The Purpose of a Woman

Election season feels mercifully short this year.

A politician was recently quoted as saying that childcare is, “The whole purpose of the postmenopausal female.” 

Much has been written on this already; apparently I’m not the only person who felt baited into reacting. In a world where the more incendiary a comment is, the more clicks it gets, I feel myself forming the reaction to ignore instead quite often. But this sentiment struck me a little deeper than just reacting. It got me thinking quite literally:

What is the purpose of a woman?

And

Who gets to decide?

Feminist theory would say each person gets to decide what their own purpose is. That sure doesn’t stop everyone from having an opinion though!

What does religion, politics, society, your family, etc., say your purpose is?

What do you say it is?

Are those things the same, or different?

If there is a conflict between those things, what has that been like for you?