjugation and control. Now, they are choosing their professions as they want, getting paid handsomely, leading the nations as their heads, travelling the world solo and, in fact, doing almost everything that men could have imagined to do.

But, does it mean that they have succeeded in liberating themselves and realised their true potential? Or if they have find the joy that had been missing from their lives?

Well, that is far from true and the fact is- the ideology of feminism has harmed the women more than it has helped.

On the one hand, the feminism has created equal opportunities for women, while on the other, It has also derailed their personal growth by distorting the feminine personality in unusual ways. The mad race to follow men's footprints inevitably led to the masculanisation of their nature and the feminity that was naturally given to them was often ignored and suppressed in the process.

The negligence of their innate nature has proved to be self-sabotaging for women. According to the psychologists, It results in personality division and a kind of hormonal confusion inside them; and, is also the basis of neurosis. Because, if you have the body of a woman and the mind of a man, there will be a conflict inside you. Your life will dissipate much energy in that unnecessary conflict and you'll be continuously fighting and tense.

"It is a naive sort of feminism that insists that women prove their ability to do all the things that men do. This is a distortion and a travesty. Men have never sought to prove that they can do all the things women do. Why subject women to purely masculine criteria? Women can and ought to be judged by the criteria of femininity, for it is in their femininity that they participate in the human race. And femininity has its limitations. So has masculinity." — Elisabeth Elliot, Let me be a woman.

Surely, this can not be called liberation in any sense. Can it be?

The existence created man and woman not only as two bodies, but also as different dimensions of mind. They weren't created alike. They were created as polar opposites, just like the sun and the moon. But, it doesn't mean that they are unequal. In fact, two opposites are always equal, otherwise they can not really oppose each other.

While the man was gifted with the traits of logic, aggression, will and ambition, the woman was blessed with love, sensitivity, nurturance and patience. And, both were supposed to experience life according to their own traits and also find the possible ways to reconciliate their opposite traits. That was the evolutionary design and the possibility of further evolution in the universe.

But, unfortunately, the natural course was disturbed in the name of feminism and, now, the misery of modern women seem to have taken a new shape. They have not only lost connection with themselves and but also have failed to reconciliate with their male counterparts, which is one of the purposes of our separate existence. Instead of gender equality and reconciliation, the feminism has resulted in division, hatred and strife between men and women. And, this upsets not only the whole functioning of families, but also that of society in general.

Now, after the decades of self-inflicted torture and confusion, some liberal feminists have begun to realise the dangers of traditional feminist ideology and are talking about a new kind of political activism, known as spiritual feminism, which regards the spiritual dimension of women as important as their material rights and intends to empower them also by reviving the pre-abrahamic religions like Native-American and Wiccan spirituality.

However, this new activism is localised only in some parts of the world and have not yet reached the masses. I'm also doubtful if any kind of social and political activism can really go along well with the spiritual side of life. Because, spirituality is an individualistic affair that can not be dictated by anything other than our own hearts.

To sum up, the social, economic and political well-being is just one side of the human empowerment and has never been able to contribute to anyone's liberation, including that of men. And, if it really could, then, men would have been at peace long ago. Moreover, the feminism has actually proved to be a hindrance in the process of empowerment, instead of being helpful, and, the women, today, are in desperate need to wake up to the fact that there can not be any real empowerment in our lives, unless we are connected to who we really are at the deeper level.

"The mermaid is an archetypal image that represents a woman who is at ease in the great waters of life, the waters of emotion and sexuality. She shows us how to embrace our instinctive sexuality and sensuality so that we can affirm the essence of our feminine nature, the wisdom of our bodies and the playfulness of our spirits. She symbolizes our connection with our deepest instinctive feelings, our wild and untamed animal nature that exists below the surface of outward personalities. She is able to respond to her mysterious sexual impulses without abandoning her more human, conscious side. What happened to the girls who dreamed of being mermaids?" — Anita Johnston.

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