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| http://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/relationships/ |
For many years, we've been inside of one of the darkest ages known to man, and therein lies the answer, because homocentric societies are not actually the majority for modern homosapiens. In other words, artificial divisions between our two genders (with a very occasional third or fourth thrown into the mix) is not only atypical, it is, in many cases, highly disordered. Of course there are exceptions to this general rule, like some women in military outfits and law enforcement, but most gender-divided labors are jobs that strongly favor males who can undergo the extreme physical requirements needed (again, with a few minor exceptions), because they have the necessary strength and uncommon stamina to lift very heavy weights for long distances, over long time periods.
Men and women are different. Oh, we'll always have a few people who think life is unfair in this respect, though I'm not sure why. As a woman, I accept those facets of myself that are linked to my sex, because I wouldn't be a biologically genetic woman without them.
I cannot imagine as an mature adult not having a uterus, or those feminine inclinations towards home and health for loved ones, because these traits so deeply imbedded within me through my DNA, that I know these instincts developed over many, many years of evolution, for us and other closely-related primate species.
And so it has always bothered me that people confuse faith with sex, which is one of the greatest ironies of all, given that a key component to Roman Catholic service is celibacy, a necessary factor for clergy, because sublimation of the sexual self is devoted to the leading of a much bigger flock than having a single family with some children. Our Brothers and Sisters in Christ have some of the most brutally hard work schedules on the planet. They care for all of our families from birth to death, and over several lifetimes, if they are blessed with the gift of longevity. It goes without saying that is it best for clergy to live in sequestered quarters divided by sex. Think not? Imagine me as an acolyte in your faithful religious order, and you're already halfway there.
Over time, many traditional Catholic families funneled intelligent (and homosexual) children into the church, while the secular world grew up about minority sexualities. Would you want your child murdered for something they do not control? Unfortunately, sending a gay man into religious service is a lot like suiting up your really handsome young son for the army, where he will get into the best shape of his life, which is kind of like sending him to an all-hours gay bar without the cover charge, so much so that gay men joke that going to the gym is like going to "Gay Church", so lauded is being "buff" in gay culture. So why would we allow our celibate and sometimes gay men determine our reproductive health? Does it not seem like uncommonly bad logic to advise women about their bodies, when you are a devout (and possibly gay) brother or father of the cloth?
It's seems insane that we asked these young men, many of whom have never had any experience with girls and their bodies, to talk to us about what is holy in our lives, and yet that's exactly what we did. We asked them to give up sex completely to form parishes, build schools, educate our children, ordain us in every rite we have, and then seriously devote their entire intellectual lives to education based on gender. Of course, they did it, but not well. Would you ask a woodworker to weld for you? Naturally, a talented craftsman can learn other disciplines, but this is about ten thousand times harder than that. It's like asking them to attend the hardest school you will never be able to attend, while undergoing the most brutal physical training one's body can do, for people who may never say "thank you" to your face, nor understand the rigors about this act of devotion that you willingly gave up so you could take a vow of poverty with a smile on your face, while you ritualistically "marry" (for the women) a man called "Christ" who died many years ago, a man who also celibate.
And yet, the brilliant abstaining members of our church did the best they could, by advising that we don't do "that", a "that" that we know they may or may not understand. And so we did "it" anyway, then asked them to clean up our messes, which they did through discreetly concealed adoptions, a practice of buying-and-selling the children of girls and women that is still intact today. Even stranger still, it became a "sin" for women to practice responsible reproduction through the use of widely available medications (not that I think birth control pills are healthy for most girls to use long-term, but I'll get into that at some other time), and the occasional use of humane medical procedures like a routine D&C*, often for single young women who would be ostracized and forever impoverished by having children at the wrong time in their tender lives, outside of the holy sacrament of marriage.
Because the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church has been largely dominated by celibate men for many centuries, it grew odder still: men were not sent to an Eternal Burning Hell for having a medical procedure called a "Vasectomy", while their Catholic females mates often struggled in earnest with basic healthcare and their unasked-for female reproductive organs, bodies that typically produce children whether we want it or not. We asked our many faithful to help us while they remained ignorant about our daily lives, and then blamed them when they cared for us in this regard poorly.
It became such a weird horror show, that I was personally beset here at the public library by a demented man sitting next to me who thought that women willingly killed their own babies by crushing their skulls and/or slitting their throats as they gave birth, eagerly assisted in these supposedly satanic acts by doctors who took delight and glee in torturing women with strange medical instruments of their own secret devising, like a delusional haunted house diorama staged in an empty insane asylum for thrills and chills during the Halloween season.
How could the outcome of our church be any different? It wasn't, for Dark Age after Dark Age to Darker Ages, still; stuck in this perpetual cycle of ignorance, fear, and hatred, when in reality, the very gifted, learned, and most assuredly brilliant-minded people of my faith knew that most people's lives are the exact opposite of some twisted fairy tale wrought by feverish minds for sport and amusement, because what we really want(ed) is a loving, holy family of wanted children, so much so, that today I want ask you to consider this: isn't it actually a most sacred and divine hope that each and every human child is born to a loving family? In truth, my most impassioned and fervent desire is that each and every child born to man and woman is a wanted child.
Welcome to the end of oppression, my good and faithful friends. Today is a brand new day! I offer you forgiveness, absolution, and a freedom from shame about your bodies that were given to you through G-d's Unending Wisdom; a beautiful human body for you and your loving partner to enjoy forever and ever, amen. His Grace, Mercy, and Kindness are yours for the taking. Take it! I offer it to you though Him, as an end to your fears, your sometimes intense loneliness, perhaps your long-suffering guilt, and what was once a never-ending shame. Start to live. Start to live today! Join us in this century. We want you on-board with us; seek and find resolution to your woes. We're waiting for you on the other side. I promise you that.
Every child a wanted child.
Your homework for today, dumb-ass: http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/S/SexHormones.html
