Smashing the Patriarchy

We still need to smash the patriarchy - this job isn’t done! I argued this at the recent Women’s Voices Conference hosted at Luther King House in Manchester by Liz Shercliffe. It was so energising and refreshing to spend a day with likeminded women (and a couple of men) who wanted to explore together what it means to be women in Christianity today and to recognise women in scripture. To that end, I highly recommend the two books Liz has written with Kate Bruce called Out of the Shadows: Preaching the Women of the Bible.

My paper focused on what patriarchy is, how it still extends its hold not just in terms of gender but also in colonialism, racism, and capitalism (to name just a few). I argue that whilst the call to “smash the patriarchy” sounds dated, we should not be deceived that this work is done. Patriarchy still looms large and it is still a system of sin.

You can read the whole paper here.

The beautiful image of the feminine Trinity is from the amazing Kelly Latimore who creates icons. Check out her work here.