On Monday, the Church of England's first female bishop was ordained. As Reverend Libby Lane was made the eighth Bishop of Stockport, the story made headline news pretty much worldwide, highlighting how far gender equality has come but also how very far it has yet to go.
And while the coverage was almost all positive, I can’t help but feel a bit patronised by how the story was covered, or the fact that it even existed in the first place.
Women as BISHOPS? Oh, our rights are being completely overindulged and we're only three weeks into 2015. Where will the line be drawn? Women being allowed to vote was surely privilege-enough for us, but to allow us practice religion at the same level as men, well we are well and truly being pampered these days!
Granted my knowledge of The Church of England was quite limited, but I've learned that the main principle upon which they were founded is the concept of change and reform. Now Christian writers have mentioned the British Church dating back as far as the third century AD, so lucky for us gals it's only taken until 2015 for them to implement the basis upon which they were formed. Again, spoiled rotten.
In fairness it wasn't until over twenty years ago that female priests were allowed in the church, so they've wasted no time whatsoever in upgrading their permitted roles to include bishops as well.
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But inevitably, this giant leap forward for gender equality couldn't occur without some ridiculous and outdated opposition. During the ceremony in York Minster, a male Reverend interrupted the proceedings by shouting "Not in the bible". What an incredible insight into the lack of a specific piece of content in a sacred text! His talents are wasted in his current field, that’s for sure.
Maybe he has a point - the Church of Ireland ordained their first female bishop in September 2013 and we have quite clearly lost the absolute run of ourselves over here since.
Yes, perhaps we must be aware that the apocalypse is inevitable. Something occurring that the bible hasn't permitted will most certainly result in the end of humanity as we know it. Is a deserving person, regardless of gender, being ordained as a Bishop worthy of making the news? Sure, why not. But is using their gender to highlight how far gender equality has advanced not the biggest hypocrisy in the world?
At this rate we might be in charge of bringing out the recycling bins all by ourselves in 2016. What a time to be alive.
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What do you think about the coverage of the story? Did it leave you feeling a bit patronised or did it have no effect whatsoever because you were too busy trying to achieve equality in your own life?
