Actor and Christian evangelist Kirk Cameron did an interview with the Christian Post last month in which he talked about how women ought to be subservient to their husbands in the relationship. It’s a message he preaches during his “Love Worth Fighting For” tour and one that’s all too common within Christian fundamentalism.
“Wives are to honor and respect and follow their husband’s lead, not to tell their husband how he ought to be a better husband,” Cameron explained. “When each person gets their part right, regardless of how their spouse is treating them, there is hope for real change in their marriage.”
Got that, ladies? Don’t worry if your husband treats you like shit. Respect him and do what he says. He can do no wrong. Communicating your concerns is an awful idea.
This is nothing new for Cameron, who’s been saying stuff like this for a long time. It’s not new for many evangelical churches either. Hell, some pastors will even say all this when officiating a wedding.
In fact, when Cameron did a similar speaking tour a few years ago, he gave male attendees a literal “Mancard” so they could remember what their marriage was all about:
I’ll leave it to all of you to decide what type of men need a card to remind them of how much their wives rock.
In any case, whenever the media hears Cameron open his mouth — or his sister saying the same thing on The View, or Mark Driscoll saying it in his book — they’re shocked. Cameron was trending on Facebook yesterday after the Christian Post article got picked up by more mainstream outlets. Maybe that’s for the best. It gives the world another chance to talk about how awful Christian complementarianism truly is. After all, outside the Christian bubble, these ideas sound repulsive and people aren’t afraid to say it.
Maybe that sort of relationship works for Cameron, but it’s foolish to think anyone else craves it — or can’t have a successful relationship without it.
As one commenter noted, “If you need to go to a conference to have Kirk Cameron tell you how to conduct your marriage, just stick a fork in it, you’re already done.”
(Screenshot via YouTube)
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