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RevRecs #3: Is Ken lost?

8/11/2023

2 Comments

 

The Very Rev. Rob Courtney

Fr. Rob is the Rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church & School

Welcome to another installment of "RevRecs," an occasional feature where I, "the Rev," make some recommendations about things I'm reading, watching, listening to, etc. This week I've got an article and a movie for you, both of which I believe deliver the same message.

1. The Barbie movie

The first trailer for the Barbie movie had a title card that said, "If you love Barbie, this movie is for you," followed by another title card that said, "If you hate Barbie, this movie is for you." After seeing it I can say that's absolutely true. Put aside your preconceived notions, as well as the polarizing reviews you may have read, and see it. It's got something culturally important to say (a BARBIE MOVIE!? Who woulda' thunk), and it's very funny. 

Is it a movie that particularly lifts up women's empowerment issues? Yes. At the same time, it has something vitally important to say to and about men. I saw it with my wife and my son, and we all enjoyed it for different reasons. It also gave us something to talk about as a family. 

Part of that discussion came directly from an article I read recently . . .

2. "Men are lost. Here's a map out of the wilderness" by Christine Emba

A few days before I saw the Barbie movie I read this opinion piece from The Washington Post by Christine Emba. I paid special attention because she's also written a book called Rethinking Sex: A Provocation that I'll leave here as a side recommendation. Her book has some important things to say about our cultural conceptions and discussions around sex and gender. 

Emba's article "Men are lost" is equally important. She writes,

"While the past 50 years have been revolutionary for women — the feminist movement championed their power, and an entire academic discipline emerged to theorize about gender and excavate women’s history — there hasn’t been a corresponding conversation about what role men should play in a changing world. At the same time, the increasing visibility of the LGBTQ+ movement has made the gender dynamic seem less stable, less defined." 

She points out how both conservatives and liberals try to create definitions of masculinity, and neither really gets at the heart of the matter. As a result, men go off in all sorts of unhelpful directions as we try to find our way in a world that looks different from the generations that came before us.

The essential question the article raises is, "What does a healthy, differentiated, masculine identity that is socially compatible with women's empowerment look like?" 

Spoiler alert for the Barbie movie: when it comes to Ken, and his fellow Kens, that's the basic question the movie asks about men in the end, too.

The Church's role

I think it's cultural issues like this that the Church has an opportunity to speak to in meaningful ways. To start, from a theological perspective, it's important to understand that patriarchy is not part of God's original design for creation. Many expressions of Christianity would have us think so, but it's simply not true. After Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden, God lays out the consequences of their actions. In Genesis 3:16, God says to Eve, "You will desire your husband, but he will rule over you." In the Garden, Adam and Eve were equals. Patriarchy comes later as a consequence of "the fall." 
​"In the Garden, Adam and Eve were equals. Patriarchy came later as a consequence of 'the fall.'"
The Church can influence this discussion if we, too, can answer the question for ourselves. What does a truly Christian vision of masculinity - one that takes into account God's original intention for humanity, and looks to Jesus as its guide - look like?

​What does it mean to you - whether you're a man or a woman - to "be a real man"? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

Take some time to read Emba's article, and to see Barbie if you have the time. I'd love to hear your thoughts on both, as well! 
2 Comments
Jim Kepper
8/14/2023 01:41:06 pm

Fr. Rob, I am not a blogger and, frankly, I don't expect to become one. Nevertheless, this week's material, as well as some earlier matters, concern me. I have read through your blog and Christine Emba's Washington Post Opinion Essay. Ms. Emba's work offers much in the way of food for thought, reference studies, statistics, academic propositions, and social morés - so much so that you don't know where she is going until she seems to bring us back to the very traditional, balanced, and multi-faceted characteristics of the head of a household, imparting the same to the next generation. She even bemoans the loss of this structure in today's world and advocates restoring such in the male culture, notably guarding against denigration of females. In addition, while I acknowledge that her subject is “masculinity”, I do not overlook that the full picture requires the vital, complementary feminine role as well.
The "journey" through Ms. Emba's essay was like drinking from a firehose and not knowing where she was going. In the end, however, I agree with what I believe to be her forward vision, although it is difficult to know how to effect it, and it will take time. Nonetheless, the elements are time-honored and foundational but unfortunately devalued in today's culture, if not explicitly attacked.
Finally, I am curious. Why do we go through this exercise when we have sound Scriptural and Judeo-Christian teachings that we can use to answer the questions of "masculinity"? Let's pursue, teach, and reinforce our beliefs as the primary focus and to be equipped to discern the legitimacy (or not) of divergent societal pressures.
Actually, I don't think that the real issue is whether or not patriarchy is part of God's original design for creation but rather that patriarchy (for lack of a better word) does seem to be the model that underpins the order of God's people in our Scriptures and traditions. Even Ms. Emba seems to recognize and commend that there is a valuable masculine role in society, without devaluing the feminine, and that it is to our own peril that we do not recognize such. How to sustain and rebuild it today is the challenge.

Reply
Fr. Rob
8/17/2023 05:45:41 pm

Hey, Jim! Thank you for the comment. If I'm reading your thoughts correctly then it seems you mostly agree with C. Emba's thesis "that there is a valuable masculine role in society, without devaluing the feminine," and that it will take some discernment to get there. You ask, "Why do we go through this exercise when we have sound Scriptural and Judeo-Christian teachings that we can use to answer the questions of 'masculinity'?" Because it's important for the Church to respond to conversations going on in the culture, and to name what's helpful and what's not from a Christian perspective. I do think that patriarchy is undermined in various ways throughout the Bible, and that there is a healthy model of masculinity that can be discerned from scripture, especially in the example of Jesus. The problem is that many Christians over the centuries--and today--have chosen to ignore passages that lift up women's leadership, and passages that envision a return to the garden's more egalitarian gender roles, in favor of less edifying (and even oppressive) interpretations. It's important for us to call these unhelpful interpretations out. In our tradition, we value scripture, tradition, and reason. That means we value the Bible and the tradition, but we use our God-given reason, along with the Spirit's guidance, to interpret both. In the words of the great German theologian Karl Barth, "We must hold the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other." Unless we do, the church will have little to say that's relevant to people's real lives or the world.

I hope that's helpful, and that I got to what you were asking and wondering about. If not, you know where I work and I'd love to chat. :) Christine Emba wrote a follow-up this last week based on responses from readers that is really interesting. One person offers a description of Jesus that is spot-on, and a powerful vision of what it means to be a "real man." You might give it a read: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/14/readers-react-christine-emba-masculinity/

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