Femininity in Progression

         As a Christian woman, I have read plenty of books, magazines, and articles focused directly on women in the Bible and the way in which they are often portrayed in a negative light or not given nearly enough attention that they deserve. Though I once believed this literature was created in light of the fight for women's rights in the twenty-first century, the articles assigned for today's readings have shown me that the fight for feminism began centuries ago! In a time where women were almost lawfully subordinate to men and held little-to-no power at all, women were still fighting for equality and approached it by increasing the importance and knowledge of Biblical women. Though the push for gender equality is typically studied sociologically, I believe it would be interesting to combine religious studies and sociology. 
         "Women's Bibles" by Shira Wolosky discusses the way women were using the Bible to fight for equality. These women would write poetry with Biblical stories and creatively write exegesis' that would portray women in a better light than they are portrayed in the traditional canon. It is apparent that the women of Early America wanted men to believe women were powerful and equal, so they in turn would believe they themselves were powerful and equal. This relation of convincing others of their status so they will view women differently would fall under "reflected appraisals," often cited by sociologist Cooley, because they describe a person's perception of how others see and evaluate him or her. Furthermore, if others see women in a good light (maybe because their Bible instructs them to), the women will feel more powerful and the cycle continues. 
         More than the reason women were writing about gender equality, the way they went about it can also be analyzed sociologically. Women in Early America were to be homely, reserved, subordinate, quiet, and gentle so expressing their concerns with the religious text would have seemed impossible. While many women genuinely wanted to help change the view of women in the Bible, their role in society prevented them from doing so. Women who wrote poetry about Biblical works were presenting themselves as quiet, humble, poetry writers while their "backstage self" had different purposes for their work. Erving Goffman describes the presentation of self as a dramaturgical production of your everyday life. In this case, the women show their "front stage" self as poets, while their "back stage self" is a feminist fighting for equality. 
         Though we are over 100 years from the creation of the Women's Bible, gender equality is still not achieved and women are still unable to hold positions in most religions. When did the fight for equality stop having Biblical input and how do modern attempts at change help or hurt the process of becoming more equal? Because the attempts at traditional forms of activism can be analyzed sociologically, would understanding them in this light help future forms of activism?