Last weekend was Cool, Chic and in Christ undiluted.
Saturday, saw a trip to the Christopher Wren designed St James’ Church,
Piccadilly for The National Youth Theatre’s excellent production of Louise
Brealey’s The Legend of Pope Joan and
on Sunday I was at The Roundhouse to watch Lady Gaga open the iTunes festival,
with new material from her forthcoming album ArtPop. As I drifted to sleep in
the early hours of the morning, with a strange combo of Gaga lyrics (her new
track Swine is a 24 carat hit if I
ever heard one) and bible verses (I know, I’m random like that), I was struck
by two things, the incredibly visceral reaction that strong women get, and
indeed what is the Christo response to it.
Let’s start with Pope Joan: as implied by the title, the
play is based on a mediaeval legend that a woman disguised as a man rose all
the way to the Papacy. There are many relevant themes explored in the play,
from the casual misogyny of her fellow Christian brothers, through to the more pertinent,
what does leadership in the church look like for those of us with a double x
chromosome? In one scene, Pope Joan quotes from a passage which has long
bothered me and that I will return to at greater length in a future post:
“For
what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third
day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then
to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than
five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are
still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then
he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and
last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” 1 Corinthians 15:3-8
So why does Paul in spite of accounts that
pre-date his own by a good several decades conveniently omit that it was the
women and not the men that saw the risen Lord first? For those without a
concordance, check out Mark 16:9
(most bible scholars agree that Mark’s is the oldest gospel in the bible, not
me making up stuff, honest) or even Matthew
28:8-10 both which clearly show the women and not Peter or any of the other
male disciples seeing Jesus first? And why does it still bother so many to have
women be of equal spiritual authority – or indeed for women’s voices to be
heard and perish the thought be as articulate as the men’s? Walking home from
the play, and without wishing to spoil its ending, I was left with the feeling
we still have some way to go.
The Lady Gaga concert threw up a number of
thoughts. First things first, the sheer devotion and exuberance of the ‘monsters’:
There is fandom and then then there is quasi-religion. She decrees on Twitter
that snouts must be sported, and boom! Pig masks and stuffed pigs galore. She’s
been seen with outré make-up of late and poof – many in the crowd rocking
whitened faces and intentionally smeared lips and cheeks, artist’s canvas style;
heck, even I joined in the fun and sported a turquoise rimmed eye, and my most
difficult to wear in the whole world ankle boots, though sadly no minders to
help me on and off the 31 bus! What was most on display, both in Lady Gaga
herself and her fans was freedom. The cabaret chatter in between songs may have
seemed indulgent to some, but there was honesty, a sense that here was a woman
who felt entirely uncensored. If she wanted to dance about in a sparkly thong
there was no=one to stop her; if she wanted to allude to an abusive relationship
in one monologue, there was no one to muzzle her.
The reviews of the show have been
interesting to note because even in the largely secular world of the media
there is a similar thing going on as there is in the play Pope Joan: an innate
instinct to diminish a strong woman. Whether you want to wear a cassock to work
or a couple of conch shells for a bra, these are still challenging times for
women who ignite debate, lead, have a devoted following, or just dare to be a
little bit different. The good news is Jesus loves us all; even if the Judgment
Police are alive and well and sometimes closer than you think.
