Redeeming The Helpmate: Gender Submissive Performance As Protective Amongst Black Church Women

• In Event: 50461 - Section on Sociology of Religion Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 2: Religious Organizations & Religion in Place

Abstract

The Bible describes the role of a wife as a helpmate, intended for companionship, support and submission to her husband. Critics assert the Helpmate is a symbol of female subordination and a relic of traditional Christian patriarchy. Yet, for Black Christian women such a role represents a different reality. The very traits of the Helpmate many find restrictive—making decisions in tandem with a partner as a necessity, rooted in spirituality, and relinquishing leadership of the home to her husband—are a relief and source of protection from the racist and sexist burdens these women face outside the home. Respondents describe the act of submission as a choice, rather than a compulsion, reflective of their strength, faith, and authority in their families. This paper—informed by interview data with 30 women connected to a Southern Baptist Church in Southeast Louisiana—rebuts arguments that traditional gender roles are inherently disempowering to the women who choose to perform them and highlights the ways race and spirituality shape the gender performance of Black Christian women in their homes and romantic partnerships.

Author

• Brianne Alexandra Painia, University of Chicago