read // JOHN 4:1-29
from the artist // HANNAH GARRITY
Why are you asking me? As a woman in a patriarchal
society, I have been faced with subordination
throughout my life. I mostly do not feel it. I have
learned self control from a young age and I have been
taught to appreciate what I have. These skills are
the reasons that I have the extensive happiness and
comfort that I enjoy on a daily basis. However, the
patriarchy still exists. Along with the external blocks,
the glass ceilings, I am finding that I stand in my own
way, too. Despite the tireless efforts of my parents to
teach us of a world of equality and opportunity, I have
still imbibed the societal belief that I, as a woman,
am lesser; that my skills do not measure up, that my
salary should not be equal or more, that I work too
much, that I spend too little time with my children, or
that I will not succeed at the next challenge. None of
these things are true, and yet I throw the roadblocks
of patriarchy before myself anyway. The woman at the
well had multiple levels of societal oppression standing
like a wall between Jesus and her. She was not of
the same race or gender as he, and she was unwed,
unprotected. I can understand why she questioned
God’s call for water. Why would he address her as an
equal? Are you asking me? Are you sure you meant to
do that? Are you sure that I measure up?
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