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Mar 15, 2024

Compose a paper providing additional information about the queer theory perspective.

As I read this week’s materials with the week’s discussion question in mind my predominating thoughts were of the similarities of how the Hindu and Christian faiths’ treat women and their roles. Women are simultaneously revered as the givers and nurturers of life in both their human and deity forms, as cunning creatures with the power to corrupt men, often as villains in the parables that define the religion. Like most all other social constructs, the roles and significance of women to the Hindu religion has evolved as the result of the democratization of who defines and interprets gender roles.
Women played significant yet generally supporting roles in the historical narrative of the faith. The supreme goddess Devi’s presence as one of the three manifestations of the Supreme Reality who serves as the force of the universe, nurturer, and protector, pays reverence to and acknowledges the structural and spiritual role women play in Hindu society. (Course Content: Hinduism: An Overview: Part IV Officials, Pantheon, Rites and Hinduism: An Overview: Part V Main Strands). Conversely, the Laws of Manu, the Hindu code that provides the rules of dharma for persons of all types, subordinates women to men socially and spiritually throughout by prohibiting them from reading the Vedas or performing sacred rites with texts. Furthermore, the Laws of Manu suppresses and denigrates the moral character through, teaching that “It is the nature of women to seduce men in this (world); for that reason the wise are never unguarded in (the company of) females. For women are able to lead astray in (this) world not only a fool, but even a learned man, and (to make) him a slave of desire and anger.”

I found this verse to be eerily similar to the sentiments expressed Genesis, portraying the immorality of women as the root of the foolishness and immorality of men. These dichotomic depictions illustrate the revered yet subversive and subservient position women held in Hindu society. The similarities can be clearly drawn to Mary as part of the Holy trinity but Eve as the impetus for the fall of humankind. Similarly, the jealous and deceitful actions of Kukuya in the tale of Ramayana places a woman’s treachery at the center of a man’s foolish and angry actions that result in tragic consequences. But juxtapose to Kukuya, is the love, faithfulness, and strength of Sita to Rama and her children, symbolizing the conversely nurturing and protective force that women provided in Hindu society. (A Woman’s Ramayana: Candrāvatī’s Bengali Epic,68-75, 76-91).
Like most societal constructs and the study of all aspects of history, how Hinduism informs and shapes concepts of gender and how male and females experience religion has evolved over time.
Hindu reformists movements led by those such as Mohan Roy (1772-1833), Dayananda Sarasvati (1824–83), and Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902) advocated for, among other things, women’s rights, women’s education, ending the practices of sati and child marriage. These changes undoubtedly had significant impacts on the lives of both Hindu men and women (Course Content: Hinduism: An Overview Part II: Historical Development). The continuous democratization of the study of Hinduism, like all topics of historical study, continues to bring new voices whose reinterpretations and feminist lens continuously shape the religion in different ways. The Course Content provides The Feminist Critical Hindu Studies as one example, who in 2021 published an outline of their approach to religion that included feminist and LGBTQ perspectives that draw upon Queer Theory and Critical Race Theory. (Course Content: Feminist Approach to the Study of Religion)
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Amy Doherty posted Mar 11, 2024 6:59 AM
When looking at evidence of religion in society, it is clear that most organized religions rely heavily on the patriarchy. Having male spiritual beings as well as a hierarchy that is dominated by male positions is the norm for most universalizing religions, however, the same can not necessarily be said for Hinduism, and that is because of its extensive use of feminine figures in its storytelling, as well as its belief in the shakti, the underlying power of the universe which is perceived to be female. I will look at both of these concepts, through the use of the texts “A Woman’s Ramayana” and “God Came as a Woman”.
The Ramayana is an epic that details the story of Rama who gets ousted from his kingdom with his wife, Sita, who, long story short, is deemed to be unchaste and impure, so she is forced to leave while Rama is able to come back. This story, like so many others, puts the woman in the spotlight as the bad guy, or the ‘temptress’ as the Laws of Manu would say. In “A Woman’s Ramayana”, the epic is rewritten to focus on the suffering of Sita instead of Rama. What I found interesting about this rewrite of the story, is that it does help to improve how the reader looks at Sita, but instead makes another woman, Kukaya, look vindictive, as she spreads rumors because she doesn’t like Sita and Rama being happy together (70). What we see is that the main female protagonist looks better but we have another female character made out to still fill the negative role that is often filled by females.
To provide an example of a more positive way in which women are portrayed, I turn to the “God Came as a Woman” reading, which illustrates how the shakti (the underlying universal feminine energy) can be personified in any incarnation, including that of an average woman by the name of Nirmala Sundari. Nirmala, or Ma as she became known, was believed to be the manifestation of the goddess, Devi, and as such, she gave women an outlet to be close to the divine (79). Though this incarnation of an avataras was usually reserved for men, Ma broke the norm. Women would come to her to feed her, bathe her and comb her hair because to them it meant they were in the presence of a divine being. This interaction with Ma helped advocate for women to be equal in matters relating to spirituality.
There is still a lot of work to be done, though, when it comes to equality in spirituality in Hinduism. According to the Laws of Manu, women have been unable to read some of the sacred texts or participate in some rituals, but in the past several decades, there has been a lot of forward progress in making practices more inclusive (course notes). Having people like Ma to look up to, and just a more widespread acceptance of the role of women in religion, has hopefully helped men and women to see they have similar spiritual needs and should both be able to practice their religion in similar ways.
Works Cited:
Bose, Mandakranta, and Sarika Priyadarshini Bose. A Woman’s Ramayana : Candrāvatī’s Bengali Epic, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central,

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