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The Ideology of Wifely Submission: A Challenge for Feminism?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 November 2008

R. Claire Snyder-Hall
R. Claire Snyder-Hall
Affiliation:
George Mason University
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Abstract

This article examines the writings of women who explicitly embrace wifelysubmission, including those who advocate corporal punishment. Through a closereading of primary sources, the article seeks to illuminate the biblicalliteralist theology that underlies the ideology of wifely submission and toexplain the reasons why many heterosexual women find such an ideology appealing.While many readers might be tempted to dismiss such women as antifeminist, thequestion of desire that their writing raises goes to the heart of a majorchallenge faced by contemporary feminist theory, which since the “sexwars” often remains divided between those who accept whatever womenchoose as feminist and those who stand in judgment of other women'schoices. This article uses the case of wifely submission to examine the problemof desire, the concept of consent, and the benefits and limitations of“choice” discourse within feminist theory. It argues for amiddle-ground approach that respects women as agents in their own lives, whilealso engaging them in reflective conversation about desire and itsramifications.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 4 , Issue 4 , December 2008 , pp. 563 - 586
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2008

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