(Originally appeared in Mutant Renegade Zine #8,Spring 1998)
Why are some people so upset with a group of men getting together to bond and pray? When the group is as large and as quickly expanding as the Promise Keepers (PK), people have reason to worry. PK is one of the fastest spreading religious revival movements in recent American history. This male-exclusive Christian movement was started in 1990 by Bill McCartney, in Colorado, with only forty men. In 1991, PK' s first event drew 4200 men, by late 1997 the group estimates they have drawn 2.6 million men to 61 stadiums around the country. Many people feel that even though PK publicly denies any kind of political agenda, the movement is so large that an effect on the political environment is unavoidable. It is common knowledge that McCartney has in the past aligned himself with the antiabortion group Operation Rescue and said that homosexuality is "an abomination of almighty God," while campaigning for the passage of a anti-gay amendment in Colorado. PK' s possible political influence is frightening to many non-Christians, who feel their interest will not be considered. The point of controversy that is causing the most commotion, however, is PK' s attitude toward women. Many women' s groups have spoken out against PK' s position on equality in the home.
It' s easy to see why many women feel threatened by PK. At a recent PK rally men were observed slapping high-fives while repeating the chant, "Thank god I' m a man!". Gloria Steinem explains, "The PK' s advocate a return to patriarchy, not the equal partnership that many men work towards". PK' s position is taking the women' s movement back decades, by asking men to take total authority in their families. PK itself responds by quoting biblical texts, in which god is depicted as male and men are the final authority in the household. Even their pamphlets concede with this idea. In one tract, it tells men that they should not try to compromise with a wife who is resistant to surrender command to her husband, but to seize control. Even so, the PKs insist that the movement' s central tenet is that men should treasure and serve their wives and families. But are they doing it the right way?
Treating women differently just because they are female can have some terribly harmful results. In 1993, three years after Bill McCartney founded PK, he failed to see that his wife was suffering from bulimia and severe depression, and was contemplating suicide. He states, "I thought she was just exercising discipline. You know how ladies are, concerned about the pounds. I saw that she was losing weight, and I was proud of her." This is after Mrs. McCartney spent the better part of a year in her room spurning any contact with anyone. Is this the way "to treasure and serve"?
Many wives, however, report that PK has had a positive effect on their individual marriages and families. Some say that PK has helped their husbands stop cheating. This is wonderful, except that they shouldn' t have been doing that in the first place. With PK, these men are trading one gender-discriminatory behavior for another. They promise that, "We won' t cheat, and in return we get to run the family". What a bargain! It' s plain to see why so many men have seized PK philosophy so quickly.
Prominent sociologist Stuart Wright calls PK "an attempt to raise the authority status of angry white men who find themselves declining in privilege and power". He believes that the movement is trying to take the social atmosphere back to the 50' s. Many men are not comfortable with the fact that there are no longer firm traditional gender boundaries. PK is trying to reestablish these lines, to the detriment of women. Countless women have worked very hard to dissolve these gender boundaries, just to be considered equal to men. PK is asking them to take a giant step backward.
Why are some people so upset with a group of men getting together to bond and pray? When the group is as large and as quickly expanding as the Promise Keepers (PK), people have reason to worry. PK is one of the fastest spreading religious revival movements in recent American history. This male-exclusive Christian movement was started in 1990 by Bill McCartney, in Colorado, with only forty men. In 1991, PK' s first event drew 4200 men, by late 1997 the group estimates they have drawn 2.6 million men to 61 stadiums around the country. Many people feel that even though PK publicly denies any kind of political agenda, the movement is so large that an effect on the political environment is unavoidable. It is common knowledge that McCartney has in the past aligned himself with the antiabortion group Operation Rescue and said that homosexuality is "an abomination of almighty God," while campaigning for the passage of a anti-gay amendment in Colorado. PK' s possible political influence is frightening to many non-Christians, who feel their interest will not be considered. The point of controversy that is causing the most commotion, however, is PK' s attitude toward women. Many women' s groups have spoken out against PK' s position on equality in the home.
It' s easy to see why many women feel threatened by PK. At a recent PK rally men were observed slapping high-fives while repeating the chant, "Thank god I' m a man!". Gloria Steinem explains, "The PK' s advocate a return to patriarchy, not the equal partnership that many men work towards". PK' s position is taking the women' s movement back decades, by asking men to take total authority in their families. PK itself responds by quoting biblical texts, in which god is depicted as male and men are the final authority in the household. Even their pamphlets concede with this idea. In one tract, it tells men that they should not try to compromise with a wife who is resistant to surrender command to her husband, but to seize control. Even so, the PKs insist that the movement' s central tenet is that men should treasure and serve their wives and families. But are they doing it the right way?
Treating women differently just because they are female can have some terribly harmful results. In 1993, three years after Bill McCartney founded PK, he failed to see that his wife was suffering from bulimia and severe depression, and was contemplating suicide. He states, "I thought she was just exercising discipline. You know how ladies are, concerned about the pounds. I saw that she was losing weight, and I was proud of her." This is after Mrs. McCartney spent the better part of a year in her room spurning any contact with anyone. Is this the way "to treasure and serve"?
Many wives, however, report that PK has had a positive effect on their individual marriages and families. Some say that PK has helped their husbands stop cheating. This is wonderful, except that they shouldn' t have been doing that in the first place. With PK, these men are trading one gender-discriminatory behavior for another. They promise that, "We won' t cheat, and in return we get to run the family". What a bargain! It' s plain to see why so many men have seized PK philosophy so quickly.
Prominent sociologist Stuart Wright calls PK "an attempt to raise the authority status of angry white men who find themselves declining in privilege and power". He believes that the movement is trying to take the social atmosphere back to the 50' s. Many men are not comfortable with the fact that there are no longer firm traditional gender boundaries. PK is trying to reestablish these lines, to the detriment of women. Countless women have worked very hard to dissolve these gender boundaries, just to be considered equal to men. PK is asking them to take a giant step backward.