I Am Woman: Southern Baptist Women and Feminism (Essay‪)‬

In 1992, Pat Robertson demonized feminism as a movement that "encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." On its surface, his gross mischaracterization is ludicrous, but the truth of the matter is that many Americans, including many Southern Baptist women, really do not know what feminism is. They have been offered a steady diet of misinformation and stereotypes from the mainstream media and from many churches, religious organizations, and religious leaders like Robertson. But when told that feminism is about women's social, political, economic, and spiritual equality, their perspective changes. Many Southern Baptist women tend to fear what they perceive as feminism's extremes (which often have to do with abortion rights, gay rights, and the mistaken notion that feminists do not value mothering or homemaking). Even when they distance themselves from feminism, they recognize, sometimes begrudgingly, that feminism has brought about necessary changes, from the right to vote to equal employment opportunity legislation.