The Christian Orthodox thought, when structuring the roles of men and women in society, pursues the values of justice and equity among human beings. This approach to gender equality results in a binary view of women and men with respect to their roles. This means that equality is declined according to aspects of justice relying on Christian moral standards and corresponding personal icons. The prime example that structures the role of women in the community is above all that of Mary, the mother of God. But the relationship of the Orthodox Church with this example is not always as linear as it might appear from a superficial reading of the personal and global history of this character. Indeed, on the one hand Mary repre- sents the icon of the mother and wife, but on the other hand she also represents the image of a strong female self-determination, of an independence from the male figure that is ahistorical if we think of the context in which she lived. For this reason, the reflection to be made on the Orthodox Church’s contribution in shaping ‘gender roles’ is profound and should not be limited to criticism alone, but to an in-depth study of the symbolic universe that, although it may seem anchored to a monolithic and static traditionalism, creatively transforms itself over the years and adapts to new contexts such as the diaspora. The Orthodox diaspora represents a privileged labo- ratory where anthropology associated with the study of human rights can investigate these new phenomena, allowing and supporting intersectional feminisms to focus on the complexity of this reality. Pausing in doubt can be a good practice to find new tools co-constructed with and for communities, so that feminisms can inhabit these spaces and defuse mechanisms of gender violence that are structural and structured over time by incomplete narratives.
Orthodox religious tradition and gender ‘Distinctiveness’. Mary’s iconology and its transformative projections on female imagery / Girneata, Simona Fabiola. - (2026), pp. 381-400. - GENDER, JUSTICE AND LEGAL FEMINISM. [10.1007/978-3-031-63905-0].
Orthodox religious tradition and gender ‘Distinctiveness’. Mary’s iconology and its transformative projections on female imagery
Simona Fabiola Girneata
2026
Abstract
The Christian Orthodox thought, when structuring the roles of men and women in society, pursues the values of justice and equity among human beings. This approach to gender equality results in a binary view of women and men with respect to their roles. This means that equality is declined according to aspects of justice relying on Christian moral standards and corresponding personal icons. The prime example that structures the role of women in the community is above all that of Mary, the mother of God. But the relationship of the Orthodox Church with this example is not always as linear as it might appear from a superficial reading of the personal and global history of this character. Indeed, on the one hand Mary repre- sents the icon of the mother and wife, but on the other hand she also represents the image of a strong female self-determination, of an independence from the male figure that is ahistorical if we think of the context in which she lived. For this reason, the reflection to be made on the Orthodox Church’s contribution in shaping ‘gender roles’ is profound and should not be limited to criticism alone, but to an in-depth study of the symbolic universe that, although it may seem anchored to a monolithic and static traditionalism, creatively transforms itself over the years and adapts to new contexts such as the diaspora. The Orthodox diaspora represents a privileged labo- ratory where anthropology associated with the study of human rights can investigate these new phenomena, allowing and supporting intersectional feminisms to focus on the complexity of this reality. Pausing in doubt can be a good practice to find new tools co-constructed with and for communities, so that feminisms can inhabit these spaces and defuse mechanisms of gender violence that are structural and structured over time by incomplete narratives.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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