[non sequitur]

Originally Posted by BigFatMeanie

I ranted about this in our Marriage/Family relations class in Sunday School a few months back. My thesis was this:

Basically all talks in the Church directed at women are positive and upbeat: "You're doing a wonderful job. You are wonderful daughters of our Father in Heaven. Be happy. Our Heavenly Father loves you. Have Joy. We all love you."

Basically all talks in the Church directed at men are to point out some area where men are failing in their responsibilities. "Stop looking at porno. Do your home teaching. Stop looking at porno. Love your wife and kids. Stop looking at porno. Don't gamble. Stop looking at porno. Oh yeah, do your home teaching."

You may find a counter example here or there but the sum of all talks definitely flows in the direction of chastizement for men and postive encouragement for women.

This is done out of guilt. The Church is extremely patriarchal. In the Church, women are second class citizens and everyone knows it. We still cling to the notion of a woman's place being in the home, barefoot and pregnant. When leaders extol the virtues of women in the Church, they are throwing them the proverbial bone, trying to ease their own guilt.