I chose to write my blog on a
Catholic mass I attended. In terms of
male and female roles within the Catholic religion there are both formal and
unwritten rules that are followed. Men, women, and children are expected to act
a certain way. Strict rules and beliefs about marriage bring with it attitudes
toward gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals.
Perhaps the most obvious is that
only men are allowed to be priest. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines
priest as, "one authorized to perform the sacred rites
of a religion especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God."
The term priest and father are used
interchangeably to address the clergymen. Along with strictly being male the
priest must also remain single and chose a life of sole devotion to God and the
church.
There is a certain unwritten role
that church requires an individual to wear their "Sunday best". The
men are wearing suit coats and dress pants. The women give the outward
appearance of the perfect women, dressed in dress or a nice blouse and slacks.
Makeup on and each strand of hair in place. Children are also expected to dress
appropriately wearing dresses or nice sweaters. There is no rule saying that
this attire is required prior to entering the church, however, it is just something
that is expected. Lober talked about the idea of gender roles stating that,
"gender, like culture, is human production that depends on everyone
"doing gender"". Women
put on dresses while men wear dress coats is a natural instinct and no one questions
it. However, if a young boy were to wear a dress to mass the rest of the
congregation would express concerns. Gender construction is started at birth
based on the genitalia. Simply put boys wear blue while girls wear pink.
During mass children are expected to
be quietly sitting in the pews. Distraction methods such as coloring, books,
and snacks are used by parents to help keep the children quiet. The church also
tries to engage the young children by allowing for children's time or simply
letting them bring offering to a large bucket in the front of the church.
Giving them a small amount of freedom to run and act like children before it is
time to remain quiet again. When children do miss behave I noticed it was the
mothers who did the scolding. She would lean over and tell the children that
they need to be quiet or redirect their attention. Stern looks at the children
seem to be the most used method during mass that lets the children know they
are doing something wrong but remaining quiet. The father's seemed to pay
little attention unless the child was really throwing a fit. However, by that
time the mother has usually already taken the child out of the church.
The men in church take on the role
of being an ultimate gentlemen. Walking into the church men would let the women
lead and chose where to sit. When it was time for the Eucharist or communion
the men would step out of the pew and let the women go first. Couples would
show their love and affection by holding hands. The women were sitting quietly
in the pews next to their husbands or taking care of the children during mass.
Women play more of an active role behind the scenes of the church. Women are
members of church committees, arranging countless church activities, serving
meals, and volunteering their time and talents when needed. Overall, the church
members are middle and upper class Caucasian families. The unmentionable five
letter word; class that Yeskel talks about is not much of a focus within the
church. Money donations and canned goods are frequently collected and
distributed to families and companies who work with underprivileged
individuals.
The Catholic church has a very
traditional stand on how marriage should be; man and women. While this formal
stand on marriage does not mean that each member of the religion believes that.
The idea of gay marriage is not something that the church will condone or
believe is right. In What is Sexuality?
Baumgarder talked about how most people have bisexual tendencies. Some people
chose to physically act on these feelings while others do not. During a church
mass two members of the same sex would not be seen holding hands or showing
affection towards each other. While I could write pages on this controversial
topic, I will chose to stop here. It is a important issue to address especially
in regards to gay rights. The Catholic religion not only limits the rights to
gay and lesbians but also to individuals of other religions. For example, a
Lutheran individual cannot accept Eucharist at a Catholic mass. These
limitations and restrictions act as a barrier instead of bringing people
together.
Overall the Catholic religion has
many gender roles within the church. Some of these roles are formal while
others are unwritten but in the end they are all expected. Each member of the
church is expected to act and live their life a certain way. This traditional
method and style has come under attack in recent years and the church does realize
that it needs to make some changes to stay current. The number of individuals
who are attending mass on Sunday is decreasing along with the number of
individuals who identify themselves as being of the Catholic religion.
References
Baumgardner, Jennifer. "What Is
Bisexuality?." Trans. Array Women's Voices, Feminist Voices: Classic
and Contemporary Readings. . 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2012.
189-194. Print.
Lorber, Judith. "The Social Construction
of Gender" Trans. Array Women's Voices, Feminist Voices: Classic and
Contemporary Readings. . 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2012.
126-128. Print.
Yeskel, Felice. "Opening Pandora's Box:
Adding Classism to the Agenda" Trans. Array Women's Voices, Feminist
Voices: Classic and Contemporary Readings. . 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill
Companies, 2012. 86-90. Print.
. N.p.. Web. 2 Jun 2013.
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/priest>.
No comments:
Post a Comment