A Woman's Month

March marched by with corporate and federal homage paid to “Women’s History Month,” during which prominent women were featured in variously publicized ways.  Women’s History Month?  Why do we need this, and why a month?  Normally, annual commemorations of this kind associate with religions.  Lent, the most obvious example, also happens to fall in March, and has for centuries.  This and other observances (Annunciation, Nativity of Jesus, festal days for Saints) teach and reinforce Christianity’s values and beliefs.  What, by contrast, holds the core content of Women’s History Month?

The majority of images and stories given during the month follow this syllogism found on the federally sponsored web site, www.womenshistorymonth.gov:

Throughout our history women have made valuable contributions during wartime both in the civilian and military realm. No matter what the role—military personnel, pilots, nurses, journalists, or factory workers—women's experience of war remains an important and sometimes overlooked aspect of our nation's history.

Syllogism?  Indeed. Premise 1, compounded from two, establishes the meaning of “contribution” as a masculine occupational category.

1a: Setting the stage within a military context founds the discussion on a masculine idea—men do constitute the traditional militia. 

1b: The roles exemplified align to occupations.

Premise 2:  Contributions of this kind have been overlooked.

The unstated conclusion:  The masculine occupational contributions need to be highlighted, which is precisely what we find in March, woman after woman honored in images of Woman as the equivalent—as in substitute for—Man.  Politicians, political activists, soldiers, and actresses are favorite examples.

The basic syllogism smuggles in the flawed meaning of “contribution,” and further injects the sick idea that a woman’s contribution doesn’t count unless it resembles a masculine accomplishment (the category of actress accomplishes this too, but I’ll not analyze it here).  This disrespect for the truly feminine places Women’s History Month among other contemptible modern inventions.

So instead I counter with two examples of great women who highlight feminine virtue.  And, by the way, if you want to experience the real difference between masculine and feminine qualities in virtue, visit St. Anthony’s Monastery in Florence, AZ, and then visit St. Paisius Monastery in Safford, AZ.  Both are cenobitic, Orthodox monasteries of disciplined prayer, work, and worship.  Both hospitably welcome visitors, but the men’s monastery (St. Anthony’s) feels decidedly masculine whereas the women’s (St. Paisius) thoroughly feminine, especially in the warmth of their hospitality.  Both impart a heavenly atmosphere:  “Male and female, made He them.”

The first, most obvious Great Woman is the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus.  Her best known quality comes from her humble acceptance of God’s incomprehensible announcement to her that she would give birth without the well known methods of conception. “Behold the maidservant of the Lord.  Let it be to me according to your word.”  This response, however, finds completion in St. Luke’s equally simple report after Jesus was born and many remarkable events had occurred, “But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”  Mary’s greatness shines in how she receives God’s will, accepting what He gives, whether done to her, or in her presence.  In this way she allowed great things to be accomplished through her.  She does not fight against, nor reject, the things she cannot comprehend, but “ponders them in her heart,” as she continues moving within God’s will.  The greatest of feminine achievement is motherhood, characterized by fruitfulness, both literal and metaphorical.  Through Mary, God worked salvation for all mankind; she bore fruit indeed—and how!  Sadly the modern feminist sensibilities (born in resentment) miss out on the obvious reality that in working this way, God made Himself and His plans utterly dependent on this woman.  And isn’t this exactly how children, themselves, begin, as utter dependents?  Therein rests the crucial importance of motherhood to the fulfillment of feminine virtue.

Charlotte Mason, my next and last example, was an educator in the late 19^th and early 20^th century England.  She promoted a practical philosophy of education centered on character formation, which was fully expected to be nurtured by parents.  Her methods continue in wide use, finding an enthusiastic and broad audience among today’s homeschooling families, but not only homeschooling families.  Her greatness arises first from the kind of influence she has, and secondly from the size of that influence.  She promoted virtue in and through virtuous families.  Herself not a mother, she nevertheless exercised the virtues of motherhood in planting and cultivating this whole-person approach, bearing fruit through her own established schools, institutions, and teacher training.  She continues to bear fruit through her writings and the many organizations and families that practice and promote Miss Mason’s principles and methods.   

Neither of these women, great in very different and truly feminine ways, have been “overlooked,” except by the ideologues who narrowly conceive of greatness in masculine terms.  They are the more impoverished for it.  I wish they would keep their poverty to themselves rather than foisting it upon the rest of us through political shenanigans. Women’s History Month deserves an enthusiastic yawn, coupled with a joyful embrace of Lent and the Feast of the Annunciation, the truly great events occurring ever year in March.  And, I might add, Mother’s Day soon follows in May, and what better way to celebrate the greatness of femininity than to acknowledge the good influence of the most prominent woman in your life?