Courage, for example, seems to be a virtue, no matter what a person's gender is (though perhaps I only see courage as an inherent virtue because I am a man and thus courage is inherently virtuous to me). Granted, I can imagine situations where too much courage can be a vice, consistent with Aristotle's virtue theory of ethics, but I wonder, is that point inherently reached sooner for women than for men? It's normally a man's role to protect women, so a man should rush into battle in situations where women should run to safety. However, this protective role may merely be a societal construction since fewer males are needed to maintain and grow a population. From the perspective of the population as a whole, men are more expendable, and thus better suited to dangerous tasks, like fighting. This may also be part of the reason men are typically stronger than women. Since men are risked in combat more often, the ones that survive are usually the stronger ones, and they're the ones who pass on more of their genes.
However, when we're all immortal, no one will need protecting. Will courage still be a virtue then, for anyone? And whether it's a virtue or not, is courage an inherent trait, already part of our spirits before they're born? If so, is this trait more common in man than in women? Is it an actually inherent trait, or is the apparent link between courage and masculinity just an effect of the societies in which most of us were raised? Are there inherent masculine and feminine traits? If not, what does it mean to say that disembodied male and female spirits are different? Or, if there are inherent masculine and feminine traits, which traits are which?
I may not get definite answers to these questions. I may or may not even keep asking them. But I still wonder, if only in passing, what the differences between male and female spirits are. Are there traits shared by more male spirits than female ones or vice versa? I assume there must have been. Otherwise, what could it possibly mean that some spirits are male and others as female? They must have distinguishable, inherent traits. I'll admit that his is more confusing than it is edifying, and there are so many other factors, it's really hard to tell which traits are inherent and which are learned. And it probably doesn't matter.
Suffice it to say that men and women complete each other, regardless of which traits allow them to do that and which ones are inherent and which ones are learned.
2 comments:
When we look at things through the perspective of the gospel — it’s all related, interconnected, and part of the same whole.
Both men & women have a mix of masculine and feminine traits — to varying degrees. For example, male & female bodies require both testosterone and estrogen, but in different amounts. Similarly, our spirits have both masculine and feminine qualities. In order to be healthy and happy, both physically and spiritually, we need to have an appropriate balance between the two. We as humans can also have a balance in our relationships between males and females in our lives.
The masculine and the feminine are designed to compliment each other and work in harmony. One example is the opposite of light and dark. Their very existence requires or is defined by the other. We need both, and although we can see them as opposites, they are also part of one concept that has infinite degrees of variation.
‘In Ancient Chinese philosophy, yin and yang… is a concept of dualism, describing how seemingly opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another.’ *
‘Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary (rather than opposing) forces that interact to form a dynamic system in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts. According to this philosophy, everything has both yin and yang aspects (for instance, shadow cannot exist without light). Either of the two major aspects may manifest more strongly in a particular object, depending on the criterion of the observation. The yin yang (i.e. taijitu symbol) shows a balance between two opposites with a portion of the opposite element in each section.’ * The yin (shaded) side has a little yang (light) inside it, and vice versa.
People are very complicated. We have layers of identity — from general to individual. Within each of us — our self (aka spirit, personality, energy, essence, being) — is an amalgamation of variations of different traits and qualities. Two people could have the same basic trait, but with varying qualities or aspects to that trait. Various parts of that person’s whole composition of ’self’ influence the manifestation of that trait in that particular person.
I believe that we have been learning and growing as individuals from before the time we were born. I think that inherent qualities and natural tendencies come — at least in part — from the interest and effort we put into them in our previous existence, just as we will continue to work on learning and growing in the afterlife. Since we have so little evidence and information about our previous and eventual post-life existence, it can be hard to see it this way, but they — along with our current existence — are all periods of the same continuous progression.
Although spirits lack physical bodies, they do have spiritual bodies — which have the same shape as physical bodies. They also consist of our ’self’ and everything that makes us who we are as an individual, including our masculine and feminine qualities.
Our experiences and different stages of life, as well as our general and immediate circumstances and situations also influence which parts of us are at the forefront at any particular time.
(continued)
All of us have the inherent capacity to be courageous. It may come more easily or naturally to some, but we all have the ability to face difficult situations. There are many different types of courage, and some are more obvious than others — such as the physical protection of others. Choosing to follow the gospel (or moral principles) and stand up for what is right is often a quieter, but still powerful, form of courage.
An example of how masculine and feminine qualities dovetail in support of each other is the story of the Army of Helaman. When the young warriors were commended for their courage & strength in battle, they credited the spiritual courage & strength taught to them by their mothers.**
The responsibility for males to provide physical protection is more than a social construct. “By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families.” *** It is the men’s duty, but women can choose to serve as physical protectors as well, such as in the military, police, etc.
I think if you want to define the specific roles of males vs. females in a general sense — males are mainly responsible for physical & temporal aspects, and females are mainly responsible for the nurturing & spiritual aspects — with the strong assertion that these are not exclusive roles — they are meant to be provided in a joint effort, and according to individual abilities and circumstances. We are all meant to be well rounded and develop as many good qualities as possible.
* Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yin_and_yang)
** Alma 53:10–23; 56–57
*** The Family Proclamation (https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng)
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