Among those who believe that women should be restricted and hemmed in by boundaries set by males, there is a group within contemporary christendom who call themselves "complementarians," because they say they believe that the genders "complement" each other. It's a recently invented label that they've chosen to attach to their system of beliefs, preferring that to the less desirable previous way they were identified, as "traditionalists."
They were called traditionalists because that's what they are, people who cling to Medieval Bible interpretations and attitudes toward women. However, with one difference. It's no longer popular among them to continue to say that female people are actually inferior to male people (though their actions would lead one to think that they still do believe that). They have, instead, modified their historic theological position to say that they believe women are equal to men "in essence," but not "in position."
This means that the restrictions are pretty much the same as they were back when it was fashionable to say that females were inferior to males because God made them that way, and that was the reason the male was to be the boss. Now they say that it's just one of those things, that God gave the cookies to the men, and who are they to argue with God?
I can't really be comfortable calling those traditionalists-in-a-new dress complementarians. After all, everyone, egalitarians included, believes that the genders are complementary to each other. So, it's sort of an obvious attempt to clean up their name instead of cleaning up their act.
"Complementarians," or "comps" as they like to refer to themselves, come in a rainbow of persuasions, sort of a continuum from blatant female haters to almost persuaded fence sitters who will grant that women should be able to have access to every position in ministry, except pastoring churches.
What they all agree on, though, and this is the central tenet regardless of what they claim, is that females are to be restricted in some way, by males, and the most dominant male in the group gets to decide in what way and to what extent they are to be restricted.
I've asked them point blank if this is not the case, and they fall away in silence. Because, they cannot answer the question, the answer is obvious and uncontestable.
Most comps will not come right out and reveal their fears of women, nor their hatred of the female. I don't even think they all do fear and hate women. But, many obviously do.
Here is a link to an item on the blog of a couple of the most extremely restrictive, see what you think.
And below is the link to the front page of the blog, so you can scan the rest of its offerings:
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