Jackalin Shvidky, Period 1, 11/05/2021

Socio-political Consciousness

 

What are your thoughts and feelings about issues of inequity, oppression, and/or power?

One of the most prominent examples of myths is the Bible - a book full of stories known well around the globe. The passages within the Bible were written with the aim to teach, hence projecting the ideals and opinions of the people who lived ages before us. Our so-called creation story, “Adam and Eve,” is one portrayed in a certain light of distinguished patriarchy. The story as most of us know it is presented with G-d creating Eve from Adam’s rib and, in doing so, molding an inferior helper to the man. She then proceeds to fall into the temptation of eating the apple on the tree and throws all into chaos. Through this perspective, Eve portrays (maybe even unintentionally) women in their assumed nature of “inferiority, evil, and seductiveness.” This is an ongoing theme amongst females in ancient myths with similar patterns appearing in Pandora’s Box, where Pandora unleashes all evil into the world because of her curiosity. Another example is the many cases in Greek mythology where Zeus cheats, and the only thing looked down upon is his wife Hera’s jealous reaction.

The reality of Adam and Eve is not the one that was read into the text by commenters and is in fact quite differently explained in the original texts. Some simple issues with the commonly known modern interpretation is that Eve was inferior simply because she was created later; in the many stories, humans as a whole were created after animals, yet were portrayed on a much higher pedestal. Another more serious misinterpretation is that the Serpent (the Devil) only spoke to Eve because of her inferiority in intellect and resistance. The original Biblical text has no such mention and any assumptions made were brought on by the society the verse was preached in. Eve’s temptation was never outwardly stated, but created a stigma for generations to come.

 

How do you reflect critically on your own beliefs, assumptions, values, and experiences, and how these can influence your perception of self and others?

In the current day and age, we as a society are moving more towards equality and tolerance. The story as I had always heard it, is not one I would like to call representative of today or of the female gender. This particular interpretation with a male gaze is molded to cast a shadow on half of the world population. I have always been a feminist and fought to prove that we are just as equal and deserving and that we can work just as hard. The original verse only proves that without bias there is equality and freedom in that equality. The Bible is used to teach good and morale, but certain aspects definitely have an effect on people and on their opinions. Even if we do not consciously choose to believe that women are inferior, some underlying ideas may push us to subconsciously think so. I believe we need to stop bringing in negative interpretations and start injecting our own modern opinions into the age-old myths to pass on to future generations. Myths carry what we believe and our truths, so it is beyond important for our time to document our beliefs and shape stories through this critical perspective. It is always important to read between the lines of any passage and to never disregard what is read, but only to analyze the works through the lens of the time.