ABSTRACT
The practices of the Christian church however, belie this possibility, particularly in the strong objections to the ordination of women to the priesthood. Although there are some dissenting voices, it is generally considered that there are no theological objections to the ordination of women. A survey of attitudes to the ordination of women conducted for the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne found that the strongest opposition to female ordination came from Anglo-Catholics. The chapter examines Dorothy Dinnerstein’s thesis in the following terms: ambivalent attitudes towards women; women and sexuality; women’s collusion in patriarchy; the capriciousness of women and nature; women as quasi-persons; the wholeness of men; and finally, women and power. Dinnerstein sees in this the source of our ambivalent attitudes to sexuality and our bodies, and particularly to the sexuality of women: the independent sexuality of the female is feared because it recalls the terrifying erotic independence of the baby’s mother.
