Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-r6qrq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T01:06:05.179Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 9 - The Masculine–Feminine Binary and the Theological Critique of Culture

from Part III - The Human Continuum

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2020

Adrian Thatcher
Affiliation:
University of Exeter
Get access

Summary

This chapter addresses the third binary of our inquiry, that between masculine and feminine. Remaining with the third aim of the book, ‘to demonstrate how the human continuum enables a more inclusive theological understanding … of relations between women and men’, our probe of masculinity begins with two attempts to outline a practical spirituality based on male gendered characteristics. The first of these is Matthew Fox’s The Hidden Spirituality of Men. The work opens with a comprehensive list of ills afflicting men in the ‘dualistic patriarchy’ of ‘Western culture’ (Fox 2008: xii). They are not in tune with their feelings; they work too hard; are often homophobic; and often believe in a male God who behaves in toxic – that is, in masculine – ways. The ‘spiritual life’ of men is ‘in trouble’ (2008: xiii) and their spirituality has become hidden (if not extinguished altogether). But Fox knows the cure. There is a ‘Divine Feminine’ and a ‘Sacred Masculine’. Note the nominal form of the adjectives ‘feminine’ and ‘masculine’, reifying them. At times, the terms convey little more than one of the themes of this book, that God transcends all gendered characteristics. If we ‘cannot receive a balanced sense of the gender of God (any statement on God is always a metaphor), then it follows that we are not living with a balanced gender sense of ourselves’ (Fox 2008: xix, author’s emphasis). But at other times, the divine Feminine is variously identified; with the rise of feminism, or the appearance of the Goddess Gaia, and so on. She has made ‘a grand comeback’ (Fox 2008: xviii), whereas the ‘Sacred Masculine’ is much less evident and can only be evinced by looking within.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×