Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza Discusses Hillary Clinton, Gender, and Scripture

September 26, 2016

Feminist theologian Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, writing for the Feminist Studies in Religion Blog, says “the rhetoric of the Bible still shapes our religious and political imagination and the American political discourse.” One of the results is the “gender bias built into the presidential election process.” She shows how Hillary Clinton is caught in a double bind. If she fulfills many of the cultural ideals for a woman’s speech and actions, Clinton faces the difficulty of attempting at the same time to fulfill cultural expectations for the speech and actions of an effective leader. And if she displays the characteristics required for effective leadership, she is criticized for violating the societal qualities expected of her as a woman.  Schüssler Fiorenza explains that “the cultural roots of this ‘double bind’ are found in Christian Scriptures and traditions.”

Take some time to see what she means. Read Schüssler Fiorenza’s blog post, “Does Hillary Fail to Connect Emotionally?”

Letha Dawson Scanzoni is an independent scholar, writer, and editor, and is the author or coauthor of nine books. In 1978, she and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott wrote Is the Homosexual My Neighbor?, one of the earliest books urging evangelical Christians to rethink their views on homosexuality (updated edition, 1994, HarperOne). More recently, Letha coauthored (with social psychologist David G. Myers) What God Has Joined Together: The Christian Case for Gay Marriage (HarperOne, 2005 and 2006). Another of Letha’s most well-known books is All We’re Meant to Be: Biblical Feminism for Today, coauthored with Nancy A. Hardesty (Word Books, 1974; revised edition, Abingdon, 1986; updated and expanded edition, Eerdmans, 1992). Letha served as editor of Christian Feminism Today in both its former print edition (EEWC Update) and its website for 19 years until her retirement in December 2013.

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