Patriarchy in Power

Well, look who’s back in office with a vengeance and a freshly starched purity culture agenda. The Trump 2.0 administration is pushing patriarchy like it’s gospel – and passing laws to match.

First came Executive Order 14168, declaring that gender is fixed at conception – not because science said so, but because it fits neatly into their little binary worldview. According to the new rules, you are what the government says you are, and if you’re trans, queer, or anything outside their 1950s fantasy, you don’t count.

And then:

• They slashed reproductive healthcare funding.

• Pardoned anti-abortion extremists.

• Proposed a “Motherhood Medal” for popping out six babies like it’s a dystopian fertility cult.

• Banned trans folks from the military, again – because apparently protecting the country is a boys-only club now.

• Declared war on LGBTQ+ youth under the guise of “protecting women’s sports” – while doing absolutely nothing to stop abuse in actual women’s sports.

Let’s be clear:
This isn’t policy.
It’s punishment.

It’s patriarchy playing religious dress-up and calling itself righteous.

Meanwhile, Jesus Was Busy Trusting Women With the Truth

You’d think folks who talk so much about following Jesus might actually stop to notice how he treated women – and anyone the patriarchy tried to forget.

Because when it comes to Jesus?

• It was Mary Magdalene, not Peter, who got the resurrection announcement.

• It was the woman at the well who became the first evangelist.

• It was a bleeding woman who reached out in faith – and was praised for it, not condemned.

• It was Mary of Bethany, who sat and learned at his feet like a disciple – and got publicly affirmed for doing so.

• And it was the women, not the men, who stayed through the crucifixion and showed up first at the tomb.

You don’t get to build a theology of exclusion out of a ministry of embrace.
You don’t get to weaponize gender norms in the name of a teacher who shattered them.

But that’s exactly what this administration keeps trying to do.

Patriarchy Isn’t Neutral. It’s a Political Weapon.

Let’s not mince words.

This isn’t about “biological truth” or “biblical values.”

It’s about controlling bodies – especially women’s, especially trans folks’.
It’s about silencing people who live outside the lines the powerful have drawn.
It’s about making Love smaller so power can feel bigger.

But Love doesn’t follow the rules patriarchy writes.

Love sees the whole person.
Love doesn’t erase identities.
Love refuses to cooperate with systems that shrink people down to what’s palatable for straight, white, evangelical, conservative men in suits.

And Love sure as hell doesn’t ask your gender before it shows up to heal.

This Is Theological Malpractice – And It’s Got a Body Count

Every time politicians disguise control as conviction, people get hurt.
And every time we stay silent in the face of that kind of theology, we help build the pulpit the Empire preaching from.

If your theology only uplifts straight, cis men?
If your Jesus only speaks through a bullhorn at anti-abortion rallies?
If your God is more offended by pronouns than poverty?

You don’t need a bigger platform –
you need a better theology.

One Last Thing...

The Empire’s been erasing people in the name of "truth" since crucifixions were public entertainment.
So don’t be shocked when the same forces that once dismissed women and demonized the queer and the different…
Try to do it again – just with better branding.

But Jesus? He didn’t run with that kind of crowd.
He walked with the ones they tried to write off.
And that’s still where Love lives.

So let the lawmakers legislate.
Let the powerbrokers “preach.”
We’ll keep living the Jesusy parts anyway –
where women lead, queer folks rise,
and every erased identity gets re-centered at the heart of the story.