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Flying Paper Airplanes is for Girls

Here’s something I read today on page 26 of a study guide designed for young people called “Rejoicing in God’s Good Design”.[1]

Under the heading of Optional Icebreakers was this:

Design Contest
(Recommended especially for boys)
Give each student a piece of paper and ask him to make a paper airplane.
Then have a contest to see which flies furthest.

I went to a trivia night last year and, in between the rounds of questions, there were some practical challenges (as is usually the case.) When it was my turn to be the one of our group to participate in the challenge, the activity was to make a paper airplane and then throw it to see which one would fly the farthest. The person whose plane flew the longest distance in the right direction was the winner. The challenge was identical to the one quoted in the study guide above.

I was happy with the challenge. This was something I had done before. I knew how to make paper airplanes and knew exactly what design to use.

I made my plane and, when it was my turn, I threw it in the air. My plane soared all the way to the other side of the auditorium. It glided considerably further than the paper planes of my fellow competitors, some of which nose-dived or looped or went awry, rather than flying straight.

I won. And my team benefited from the extra points that were added to our score. I was happy and my team was happy.

So why has the icebreaker activity in the study guide been recommended especially for boys? It is easy to find the answer to that question by looking at the content of the study guide. The people who have written it have a narrow, restrictive view of what girls and boys can do and can be, and they over-emphasise the differences between men and women. They claim their view on gender is biblically based, but I found some of their arguments—and choice and use of scriptures—odd, unsound, and unconvincing.

Being Brave is for Girls

On page 125 the authors mention the Greek verb andrizomaiThe etymology of this word gives the meaning “act like men” which is the meaning they emphasise. However, the word is used in the context of valour, strength, and bravery in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek version of the Old Testament) and in 1 Corinthians 16:13; it is not restricted to the courage of men. Plenty of Bible women, as well as men, were brave, and the cognate adjective andreia is used in Proverbs 12:4 and 31:10 of the Septuagint of valiant women. The author of 1 Clement 55:3-6. states that many women were andreia and gives Judith and Esther as examples.

The study guide highlights 1 Corinthians 16:13c which uses the word andrizomai. The authors imply that this verse applies only to men. However, Paul’s instructions here, to be courageous and strong, apply to both Christian men and women. (The NIV 2011 and the NRSV translate andrizomai correctly here as “be courageous”. An article about the ESV’s translation of andrizomai in 1 Corinthians 16:13 is here.)

In week 11 of the study guide, 1 Corinthians 16:13 (with the word andrizomai) which the authors aim at boys, is juxtaposed with 1 Peter 3:4, for the girls. Sadly, this study guide seems only to encourage boys to be brave. Girls, on the other hand, are encouraged to be gentle and quiet. (I’ve written on the non-gendered virtue of gentleness, here.)

By defining and restricting the parameters of what girls and boys, and women and men, can do and be, we are all missing out. Talented women can and should be involved in all sorts of activities. They can be involved in finding the cure for some disease, in designing safer structures and more efficient machines, in discovering or examining some long-lost historical artefact, in managing finances and budgets for companies, in planning more efficient processes for businesses, in deciphering codes for the military, in composing music or writing literature, in making the planet healthier, in being talented dancers and elite athletes, etc. I’m thinking of real women who do these things as I write. Not all women are as talented as these ladies, but most of us have much to offer society. Women should be involved in all sorts of endeavours, including Christian ministries, so that they can share and contribute their unique talents, gifts, perspectives and resources.

It is hurtful—rather than a cause for rejoicing—for capable girls and women to be excluded when they have something to offer and want to be involved. I wonder how many girls that went through the study felt left out and excluded because boys were given preference to make and fly paper airplanes, and only boys were encouraged to be brave. The polarisation of gender taught in the study guide has nothing to do with God’s design for men and women.


Footnote

[1] Rejoicing in God’s God Design © 2011 Gary Steward and Sally Michael, published by Children Desiring God. The 28-week study guide uses quotes from John Piper and other hierarchical complementarians. (The study guide is no longer online.)

Image Credit

Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels


Explore more

Various articles on Brave Bible Women
A Gentle and Quiet Spirit is not just a Feminine Virtue
Gender Obsessions: Emphasizing our Differences or our Similarities?
Working Women in the New Testament
Is motherhood the highest calling for women?
Mark Chanski on Gender Roles
Is it “Role” or “Rank” in Complementarianism?
Submission and Respect in 1 Peter 3:1-6

1 thought on “Some girls want to fly paper airplanes too

  1. Thank you for opening my eyes as to yet another area where I need to protect (or counter influence) my seven-year-old girl.

    Due to recent circumstances in our congregation, I am at a point where I am starting to feel fed up with the male domination, which I never have agreed with, just accepted as the rest of our experiences have been good. Now when the good things – an excellent youth ministry- have been removed by an abrupt act of the elders (all male) I find myself questioning whether I can in good conscience let my youngest grow up in the same church as her three older brothers.

    Thank you again for being an articulate and well-educated woman. I will continue to read your blog and learn how to express my thoughts on these matters.

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