Stephanie Gordon is the wife of author podcaster Timothy Gordon and the mother of their seven kids. She has written a book called Ask Your Husband: A Catholic Guide for Femininity, which has been quite the object of derision in the Catholic internet space.
Most of her critics are working Catholic women who consider themselves conservative and some are authors with their own books against Mrs. Gordon’s thesis. Indeed, she has touched the ecclesial third rail by defending the biblical and magisterial tradition of Catholic husbands imitating Christ through servant leadership and Catholic wives submitting to their husbands.
It seems less than 1% of self-identifying Catholic conservatives want to go touch this third rail out of misplaced fear of angry women who think submission means slavery and headship means tyranny.
Points Covered in this episode
- Why is this book now from this author
- The many biblical passages that affirm wifely submission and why it’s not “culturally conditioned” out of binding relevance
- A brief history of the Church’s teaching against married women working outside the home
- Why you never hear women saying, “Let me ask the boss,” whereas it’s a cliche among men to say the words regarding their wives.
- How feminism made deep and wide inroads into the mindset of Catholics
- Pro tips on making marriage great again
Resources mentioned in this episode
- Ask Your Husband: A Catholic Guide for Femininity, by Stephanie Gordon
- The Case for Patriarchy, by Timothy Gordon
To listen to this interview click on the link: https://www.patrickcoffin.media/catholic-anti-feminism-stephanie-gordon/
The Patrick Coffin Show podcast features weekly interviews with A-list influencers and outliers in the effort to recover the Judeo-Christian roots of the culture. Patrick is the Canadian-born former host of Catholic Answers Live, and he has raving fans around the world. He injects these fascinating interviews with his own distinctive blend of depth and levity. If you’re tired of politically correct mediaspeak, you want to see God back in the public square, and you’re not allergic to having a laugh, this is the place to be.
7 thoughts on “Catholic Anti-Feminism—Stephanie Gordon”
Have the Gordons discussed their position on Carrie Gress’s books. I would be interested to hear their thoughts.
“It seems less than 1% of self-identifying Catholic conservatives want to go touch this third rail out of misplaced fear of angry women who think submission means slavery and headship means tyranny.” But for many, many women, the fear not misplaced. It’s our lived experience. You can’t put the weight on the woman to submit. You should put the weight on the man to lead, and be nice about it and this allows a woman to respond to him. People who criticize her aren’t just working moms; you may want to tell yourself that but there’s a lot more to it. She’s being hypocritical by writing a book telling other women not to work. She says the wife shouldn’t leave the home without her husband’s permission. She’s unclear about how abuse and or mistreatment should be handled. There’s a lot to criticize not the least of which is that her horrible ideas aren’t Catholic.
Why is Stephanie Gordon speaking in public? If she really meant what she put in this book, we would never know she existed because she would never presume to write a book for publication. She has floors to scrub and needs to get to it. Her book undermines her entire premise and shows her and her husband to be filthy hypocrites.
Have the courage of your convictions and defend wife-beating. You know you want to.
Another Karen opines. Precious.
Pingback: THVRSDAY EDITION – Big Pulpit
Very disappointed in the podcast. Listened to the whole podcast and never heard about
“The many biblical passages that affirm wifely submission and why it’s not “culturally conditioned” out of binding relevance .”
Is there a list somewhere of these passages?
Also would be nice to include a transcript of the conversation, so hearing impaired can listen without struggling to hear the words.
She claims to follow scripture, in particular Paul, but Paul said different things. He told wives to submit to their husbands, he forbade them from speaking in church, he told them to ask their husbands if they have a question as to what is taught there, and he said they are “saved” by childbearing. But in other places he spoke approvingly of women prophesying, being deacons, running local churches (and even one being an apostle), and said that “in Christ there is neither male nor female”. These teachings cannot coexist which is why most scholars think Paul didn’t write all the letters attributed to him. (Jesus, notably, was mum on the entire subject.)
Her presentation also lacks specifics. Most of the interview she spends saying what she is not advocating. I assume she isn’t opposed to women having the vote, or getting equal pay for equal work, etc. But what does male headship mean? Should a wife refuse sex if he desires it but she doesn’t? What if the husband can’t instruct her on the Bible because she is far more conversant with Scripture than he is — does she put the Bible away and wait for him to catch up — and what if he never does? What about decisions about a women’s health issue (such as a hysterectomy, or whether to breast feed)? Your children will see male headship playing out and learn by example — will the girls have to follow what the boys say? Concrete examples from her own life would be helpful.