By blogger Libby Anne. Originally posted here. Please remember that while the contributors to this website are united in our belief that there are problems with the teachings of Vision Forum, we come from a variety of different perspectives.
Just today found out that in addition to having a list of qualities of beautiful girlhood, Vision Forum also has a list of the qualities of courageous boyhood. I’d like to take a moment to compare the two.
Before I begin my side by side analysis of these qualities, can I say how much it bothers me that girls are to be “beautiful” while boys are to be “courageous?” Of course, when they speak of beauty they are speaking of the inside not the outside, but still. This dichotomy is revealing, for it is in no ways accidental; rather, it exemplifies the difference between boys and girls that Vision Forum and Christian Patriarchy in general so emphasizes.
Note: I have paired these six qualities, a boy quality with a girl quality, as best as I could, but they don’t always seem to match up perfectly.
Girls: Faith & Fortitude
The spirit of beautiful girlhood is alive in the girl who, with courage and fortitude, perseveres through the many challenges of life. She realizes that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” and consequently, strives for the principled course of action.
Boys: Faith & Fortitude
The first principle of courageous Christian boyhood is faith. True courage is an outgrowth of confidence in the sovereign will of God, the reflection of an abiding faith in Christ. The spirit of courageous boyhood is alive in the boy who perseveres through the many challenges of life.
Not too much difference here, besides the obvious girls get to be “beautiful” and boys get to be “courageous” thing.
Girls: Femininity & Grace
The truly beautiful girl is one who radiates that inner grace which only comes from the confidence in being a woman of God. She enjoys dressing like a lady and being about the business of women. Because of this, others think of her with respect. Her very comportment communicates a gentle, gracious spirit.
Boys: Vision & Honor
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” The same is true of boys. Without a vision for manhood, boys will perish. But true vision is cultivated by honor. The courageous boy longs to honor his father and his mother and to not just succeed, but to succeed his godly parents.
Girls get to “radiate inner grace” while boys get to have “a vision for manhood.” Girls get to have a “gentle, gracious spirit” while boys get a “true vision.” Girls are to dress as a lady and be about “the business of women.” Boys get to be courageous and have a vision. Note that the girl’s picture is a girl playing a harp while boy’s picture is boys headed for the moon. The difference is important.
Finally, note that the boy is to “honor his father and his mother.” This is the multigenerational faithfulness ideal. the boys vision is to be his father’s vision. The girl is not given the same command because she will naturally adopt the vision of her future husband.
Girls: Purity & Contentment
To be pure in body, mind, and spirit is more precious than all the promises the world offers. Young ladies who experience a beautiful girlhood guard their hearts against anything that would rob them of purity and are content to wait upon the Lord and trust the leadership of Mom and Dad.
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Boys: Virtue & Duty
It takes courage to be a virtuous boy in an impure world. But the truly courageous boy is steadfast in his commitment to remain pure in body, mind, and spirit. He will not be governed by undisciplined passions, or swayed by dangerous peer influence, and learns to stand alone and unmovable in his convictions.
The boy is to learn to “stand alone and unmovable in his convictions.” The girl is to be “content to wait upon the Lord and trust the leadership of Mom and Dad.” Boys are to remain “steadfast in their conviction” while girls are to guard against “anything that would rob them of purity.” Enough said.
Also, the girl picture is a mother and daughter in pretty dresses while the boy picture is a boy in buckskin with a bow and arrow. Girls are pretty and passive while boys are courageous and active.
Girls: Joy & Friendship
The woman of God is joyful and seeks companionship with those who share the same vision. For the daughter who has embraced the beauty of Christian girlhood, the richest friendships begin within her family, where she learns to love and honor, and first learns the joy of belonging to another.
Boys: Adventure & Evangelism
The courageous boy is one who longs for the thrill of adventure and eschews the life of ease and sloth. This desire is not a pagan quest for self-glory, but is in pursuit of a higher cause—the advancement of the Gospel and Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
The girl is to “love and honor” her family, and to have friends who “share the same vision.” The girl is to get learn to “the joy of belonging to another.” This wording is not accidental. Vision Forum holds that females are always to be under male authority, first that of the father, then that of the husband. Thus a girl will always “belong to another.” Not to engage in hyperbole, I think it is worth pointing out that even the wording itself bares a comparison to slavery. The girl does not own herself. Her father (then husband) owns her. She belongs to another.
In contrast, the boy is to be “courageous” and to “long for the thrill of adventure.” Once again, though, this is not to be for his own gain. Rather, the boy’s goal is to be the dominionist “advancement of the Gospel and the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.”
Note the pictures: girls in flowing dresses v. a boy soldier ready for battle.
Girls: Home & Hospitality
One of the defining qualities of beautiful girlhood is a love for home and hospitality. A young girl watches her mother and looks forward to the day when she, too, will have a family. While other girls are driven by wanderlust, the hospitable girl finds true contentment at home.
Boys: Loyalty & Patriotism
Behind the courage of a truly faithful boy is gratitude for his family, his nation, and for the tender mercies of God in his life, motivating him to demonstrate an unflinching loyalty. Therefore, he has the heart of a son and the spirit of a patriot.
Notice the different spheres here: The girl’s sphere is the home, the boy’s sphere is the nation. The girl’s role is hospitality, the boy’s role is to be a patriot. The girl is to guard against “wanderlust” and to “find true contentment at home.” The boy is to be loyal.
The boy’s role may be in the public sphere, but his loyalty to his family includes having “the heart of a son.” Once again you see multigenerational faithfulness at work.
And again, the girl picture is in the home while the boy picture is off to fight a war.
Girls: Enthusiasm & Industry
Proverbs tells us that a virtuous woman “works with her hands with delight,” and “does not eat the bread of idleness.” The truly beautiful girl is one who sees her life as a mission of service. What others view as a burden, she views as a blessing and opportunity.
Boys: Dominion & Scholarship
The courageous boy is on a mission from God to take dominion over the earth. This is why he loves to learn, to investigate, to master disciplines, and to search out the mysteries of creation. His basic textbook for life is the Holy Scriptures.
Can I say how much this one bothers me? The girl gets “a mission of service” while the boy gets “a mission to take dominion over the earth.” Furthermore, boys are told “to learn, to investigate, to master disciplines” while girls are to see “what others view as a burden” as “a blessing and opportunity.” Remember the whole taking dominion by doing laundry ideal? That’s what’s going on here.
Also, the girl picture is a girl sewing while the boy picture is boys reading a big book and discussing it.
“Different but equal” begins to seem a bit hollow when you realized what it really means is “girls stay at home and do laundry while boys go out and conquer the world” or “girls belong to another but boys feel the thrill of adventure.” And yet, that is exactly what Vision Forum’s qualities of beautiful girlhood and courageous boyhood make clear.
Finally, can I point out that once again the pictures used do not generally appear to be at all recent? You once again see a fetishization of history going on here. You also see the fetishization of the pretty picture. “You follow our teachings and buy our literature and materials,” Vision Forum promises parents, “and your daughters will be beautiful and have a heart for the home while your sons will be courageous, loyal, and set out to conquer the world.” There is no consideration, none whatsoever, of what the daughters and sons themselves might want. There is no room for difference or individualism. It’s all about conformity, and more specifically conformity to the parents’ beliefs and vision. And parents eat it up.
Rethinking Vision Forum 