In a world where so much of what we do and believe, how much of our organizational systems are set up, involves and relies upon the idea that men and women are inherently different in more than biology.  Even in cases where the prevalent patriarchy isn’t in charge, where women take the helm and define the culture themselves, the gender divide is an inherent part of how things are understood.  And as long as we understand things through the lens which assumes the validity of the gender binary, it is destined to be a battle to decide which is better.

Building a spiritual culture around the idea that women are sacred in a way that is different from and juxtaposed against the sacredness claimed by men still involves a gender imbalance.  It still leaves out the spectrum between, and largely leaves no room for true equality.

Not that there isn’t a place for woman-centric spiritualities.

The celebration of that which is otherwise degraded and devalued is important, no more so than in a world dominated by male holy figures and male spiritual authorities.  But the power men hold over women in society isn’t bad just because men can’t be trusted with that power, but because when one group has that power over another it will result in the oppression of the dominated group.  Always.

And in the end, anything which emphasizes and and centers itself on this idea of duality will struggle to find balance in the long term.

There are too few spiritual traditions which place men and women on equal footing.  Not none, but few.  But that equal footing is necessary in order to fully embrace the role of both genders, but to fully embrace all of those in between.