Violence and Abuse
"I would argue that one of the most serious negative consequences of the heritage of mind/body dualism in the Christian West is the failure to recognize bodyright. The absence of bodyright in our culture is directly attributable to patriarchy. The absence of bodyright is clearest and most acute in the cases of children, of women, and of men who are in the military, especially when these are also racial/ethnic groups from lower economic classes. This fact supports the understanding of patriarchy as responsible for the absence of bodyright, for in full-blown patriarchies, the lives of women, children, slaves/servants, and warriors are owned by the patriarchs, whose interests they serve." "The phenomenon of sexual violence and recovery from its victimization point to two areas of necessary change in Western Christian culture: 1) recognition and respect for bodyright, and 2) insistence that the image of God includes only creative, collaborative, enabling, and therapeutic power oriented to life and its fullness. These are not minor changes in our religious tradition or our secular culture." (Christine Gudorf)