Sex and Gender issues

We are now thinking in class about ethical issues related to sex, gender, marriage, divorce, and remarriage. To aid you in your ongoing work, here are some website tips related to gender and sexuality. I will deal with divorce and remarriage issues in another posting.

An egalitarian view on male and female roles is given at Christians for Biblical Equality while a more traditional perspective is offered by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

A traditional view is also defended by the dynamic teacher Mary Kassian.

Focus on the Family is a major site for evangelical, conservative Christian views. James Dobson is the founder.

One thing to remember: today there are virtually no conservatives (Christian or otherwise) who are arguing for a return to the "good old days" when women had no rights and were considered property. For a time line on when women gained freedoms in the USA go here. For data on women in Canadian history go here.

For a look at a leading radical feminist writer, visit the Andrea Dworkin website.

For other pro-feminist sites go to the Feminist Knowledge Network and Feminist Theology Online. Also, go to the National Organization of Women site and the Feminist Studies journal.

Christianity and feminism merge at the Christian + Feminist site.

For sites that deal with Women and Gender go to the Institute for Women’s Studies and Gender Studies (U of T) and the International Women’s Web Sites. Also, see the extensive links list here and here. And see WWWomen and Gender Inn. The Virtual Library on Women's History is also important.

For scholars who study sex and sexuality go to The Kinsey Institute and the International Academy of Sex Research. Also see the Center for Research on Gender and Sexuality and the National Sexuality Resource Center. See the links here for additional sites.

There has been some attack on the integrity of Today's New International Version (TNIV) in terms of the way its translators handle various issues related to gender. For a defense of the TNIV see the article by John R. Kohlenberger III here. [A technical note: the Firefox browser often freezes when opening pdf files, so you might want to use Internet Explorer or learn how to download with Firefox's pdf program.]