BOTR:
The women are so eager to be walked over and spit on. Seeing my mom as doormat caused problems for me. I discussed this with my grandmother decades ago. We are smarter than the brothers. Not the same. Smarter. We know our WT better. JW men are low-earners. They aren't men's men. Jw women will kill each other over the JW male crumbs.
I believe women would have a different take on blood, children, and disfellowshipping. My gm was a feminist by temperament. She agreed with my points completely but said the brothers are the brothers.
How do women become so malleable to serve as door mats? What can be done to fix the situation? My present being would scare the living daylights out of male authroities. Christ saw that we were created with tenderness and a strong maternal instinct. If we listen to men too much, we are abrogating our created duty to protect children and maintain homes.
Part of the problem is the deeply entrenched belief that the bible (specifically the epistles attributed to Paul where gender issues are concerned) is the inerrant, infallible word of god. So the WTS capitalizes on the individual's desire to "do god's will" in the hopes of procuring blessings for so doing. The same is true with the way women are regarded - "the weaker vessel" "to be kept safe by childbearing" "should be submissive" and "render the marital due" to her husband in order to "keep the marriage bed without defilement", while at the same time "not being a busybody" or being concerned with "braiding of the hair", and should be careful to keep "her head covered" lest she be shorn. She should also "remain silent" and should not wear the garments of a man so as not to bring reproach on her father or husband.
The misogyny in the bible is stunning. The WTS (as well as other fundamentalist belief systems) take advantage of any natural tendencies a woman has to nurturing and serving others and pigeon-holes females into roles of servitude and martyr-like subservience. The attitudes have been pervasive for centuries - from the caveman bopping a female over the head with a club and carrying her off as his mate, to the male dominated professions like physicians, lawyers, accountants, business moguls, etc.
I've brought this up with regard to the blood transfusion issue several times before: clotting factors to treat haemophilia were the first ever blood fractions to be permitted for use by JWs. It just so happens that haemophilia is a clotting disorder that affects males almost exclusively. However, if you are a JW female, and you become pregnant, your risk for death as a result of the pregnancy or childbirth is over 60% greater than for non-JWs. A pregnancy-related medical emergency (such as postpartum haemorrhage or DIC - disseminated intravascular coagulation) can require several units of blood in order to save a woman's life, yet the WTS offers NOTHING to its female members - whom they consider to be "weaker vessels" - that will allow them to partake of life-saving treatments that will give them a chance to raise the child they have brought into the world. I've said this before too: If it were men whose lives were at risk from postpartum haemorrhage and DIC, rather than the lives of women, the WTS would change the policy on blood transfusion in a heartbeat. It's abundantly clear the disdain the WTS has for women and children by its continued ban on blood transfusions that would save JW women from dying in childbirth.
Aside from boycotting the WTS financially, I think a revolt by female JWs would scare the living $h!t out of the leadership of the WTS, and probably result in its demise entirely.
