Let me tell you my opinion.
We are made to look like God, after His likeness and character. He specifically created man and woman. Obviously one reason is so that the rest of us could be born, they needed to have children so that man could be. "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth."
Now, I'd like to point something out. When God created man, He didn't say "So God created man to be buff and have a beard, showing no emotion for he was strong. God made man to only enjoy working with his hands and doing the manual labor. God created women to be emotional, yeah, to be delicate flowers, having long manes and decorating their faces."
You get the picture.
No, God simply said "Here's a man, here's a woman. We made them after our image, male and female." Also, God was quite happy with how he created man and woman. "And God saw every thing he had made, and behold, it was very good." https://www.lds.org/scriptures/ot/gen/1?lang=eng (Genesis 1)
If God didn't care about genders, why would He create them to be separate and distinct? I don't think abolishing genders is a good idea. God doesn't make mistakes.
Another reason I believe God created genders is so that men and women could be a help meet for each other. In Genesis 2:18 it says "And the Lord God said, it is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." A lot of people think this means that Eve [and all women] are to be a help to their husbands. The term help meet (also help mate) is a companion or partner and I read somewhere that it also has the connotation that Eve was designed for Adam, to compliment him and pair with him. God didn't just give Adam a wife, someone to have kids with. He also gave him a woman who was a good match for him, they were a good couple together. I like to think of the term "help meet" as being someone who meets you where you are and helps you grow closer to God.
Later, because Adam and Eve sin, Adam has to till the ground and work hard to make it beautiful and Eve is to bear children. Modern day revelation gives us a little more specific detail as to the separate responsibilities men and women have in the Church.
https://www.lds.org/bc/content/shared/content/english/pdf/36035_000_24_family.pdf
The Family, a Proclamation to the World was given by President Hinckley 20 years ago. It says this about men:"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."
A lot of people take that to mean that fathers should work for their family and provide protection, being strong and masculine. There are many ways to interpret these lines and apply them to your own unique situation and circumstance. I'll come back to this. Here's what is says about women:
"Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children."
That one is pretty straight forward. Now, before you get all mad at me saying "How oppressed women are in your church!" look at a key word in both descriptions. Primarily. These are general terms. The Church and God do not wish to dictate every aspect of our lives. That would be exhausting and would ruin the joy we experience as we make our own decisions through prayerful consideration. These are guidelines. Basically, the Prophet and his twelve apostles felt it important to let everyone know that because of our divine inheritance, men should try to provide as much as they can for their families and preside as the priesthood holder through love and righteousness and a closeness to God as well as protect his family. Women should primarily nurture the children. Mothers are the ones that carry the baby for 9 months and breast feed (if that's what you're in to). It makes sense that a mother typically nurtures her children. It is divine design that men are to provide for their families but that doesn't mean that a mother can't either. I plan on teaching piano lessons and doing graphic design while I have kids, there's on reason why I can't. Every family is different. Some have a stay at home dad. Ultimately, it's between you, your spouse and God how you should go about your lives together as husband and wife and eventually mom and dad.
Men and women are to work together. "In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners." Whatever you feel is necessary for you and your spouse to do in order to raise your family, you should do it.
See? And the world thinks women are oppressed in our Church. We are not in the slightest! We simply believe that men and women are inherently different and have different responsibilities in the home. Men can receive certain promptings and guidance from having the priesthood and women receive unique instruction as well just from being a mother or having the potential to be one. Isn't that cool??
Now, society deems a lot of different things when it comes to gender roles. In America, men are usually portrayed to be masculine, "wearing the pants," and women are portrayed to be feminine, soft, and sensual.
Other countries portray men and women differently, but today I want to focus on America. This is a box advertising wants to put us in. There have been movements to try and make it less extreme and mold the two together.
I just want to say, today's marketing and advertising means squat.
How do we use gender? Or, how should we use gender?
I use gender in knowing that I am a daughter of God. That means I inherently have the ability to have children. Beyond that, how I define myself, is up to me. Some people say women should have long hair, wear makeup, dress themselves up. I know who I am.
I don't see myself as the typical woman. I change my hair all the time, right now I like it short. I like to dress up on occasion, but typically I wear pants and a comfty t shirt. I don't like to wear make up very often. I'm not your stick figure kind of girl. I have curves and I'm not afraid of them. I don't let society deem what it means to be a woman. I have discovered myself what kind of a woman I am.
People try to change their genders to achieve some kind of happiness they think they're after by "becoming a man/woman." Here's what I know: To be a man/woman, you're born with XX or XY chromosomes, you have a unique genetic makeup, and you have certain body parts. God gives us a couple of responsibilities based on those genetic factors. The rest is up to you and how you let society influence your decisions. Quit trying to get rid of something God made. Quit trying to blur the lines. God has them there for a reason. Celebrate who you are, as a man, or a woman, masculine, or feminine. I like to think of myself as feminine just not flowery.
Who do you see yourself as?
Don't forget, cookies, if you're European.
