Christian women have been roasting their local churches in a rise of Twitter posts exposing the sexist and patriarchal statements made against them.
Sarah Bessey, Canadian author of Jesus Feminist, tweeted on April 18 using the personally constructed hashtag “ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear.” She mildly suggested in her tweet that the topic would be interesting to explore. Since then, the hashtag has become a rapidly growing trend among church-going women, with tweets expressing misogynistic comments, ideas and teachings, both implicit and explicit, being used within Christian Church culture.
The tweets bring forward a broad range of internal issues, such as women being discouraged from pursuing higher education and the double standards between men and women in consideration of what constitutes “modest” clothing. Some reveal churches rejecting opinions and direction simply because it is coming from a woman. The majority demonstrate a general understanding in Christian Church society that women should focus on getting married, caring for the children and satisfying their husbands’ wishes and whims.
Shortly after the topic took the Twitter spotlight, a secondary hashtag appeared, opening the conversation to #ThingsOnlyBlackChristianWomenHear. Tweets using the tag reveal racist comments that specifically undermine black women as well as church leadership being unwilling to defend the victims.
Although the tweets aim to give women a platform to raise awareness and share support amidst their congregations, the topic has received startling criticism. In a recent Facebook post defending the purpose behind the hashtag, Sarah Bessey stated, “#ThingsOnlyChristianWomenHear and its spin-offs gave women who are routinely minimized, silenced, marginalized, dismissed, oppressed etc. a safe place to voice that experience.” What the Christian Church does with these testimonies, however, is yet to be seen.