A Gold Ring In A Pig's Snout

"Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout

is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion."

Proverbs 11:22

I couldn't let the month of March slip past me without contributing a little something to Women's History Month. Like many of you (including many strong female leaders of bygone generations who are all turning over in their graves), I am appalled by the news coming out of the recent Grammy Awards detailing ridiculous and lewd performances by female artists. It burns me up even further that, in certain circles, these will undoubtedly be hailed as "empowering" and "ground breaking" for all of woman-kind.

Has women's history actually taught us nothing? There was a time when women, through no fault of their own, were treated as nothing more than property. For many, marriage was like a self-imposed prison sentence just to avoid starvation out in the street. I can imagine that for those who weren't lucky enough to marry a decent man who would treat them with love and respect, marital activities could be torturous. After all, in these scenarios what good was a women other than what she could provide a man in the evening? Was her opinion regularly sought after at family dinner parties? Was her knowledge in high demand before making important family decisions? Was her expertise coveted by and her very existence indispensable to her husband who may or may not even acknowledge her presence from day to day? The answer to these questions is an unequivocal no.

Meanwhile, back in present day, Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion just showed millions of young girls how far women have come from those days of archaic thoughts that kept women in the box of being defined only by their ability to provide in the bedroom. Thankfully these two capable women got together and decided to create art that would shatter that medieval glass ceiling depicting women as good for nothing except a man's gratification.

Wait.

You mean to tell me that in a time when women's minds, knowledge, expertise, skill, competence, and professionalism are regularly sought after in all areas of industry and business, these two decided to say, "Nah. We're good. We'll stick to the one thing we've always been known for. Girls have the sex appeal. Boys have the brains." and WE ARE OKAY WITH THIS???

Turns out, maybe not. Viewership was apparently down by 53% turning out an audience of only 8.8 million. Is it possible then that lots and lots of us are just sick to death of being told by Hollywood that our private parts are the only thing newsworthy about us? I think that is a resounding yes.

But the really frustrating thing is, there are still lots and lots of women who feel wholly represented by that display of pornography on stage. It makes me shake my head in utter sadness that there are those who will defend the notion that extreme vulgarity and the shock factor it produces leads to the true empowerment women desire. Simultaneously, these same pundits will all out blast a man for not taking a woman seriously when she shows up with her breasts half exposed and a skirt cut just below her behind. Men objectifying women? Ha! What we have today is a clear changing of the guards as we witness more and more women objectifying their own selves... and proudly so.

So. Many. Face. Palms.

Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks, Mother Teresa, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Katherine Johnson... do we think these women would be proud right now? Or do we think it would break their hearts knowing that their dreams, accomplishments, humanitarian aid, civil rights activism, and women's movement advocacy, which was all meant to propel women into a higher plane of existence beyond what was possible for bygone generations, had resulted in women choosing to continue their own enslavement, but calling it empowerment? Gosh, I really can't help but think it would.

One of my favorite books of the bible is Esther. Long story short, Esther is a Jewish girl who becomes queen and with the help of her brave uncle, saves her entire race from extinction at the hands of the evil Haman. The Jewish celebration of Purim exists to commemorate Esther's courageous act. It's a fantastic biography that you should definitely read sometime soon.

In Esther's story though, there is another trailblazing woman that we are briefly introduced to at the very beginning of the book. Remember how I said Esther becomes queen? Well, there was a queen before her by the name of Vashti.

"At the end of this time, the king held a week-long banquet in the garden courtyard of the royal palace for all the people, from the greatest to the least, who were present in the fortress of Susa."

"The drinking was according to royal decree: “There are no restrictions.” The king had ordered every wine steward in his household to serve whatever each person wanted."

"On the seventh day, when the king was feeling good from the wine, Ahasuerus commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—the seven eunuchs who personally served him— to bring Queen Vashti before him with her royal crown. He wanted to show off her beauty to the people and the officials, because she was very beautiful. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king’s command that was delivered by his eunuchs. The king became furious and his anger burned within him."

"If it meets the king’s approval, he should personally issue a royal decree. Let it be recorded in the laws of the Persians and the Medes, so that it cannot be revoked: Vashti is not to enter King Ahasuerus’s presence, and her royal position is to be given to another woman who is more worthy than she. The decree the king issues will be heard throughout his vast kingdom, so all women will honor their husbands, from the greatest to the least."

Esther 1:5,8,10-12,19-20

She simply refused to come. She refused to be paraded in front of her husband and his drunk friends like a prize animal to be gawked at. She refused to allow herself to be reduced to nothing more than a curvy figure on display. And she was straight kicked out of the castle because of it.

I do not know much about Queen Vashti's background other than she was born a Persian princess. She would have been a pagan, not knowing or worshipping the one true God. We do not know what became of Vashti after her removal as queen either. However, this woman's brave choice of modesty in the face of debauchery is to be highly commended and imitated.

What we have here is yet another example of a woman from earlier times who fought to be heard and not just seen. She stood her ground in order to be respected for greater attributes other than just her physical beauty. Unlike our friends at the Grammys, Queen Vashti refused to degrade herself on stage for the enjoyment of men. She knew she was worth more than just her sexuality way before women's lib was even a thought in anyone's mind. Why is it that so many women don't realize that same thing all these thousands of years later in 2021?

In my opinion, this Grammys performance was a slap in the face to women currently enslaved in sex industries. It completely dishonors the memory of those eight Asian women who were just gunned down in Atlanta. When Hollywood screams #MeToo and #TimesUp out of one side of their mouth, yet continues to scream "sex sells" out of the other, how is this actually helping women to do the excruciatingly hard work of escaping (even if they could escape) these situations? Why would a man find it within himself to better his outlook on women in general when there are famous women in the music industry who portray themselves as nothing more than sex objects? The enigma here is truly baffling and so, so dangerous to all of the wonderful work done by the early trailblazers of women's rights.

No more. No more downloads. No more CDs purchased. No more YouTube videos watched. No more following on social media. No more! Oh that's just crazy. Really? Is it? Did you read what I just wrote above? These types of songs and performances spit in the face of true women's rights activism. They tell young girls that no matter how successful they become in life, it's all got to be reduced back down to their sexuality. They tell young boys that no matter how successful a young women becomes in her life, she is still nothing more than an object to be desired. Literally, no brain power is being exhibited here. None. If you're cool with that role model for your young daughter, well I can't stop you, but I surely hope you take these words to heart and change your mind sooner rather than later.

Jesus never objectified women so why do it to ourselves? During His ministry, He walked with women, talked with women and changed the prevailing perception of women along the way that told them they were nothing more than property to be owned. He never ridiculed, embarrassed or denigrated. Do you know what He ultimately did? He held women to the same standards of holiness that he held the men. He put them on equal ground before the cross. So why oh why do women want to backpedal now? 

We are no longer known for nothing more than our ability to satisfy a man like those women in bygone eras. Ladies, can we please not allow Hollywood to take us all the way back to those primitive times? Let's combat this with our big 'ol useful brains and take another women by the hand and help her to use her own big 'ol useful brain too. As for Carbi B and Megan Thee Stallion, same goes for them. These are women who need to know and trust that the world will still listen to and value them even if they are fully clothed. Maybe, in all of their fame and fortune, they truly don't know that. Maybe they actually love what they are creating, but maybe they've just been told for too long that they are only good for one thing. They're not. They, just like me, are image bearers of God. Oh how I wish they knew that as well as the life altering power of the Holy Spirit that is available to them just as it is to me. Maybe then they would fully understand their worth in the eyes of Christ.

This is the kind of future we should all want for our girls, whether they are our own or not.