Women's Roles

AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE FOR GIRLS
When I wrote this, the media was full of stories about the impending marriage of Coleen McLoughlin to Wayne Rooney and I found myself feeling extremely sad.
It is not that I have anything against the couple. For all I know, they might be very nice young people. Nor is it the sheer extravagant waste of money. It is the whole cult of celebrity that disturbs me, together with the envy and the frenzy of so many people to emulate them.
Rooney’s fame is at least based on a considerable degree of skill at his chosen profession. On the other hand, hers derives solely from living with him. I am particularly worried about how inappropriate this is as a role model for other young women.
I have been a school governor for many years and in our area the most under-achieving pupils have been white girls, the main reason being the low expectations that both they and their families for them. Not for them to follow the example of women like Florence Nightingale or the Pankhursts. Time after time we are told that they don’t need a good education or career because they will find a boy, get married and have a family. We were even forced to alter the starting time of the school day to accommodate the large number who were expected to take younger siblings to their junior schools. In those circumstances, you will understand why I am so appalled by the world’s approval and rich pickings that Miss McLoughlin and the other WAGs (footballers’ wives and girlfriends) receive for following the path that they have chosen.
My sadness comes from seeing how trivial and lacking in ambition is the lifestyle they encourage and how little strength of character it builds. Women who think like this can have very little depth to meet life’s real challenges.
The opposite example is that from the very start, within the Christian church, women of strength and character have played an important part. Religious organizations tend to mirror their societies. Although in the first century it was natural for the disciples to all be male, the close group around Jesus contained many strong women. When following the arrest and crucifixion, the disciples were denying Christ and in hiding. It was Mary Magdalene who led the women to the tomb on the Sunday morning. Steadfast and loyal, Christ was her master and, alive or dead, there was no way she would abandon or deny him. It was brave Mary who stayed alone at the tomb and dared to ask what they had done with the body of her Lord.
So it has continued for century after century; women being the backbone of our religion. Today, we are very near having female bishops. Our own congregation has a majority of Elders who are women and so will be the next General Secretary of our denomination.
Within our church, we care for all children. However, for girls and young women in particular, we offer an alternative lifestyle to the hedonistic, shallow one demonstrated by the WAGs. The leaders of the Brownies and Guides teach the girls self-worth and self-reliance, together with skills and values that will support them throughout their lives.
When they get older, our girls might never be able to afford a £5 million wedding but they stand far more chance of being happy, satisfied and rounded human beings.