On another note, I’m especially glad that liking babies isn’t a Biblical trait ascribed to women alone. Just look at any new father. I would say a good percentage of both sexes don’t melt over babies that aren’t theirs. I think there are a lot of underlying reasons guys don’t go up to babies and coo, but I doubt the main one is “I don’t like them”. At least I hope not…hmmm…where did my stacks of statistics go?

Thanks for all your thoughts CL ladies!

I most definitely think there are generalizable personality/design differences between men and women. MOST DEFINITELY.

I just don’t think that they necessarily fit what our society and culture calls masculine/feminine, and that rather they’re a whole different set of identifiers. I think the best we can call it is being a Godly man or a Godly woman, or saying a woman after God’s heart, or a man after God’s heart. I see masculinity/femininity as having nothing to do with it… those are just words, to me, that our culture uses to define those generalizable differences, but I don’t think they fit the Biblical picture.

Just a question of clarification: Do you disagree with concept of “Biblical femininity” because you think there really are no generalizable personality/design differences between men and women, or because you think the term needs to be revamped due to too much cultural/societal baggage?

I don’t think that the scriptural passages you point to depict “Biblical femininity”… because I don’t even like the word. Does that make sense? I may totally be wrong in this, but, to me what those passages point to is how a woman who loves God will be shaped to fit his character, because she’ll put her hope in God, she’ll work hard, use the mind God gave her, be generous. But I don’t consider any of those things feminine… because I just really disagree with us using the word, I find the word too wrapped up in cultural and contextual meanings to glean anything Biblical from it.

I am wondering though, why I dislike it so much, and so I’ll be looking into that.

Look at verse 17 - this woman isn’t avoiding work to protect her manicure. Throughout the chapter, this woman is shown as a woman with a head for business, who manages what she has well. The people around her depend on her. This might be the closest thing to a Biblical picture of femininity, and this woman is doing things which aren’t far off from trekking through the woods.

And then there’s 1 Peter 3:3, which says that we’re not supposed to focus, as women, on outward appearances, but to focus on developing godly character. But I hope it’s clear that we’re not trying to define femininity as “must wear pink dresses,” but that we’re trying to get at the root of what femininity really is. That includes the heart level, not just what you wear or whether you like babies.

I don’t know if that helps. But your points reminded me of those passages in the Bible, so I hope that they help flesh this out for you! In any case, let me know what you come up with - I like trekking through the woods myself, so I’m hoping (and pretty confident) that Biblical femininity has room for that!

Also… please, please, I welcome correction in all that I said above. I heartily recognize that too few of my views are shaped by God or Scripture and too many by the world.

Anyway…

These three words: feminine, femininity, and womanly are not anywhere to be found in the Bible.

The word, feminine, as defined by dictionary.com:

1. pertaining to a woman or girl: feminine beauty; feminine dress.
2. having qualities traditionally ascribed to women, as sensitivity or gentleness.
3. effeminate; womanish: a man with a feminine walk.
4. belonging to the female sex; female: feminine staff members.

and another definition from merriam-webster.com:

2: characteristic of or appropriate or unique to women

Okay. Shoot.