Before reading Motherhood Redeemed, How Radical Feminism Betrayed Maternal Love, written by Kimberly Cook, I had only an vague idea of what radical feminism espouses, though I know it contradicts the Catholic understanding of womanhood.
I realized that radical feminism and motherhood often clash, yet I knew very little of the origin of this standoff. So I was curious to learn how “feminism betrayed maternal love”, as the book’s subtitle suggests.
Author Kimberly Cook holds an MA in Systemic Theology and hosts a popular Catholic podcast, The Dignity of Women. Through her written work and her podcast, Cook seeks to challenge modern feminism. She equips Catholics to understand true femininity and masculinity. And she encourages women to embrace their “feminine genius” and their inherent dignity as women.
In this book, Cook takes readers on a thorough history of feminism, starting with its genesis in the 19th century with the suffrage movement. She introduces us to the key players in the fight for women’s right to vote, namely Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who, incredibly, was a mother to seven children. Both leaders believed motherhood to be a most venerable job, and the suffragettes were staunchly anti-abortion.
So how did the feminist movement begin by fighting for basic rights for women, like voting or the right to own property, and move on to securing the right to abortion on demand, “planned” parenthood and embracing the sexual revolution?
Cook explains the development of the abortion industry by fake doctors, who offered expensive abortions to the wealthy elites of New York City. In the early 20th century, abortion was essentially being used by the rich, as often as, if not more frequently than by the poor, as birth control.
This eventually led to the development of birth control, espoused centrally by Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood. Then, the sexual revolution and other radical feminists followed Sanger. One such woman, Simone de Beauvior, an ex-Catholic turned atheist, believed that motherhood was dangerous to women. She also felt that women were oppressed by the patriarchy of religion, and that gender was a construct, which has formed the basis of today’s gender ideology.
Most of the radical feminists, from Sanger onward, were anti-religion, in particular, virulently anti-Catholic. Yet, all along this sordid history of feminism, we read in the book about the Catholic response.
As feminism developed, the Catholic Church was often the lone voice upholding the dignity of life and womanhood and the sanctity of marriage and motherhood.
Cook concludes her book with a final section that succinctly summarizes Catholic teaching regarding birth control and sexuality. She also explains the Catholic understanding of masculinity, femininity, and the equal dignity of men and women.
Cook weaves a thoroughly engrossing story of history, while incorporating her own life experiences.
She begins her narrative as a teen falling away from a loosely held Catholic faith. She then embraces a rebellious punk lifestyle and feminist ideology. Eventually, we learn about her incredible conversion back to the faith of her youth, finding a faithful spouse, and subsequently welcoming motherhood.
Though occasionally distracted by the transition from personal narrative to history and back, all in all, the merits of the book far outweigh any slight confusion I encountered. I found myself equally intrigued by Cook’s own personal story and the fascinating history she was explaining.
In fact, her personal testimony illustrates how radical feminism is assimilated into our own thoughts without much effort. Feminism has become so ingrained in the culture, that without personal assent, we have been inculcated with its ideology.
I was truly excited as I delved deeper into the book. I found myself turning the pages quickly, engrossed in information to which I had never before been exposed. Many times, as I read this book, I thought to myself (and said to my husband): “This is fascinating.”
You may be wondering, as I was, how the ideas of radical feminism have influenced our lives, and how these ideas are vastly at odds with maternity, true femininity and our faith. If you find yourself questioning these concepts, I highly recommend reading this book.
The Catholic Church’s teachings divert markedly from radical feminism. Pope Saint John Paul II is an excellent resource if you’d like to learn more about what the Church now calls the “feminine genius.” Read more in his 1988 Apostolic letter, Mulieris Dignitatem (On The Dignity and Vocation of Women), or his shorter 1995 pastoral letter, Letter to Women.
To learn more about Kimberly Cook, her podcast and books, please visit her website. You can purchase this book from the publisher, Tan Books. Or you can also find it on Amazon.
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