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Feminist movement struggles to survive
University of Portland students attempt to raise awareness of gender inequality

The feminist movement is declining, according to Jeff Gauthier, philosophy professor at the University of Portland and adviser of a feminist discussion group. "Polls say that not many women are willing to identify themselves as feminists," he said. "Young women in particular have been cited as not wanting to call themselves feminists."

Barbara Feil, who teaches a class at Multnomah called "A Biblical Perspective of Women and Ministry," agreed. "I find among the younger generation today an aversion to feminism and a return to earlier values of gender differentiation -- traditional roles for men and women," she said. "There are many people who wonder if the feminist movement is dead."

Gauthier said he believes the decline is due to the strides society has taken toward gender equality in the past 20 years. He said issues such as sexual harrassment, equality in the workplace and child-care options for women, once considered militant feminist issues, have now become mainstream. "While a lot of people don't identify themselves specifically with feminism, they've accepted a lot of the premises that feminists have always addressed," he said.

As a result of early feminist issues becoming mainstream, "women and men assume equality is here and the only people who would be complaining now are people who are just whining about everything," he said.

However, Gauthier disagrees, and so do the members of the weekly feminist discussion group he advises. The group, which meets in a classroom on the University of Portland campus, believes gender inequality still exists.

Although today's women would be considered emancipated, judging by the standards of 20 years ago, Gauthier said major areas of gender inequality have still not been dealt with. One of these issues is sexual violence against women. "There's not much evidence that [sexual violence] has declined," he said. "Women still live with the fear of rape; men don't. It's something that affects women that doesn't affect men. And that brings it up as an inequality issue."

According to Gauthier, equality in the workplace is another prevalent feminist issue. He explained that the workplace was designed for men who could commit their lives to their work and depend on their wives to raise their families. "Women still ask themselves, 'Career or family?' Men don't ask themselves that question. They just assume that if they have a career they can also have a family," he said. "That's really a backwards way of thinking."

Sexual violence and equality in the workplace are just a couple of the issues the group discusses during its weekly meetings. Gauthier said the purpose of the discussion group, which is patterned after the model of early consciousness-raising groups, is two-fold. First, the group provides students with an outlet to discuss feminist issues and express their views. Second, the group organizes events relating to feminism to raise awareness. Past events have included bringing in speakers to lecture on feminist issues such as violence to women, prostitution alternatives, and pornography.

The discussion group began five years ago, one year after Gauthier, a philosphy professor, began teaching at the University. Students from his "Philosophy and Feminism" class, who felt a need to discuss feminist issues outside of the classroom, started the group. More than 30 students are involved, but a core of about five attends regularly. Gauthier defined feminists as "a group of people who believe the subordination of women in our society still exists and who are committed to trying to do something about it."

The members of the group want to break down feminist stereotypes. "When you delve into the philosophy of feminism, you realize how broad it is. There's so much diversity among groups of feminists and feminist thought," senior Wendy VanderVelde said. "But people immediately associate feminism with lesbians or anti-man. There's a place for that, but that does not by any means encompass all of feminism. A big part of feminism is raising awareness."

Today's feminist movement is perceived as radical, Mrs. Feil said. "[Feminists] want to abolish any gender distinctions. They want reverse discrimination. Many feminists would still argue that they're fighting injustices, but as a cultural norm, feminism is the edge and not the mainstream. It doesn't have half the influence that it once did."

Gauthier, who said he has always been interested in issues of social justice, became a feminist as a result of his relationships with women. "For me it was a personal experience," he said. "Through relationships with women, I recognized the problems they were talking about. I saw it by virtue of their criticisms of me, and it awakened my sense of justice."

Although the University of Portland is Catholic, members of the feminist discussion group said they don't feel oppressed by Catholicism. Freshman Marie Reily, a theology major, believes Catholicism and feminism are compatible. "Part of God's will is making sure everyone is treated equally," she said. "Catholicism empowers women in a lot of ways. We believe in the blessed virgin Mary, and she was a strong woman. She's a woman we all want to be. Her son died on the cross, and yet she stood and was strong." Scarlett Callopy, a junior who claims to be agnostic, disagreed. "[Mary] was the purest of pure--too high to attain," she said. "I think that represses sexuality in women."

Gauthier, studied theology in college before pursuing philosophy. He said feminists hold varying opinions regarding the Bible. "Within feminist theology you find very different views ranging from some women who would say the Bible is a source of oppression to other women who go to the Bible for inspiration and messages of liberation," he said. He said that while the Bible communicates a general emphasis on the male, he believes this is partially due to the patriarchal society of Israel. "There's a maleness to the God figure. We talk about him as 'the Father,'" he said. "Early Israel was a patriarchal society in a literal sense, so it's not surprising that those kinds of images would be used." He said a feminist view of the Bible depends strictly on interpretation. "If you read the Bible looking for rules by which people ought to live, you can find a lot of things that look quite bad," he said. "But if you read the Bible as a tradition in which people have come to struggle against oppression and come to see their own equality in the eyes of God, the Bible can also be a source of inspiration for feminism. In my own life, I don't see [the Bible] as a contradiction."

Mrs. Feil said she believes the Bible opposes a feminist worldview in which women struggle to erase gender distinction. "Nowhere in Scripture are we as women told to fight for our rights," she said. "That doesn't mean we can't address injustice appropriately, but we're here to serve others. "The biblical role of a woman is to embrace who she is as a woman and then embrace a contentment with who God has made her to be."

Mrs. Feil said the Bible presents gender differences as an essential tenet of God's plan for humankind. "God is the originator of gender differences," she said. "There's purpose, plan, beauty and delight in those differences. We are made first in the image of God, but secondarily either male or female. Our gender is part of the very core of who God made us to be." She said the ongoing struggle for gender equality is a result of the fall. "The fall introduced a tension between men and women that has never been eradicated. God valued women and used them throughout Scripture, but he didn't eradicate all the tension."

Mrs. Feil said she does not believe the feminist movement has had a significant impact on the church. However, she believes feminism has positively affected the church by challenging its traditional views concerning women. "This is a very volatile issue for a lot of people in the church," she said. "It has impacted the culture and made churches face the issue and ask, 'What do we believe about women's roles?' Many churches have discovered that what they believed about women was based more on tradition than the Bible.

"Two of the most difficult passages in all of Scripture have to do with the role of women. The church has had so much difficulty translating those two passages. This tells me that God has not yet revealed everything to us on this issue, but I think we're coming closer today to a spectrum that is truly biblically based."

Suzanne Hadley loves sunsets and slurpee runs.



Jeff Gauthier is a feminist.

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