Woman
as the Imperfect Man
The story of creation as written in the Bible is a
wonderful story of how God took a rib from Adam, the first man, and created
woman as a companion for him.
'
He
took one of [Adams] ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
Then the rib, which the lord God had taken
from man, he made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.
And Adam said
“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of
my flesh;
she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man.” '
Adam and Eve
Tamara
de Lempicka
There
has been much argument over the interpretation of this passage with regards to
the status of women in society. Some people believe that because woman was made
after man, she is only a secondary being. She was made for him and for no other
reason. Man is the being of perfection[22] Woman is something other
than man and thus by definition cannot exist without him. Man is the free self
who defines the meaning of his own existence[31].
This understanding of creation is not in agreement among all people, especially feminists. Many feminists take on the view that when God created Adam, he was only a rough draft, and God succeeded in perfection when he created Eve[22]
Through
scientific research there were several pieces of information that supported the
idea that woman was actually made before man. The common genetic plan for the
human skeleton is contained in an original blueprint of the entire body[29].
The
genetic plan for the bones and flesh has been found to be essentially feminine
and hormones then form the male[29]. This explains why men have nipples when they
are not functional components in the male body. Furthermore research has found
that for the first three months of life, all humans are female, and then when
testosterone is introduced, the reproductive organs essentially fall out of the
fetus’ body to form the scrotum and the penis[29]. In 1999, genetic research at
the University of Chicago and White Head Institute confirmed that women did not
come from man’s rib. But that the Y chromosome (the chromosome that identifies
male) actually originated from the female X chromosome during a long process of
separation of the sexes more than 300 million years ago[29].
But,
people still believe strongly that what is written in the bible is the absolute
truth. So it is important to understand that the Old Testament, especially the
Book of Genesis, was written by men and was based on folklore that was intended
to explain in a simple way some of the wonders of existence. So it is
understandable that it is written in such a chauvinistic manner depicting Eve as
being created from Adam.
If
a feminist had written the story of creation, it would have sounded something
like the passage below, depicting woman to be created.
Eve
called out to God, "Lord, I have a problem!" "What's the problem,
Eve?" "Lord, I know you created me and provided this beautiful garden
of wonderful animals and that hilarious snake, but I'm just not happy."
"Why, Eve?" Came the reply from above. "I am lonely, and I'm sick
of apples." "Well, Eve, in that case, I shall create a man for
you." "What's a man, Lord?" "A flawed creature with many bad
traits: He'll lie, cheat, and be vain; all in all, he'll give you a hard time.
But he'll be bigger and faster, and will like to hunt and kill things. He'll be
witless and revel in childish things, like fighting and kicking a ball about. He
looks silly when he is aroused, but since you've been complaining, I'll create
him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs. He won't be too
smart, so he'll need your advice to think properly. "Sounds great!"
says Eve, with a raised eyebrow. "So, what's the catch?" "Well...
you can have him on one condition." "What's that, Lord?" "As
I said, he'll be proud, arrogant and self-admiring. So you'll have to let him
believe that I made him first. Just remember, it's our little secret... You
know, woman to woman
The Archaeology of the Orgasm
Women, Sexuality, Rights-Utopia within our Grasp
(2000)
Latin
American and Caribbean women’s Health Network (publisher)