TO THE READER:
This is the entry article of a series of pieces that I’ll continuously write about on SEX+. A lot of the stuff written is historically documented along with some personal opinions on the matter. I will state which portions are my personal opinions.
WHERE TO EVEN BEGIN?
I knew that one of the major topics that I wanted to be a constant study of research was on Women’s History, which entails Women’s Rights, Human Rights, Civil Rights, Women in History - historical timelines when women have changed the face of history for our gender, and Women in Religion | Cultures | Laws.
All throughout history, possibly as early as when Homosapiens gained consciousness of one’s sense of self and realizing that there’s man & woman, women were somehow considered the lesser of the genders. There is no real clear evidence of when this actually started, although, some claim that the earliest recorded events of the, “perception,” of women as lesser beings than men, in the, “history of creation,” is generally traced back to Adam & Eve from the Bible’s Book of Genesis, where Eve is created after Adam, which implies that Eve is subordinate to Adam. Because of this, this solidifies the view and has widely been accepted throughout ancient cultures, to some. You also have to understand that The Bible and the stories within are open to interpretation; the Biblical interpretation, the historical context interpretation, and the evolutionary theory interpretation.
However, The Bible is part of a religion and not actual historically documented evidence and proof that anything written in The Bible, or any other books from any religion, can be taken as literal evidence without concrete, scientific proof that is 100% our history and origins. Science can be proven whereas religion is a belief system. Not the same thing.
A belief system is a set of ideas, values, and principles that people hold to be true, which is often based on faith or, “personal experiences.”
Science is a systematic method of acquiring knowledge about the natural world that we live in, through observation, experimentation, along with evidence-based reasoning. It is open to revision based on new discoveries upon further study, research, etc.
Bottom line: with a belief system, you rely more on the acceptance rather than necessarily having indisputable evidence and science demands verifiable proof through testing and data analysis.
Let’s discuss the three theory interpretations that I mentioned.
The Biblical Interpretation:
If you’ve actually read the Bible, like I have - purely for educational purposes that I gave to myself to learn when I was in high school, then you need to understand that the first three chapters of Genesis are the most crucial in knowing the Genesis theory and not knowing these three chapters, you will not fully grasp the, “mutuality,” between man and woman. They were intended to be equals. Eve was to be a, “helper,” and some interpreted that as a subordinate.
The Bible states in Genesis 1:27
“So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”
PERSONAL OPINION: This should have been obvious, especially to those that claim to have read The Bible. This, to me, has no interpretation at all because it clearly states that Eve and Adam were equal. So, it’s not technically the Bible saying women are lesser beings then men. It was Man (the gender) that made women lesser beings.
Here’s some key points you need to take away from this:
- The answer is literally in the Book of Genesis where it states that Adam and Eve were created equal in value and were both created in the likeness of God.
- When God created Adam, God used, “the dust of the ground,” which was used to form his body. God, “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” And then that’s when man became a living being. Adam comes from the Hebrew word, “Adamah,” which means, “earth,” which is what Adam was created from. Adamah is earth, which also means, man AND woman. It is not gender specific.
- Breath of Life interpretations. People say it has several meanings, but technically speaking, there is one meaning and that meaning is, “all life originated with God, but human life began with the personal breath of God.” It’s what made Adam a “living soul.” The Hebrew word for, “breath,” is “ruach.” Ruach does have a broader meaning depending on the context. But in The Book of Genesis, it means, “breath.”
- When making Eve, God didn’t use dust like he did with Adam, building Adam from scratch. He created Eve from one of Adam’s ribs. God put Adam under a long deep sleep and that’s when God used the rib of Adam. Eve was brought to Adam and Adam said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called, ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” (verse 23). Eve was created as a suitable, “helper,” and this is where the misinterpretations come about, especially with the several translation editions (personal opinion) written by people who had no business interpreting anything when it was stated point blank the mutuality of man and woman. God used existing human tissue to form Eve rather than from scratch to show that Adam and Eve were of the same sustenance. Eve was created as a bearer in God’s image and likeness, just like Adam was. She was formed from a physical aspect of Adam, which means Eve was an integral part of who Adam was. In other words, she was his perfect companion, his ideal equal. So, Eve is not a subordinate creation.
- Eve is not an afterthought. She was the final creation. The crown. The completion. Woman is the crown of creation. Woman carries life.
Those are the key points from the Biblical Theory.
I’ll continue in Article 2, starting with the Historical Context interpretation, and, of course, acknowledging where my opinion comes into play, like I’ve done so in this article.
If you are interested in buying my artwork that I used for the header WITHOUT the article title and only my artist’s signature watermark, you can buy the digital artwork here.
Thank you for reading my entry on SEX+,
-Vanessa Theodore
*Please understand that I am not trying to insult anyone’s belief system, I am just stating facts with clear definitions and the differences between the two. I am not against people having their faith, I believe some people need it as it may have helped them through life altering circumstances and that is something that I will never disrespect. I am, however, against religions that dehumanize people and require them to hate a group of people. That’s disgusting behavior and being that I am a woman who is considered a lesser being, I find it insulting and it has no place in my life. Ever.