I was listening to the radio a while ago and I heard this song that started out beautiful. It talked about a father holding his young daughter's hand as they walked on the street. It made me nostalgic about the times I spent walking with my young daughter. The song had a good melody to it too.

     Then the song moved to a point that made me increasingly uneasy. It talked about the father giving his daughter to her husband in marriage and instructing his son-in-law to hold her hand so she would be fine. Although the song could be seen as a celebration of the protective nature of the male-female relationship, I see the song as demeaning to women. In affirming the delicateness and preciousness of the woman, the song makes the woman somehow less capable in life. The woman in this song is an eternal child, whose hands need to be held.  

    As I make this observation, I don't want to go the way of radical feminism that sees the male-female relationship as an inherently oppressive one. The chip in the shoulder attitude of some women goes against the cultivation of a loving attitude. In Christian thought, the ruler is to be the servant of all. The trajectory of Christian life is towards equality. Men and women are to be submissive towards each other, giving up their interests for the sake of the other. Therefore, it is just as wrong for women to seek to dominate others and to succumb to selfish ambitions as it is for men.

     The bible does encourage to be considerate of the women, who are described as "weaker", probably in physical stature. It also does not explicitly subvert cultural partiarchy- it encouraged women to be submissive to their husbands just as the culture expects. However, women are not held back from roles of responsibility. There were women who helped build the wall of Jerusalem during the time of Nehemiah. Women held property. Miriam, along with Moses and Aaron, was considered to be one of the leaders of Israel. She was punished for trying to usurp Moses' authority not because she is a woman but because Moses was the one appointed by God. Female prophets were consulted by the people, including the king, notably King Josiah. The businesswoman of Proverbs 31 was commended for her management skills. The woman of the Song of Songs was open about the pursuit of her man. God's Spirit is given equally to both men and women.

     A careful reading of the bible yields a dynamic picture of woman that is very much in conflict with the view of women's position in the song. That is why this song is problematic, and so is the insistence that male and female roles are static.