One of the apparently pressing issues within the privilege of Western culture today is that of gender identity. I have now been living in the US for more than a year and this topic and all the focus on it leaves me in unfamiliar territory grappling for handholds within an emotional hotbed of discussions.<\/p>\r\n
My experience as a middle school Special Ed. Teacher in the eighties was filled with young people struggling to navigate their way through that turbulent season of self-discovery in relation to their sexuality. Then as an elementary school counselor in the nineties was filled with activities that developed children\u2019s identity so that they would think for themselves and be resilient adults. The most challenging sexual identity issue of that time was helping a five-year-old navigate being male, while being raised by his two mothers. Now add, spending most of the last twenty-five years in a post-Communist country that embraces, for the most part, a strict Catholic world view on sexuality.<\/p>\r\n
Although, I am out of my element in this realm I find myself being confront by an ever-grown number of young adults in my circle of influence navigating their sexual identity within this new paradigm of gender. Abigail Favale, in The Genesis of Gender [1]<\/strong><\/a><\/em> opened my eyes to how this dialog has emerged and some of the reasons I am ignorant to the parameters.<\/p>\r\n Favale in the first chapter lays a foundation of her personal incongruence between the Christian beliefs she inherited and her grasp of gender identity philosophy. I appreciate her open wrestling with the topic and her Christian beliefs. The second chapter discusses the Christian thought which basing one\u2019s identity as unique sexual beings created equal as a \u201creciprocal gift\u201d [2]<\/a> of love. It is this union that reflects the essence of the Creator and is a recognizable reality.[3]<\/a> She claims this is in contrast to \u201cmost gender theories\u201d which \u201cthink of \u2026\u2019reality\u2019\u201d as \u201ca linguistic and social construct,\u201d [4]<\/a> which morphs. This explains why I have felt so disorientated, searching for language that can communicate within this new realm of thinking.<\/p>\r\n Chapter three chronicles the four \u201cwaves\u201d [5]<\/a> of the feminist movement, their motivation.in relationship to the thinking of the day.<\/p>\r\n It is in this historical and linguistic discussion Abigail Favale\u2019s background and experience as a university professor in Gender Studies is extremely helpful to a novice like me. This chapter concludes with the authors questions in an attempt to flesh out the feminist world view in relation to her redefined Christian faith.[12]<\/a><\/p>\r\n Chapter five explores the concept of control, in regard to women and birth control. The discussion around the perceive freedom contraceptive provides. In this chapter Favale takes two steps back to explore the benefits and risks concerning popular birth control methods not usually talked about. Are these methods actually giving women control over their own bodies or are they victimizing them in a more subtle way?<\/p>\r\n In the remaining chapters: Sex, Gender, Artifice, Wholeness, and Gift, Favale continues to weave her scholastic experience of gender issues with her expression of faith. Abigale Favale the Dean of Humanities and English Professor at George Fox University, skillfully looks at this emotional topic in a way that both informs and causes the reader to ask questions of the issue and their faith.<\/p>\r\n [1]<\/a> Abigail Rine Favale, The Genesis of Gender: A Christian Theory<\/em> (San Francisco [California]: Ignatius Press, 2022).<\/p>\r\n [2]<\/a> Ibid., 42.<\/p>\r\n [3]<\/a> Ibid., 43.<\/p>\r\n [4]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\r\n [5]<\/a> Ibid., 56.<\/p>\r\n [6]<\/a> Ibid., 58.<\/p>\r\n [7]<\/a> Ibid., 56.<\/p>\r\n [8]<\/a> Ibid., 58.<\/p>\r\n [9]<\/a> Ibid., 59.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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