I am always loathe to admit this about myself, much less introduce myself this way, but I'm a young woman with a 3rd degree black belt in Tang Soo Do with about 15 years of practice behind it. I'm not a body-builder (eew, gross); I'm a pretty normal looking girl who tends to surprise people by what I’m able to do.

Thus, I've found your discussion quite interesting. Amusing, too, at times. Perhaps I can add one or two thoughts to it, from a (non-male) Reformed perspective.

First, the movies -- definitely there is suspension of disbelief involved. They're unrealistic, amoral, anti-Christian, feminist, against Biblical manhood... the list goes on. They're pushing people away from a Christian worldview ever so subtly (and sometimes not so subtly) by presenting the modern liberal agenda as the norm, as the heroic, as the example. Why do we even watch them? I don’t think I could call them “edifying” or “right”. And yes, guys who are attracted to the type of females portrayed in these movies are very disturbing.

Second, in God’s providence, physical differences between men and women are real. Men tend to be stronger and tougher than women. Men have a God-given duty to defend and protect. It makes me angry when women try to usurp that or when men try to neglect it. I think my anger is biblical and I hope you are angered by it as well.

Third, the military. If I were a man, I would consider going into the military. I’m not, and I won’t (although in some cases, women can be in non-combat situations, e.g., Deborah). Women have no place in military combat. As has been said, training for the men gets 'dumbed down' for women, which makes the military weaker (and promotes sinful ‘gender-neutralization’). That being said, there are some physically incredible women. “Weaker vessels” doesn’t mean “weak”. It’s comparative. I don’t care how incredible they are, though, it’s still unbiblical (aka sinful).

Fourth, self defense. I grew up a Reformed, conservative, Christian homeschooler. For physical education, my parents enrolled all of us kids in martial arts. It’s great for discipline, character, perseverance, self-control, respect, ... and yes, self defense. I’ve had a lot of fellow Reformed believers give me strange looks when I “confess” to being involved in martial arts. But I strongly believe that women should be trained in basic self-defense.

Men, think about this. Do you really want your wife or daughter to be the character in the movie who runs away in a nightgown? How likely is it that they’ll be able to escape? Not in the movie – in real life? You got it: not very likely. Now, if you’re home, perhaps you can defend your wife or daughter. If you’re off serving your country in the military or on a business trip, do you want your wife or daughter to be helpless? They have a responsibility to do what they can to protect their bodies – else they are ultimately breaking the 6th commandment by not protecting themselves against violence (that’s not a gender specific commandment, after all!!).

My first line of defense – as a trained martial artist – is to avoid conflict. Running, pepper spray (if I owned any, which I don’t), calling for help, negotiation, and prayer are good options. Expecting any men around to defend me is very high on my list. But if I can’t avoid physical conflict, I don’t want to be defenseless. I want to be able to protect other women or children (or defenseless men). I want to be able to prevent as much harm as possible with as little damage as possible. I want other women to be able to do likewise.

A few side notes. Not all women are weaker than all men. There are exceptions. Please admit this, for your own sakes. Macho isn’t always going to win the fight. Many types of martial arts are based on using your opponent’s strength to your advantage – thus, a twig of a girl could leave you whimpering on the floor. Skill can beat strength. Speed and tactics can beat brute force – so can just speed, or just tactics. If I’ve trained my mind and my body and you’ve only trained your body, I have an advantage. Being small can be an advantage (sometimes). Lots of guys think that just because they’re guys and thus inherently bigger and strong, they can beat a woman no matter what she knows. They’re wrong (and they shouldn’t ever be thinking about beating a woman anyway outside of controlled sparring in class).

Just because a woman can fight doesn’t mean she wants to or should have to. I despise the idea of being in a fight. I hope that I never am in a situation where I have to ‘fight’. I hope that if I ever am, there’s a man around who can do it for me – as I think he ought. But if he can’t, I’m not going to watch anyone get pummeled if I can prevent it. That wouldn’t be loving my neighbor.

Sarah Lachman