Gender Ideology
Gender Ideology is ideology used to justify and excuse the abuse and exploitation of women.
Gender ideology, like all ideologies, has a religious and a scientific expression. Religious expressions are rooted in religious Dogma. Scientific expressions are ostensibly rooted in "empirical" evidence, but its really just dogma painted over with glitter.
Gender ideologies rooted in scientific dogma justify and excuse the exploitation and abuse of women by overemphasizing minor physiological, biological, and genetic differences, or by generating false generalization (like "all women are emotion" or "all women are weak") and then using these differences and generalizations as justification and excuses. Thus women should be kept under control because they are the weaker sex, because they are less rational and more emotional, or even because they are less evolved. When we ask why women are the naturally weaker sex, gender ideologies rooted in scientific dogma refer us to Darwinian theory and notions of "natural evolution".
Gender ideologies rooted in religious dogma overlay Theology and Cosmology with gendered archetypes, and then typically privilege the male archetype with special powers, ability, or privileges. As noted in bolightVII, "In some traditions the ideology and sexism is painfully obvious. In the Catholic tradition, God is portrayed as a superior, authoritarian, male, father figure. In Western societies, this portrayal, represented as fact, has for centuries been used to justify the obedience to male authority, and the exploitation and abuse of women, for centuries. In other traditions, the sexist ideology is downplayed, but the implantation of ideology persists. In all esoteric traditions, for example, creation is seen as a gendered act of penetration. In some esoteric traditions, God is seen as the archetypal male impregnating the archetypal female (i.e. Nuit the Mother). Eastern religions like Zen Buddhism take a more balance approach, but still see gender in the force and formation that underlies the energetic warp and woof of creation.
Gender ideologies rooted in religious dogma justify and excuse the exploitation and abuse of women by elevating the male to the status of an authoritarian creator, and emphasizing women's secondary (made from a rib), subordinate, passive, weak, and deceptive status (it was Eve got us all kicked out from The Garden after all). Thus women should be kept under control because they are weak, emotional, and deceptive.
