The Art of Communiculture Fall 1998

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The truth is that we are lonely for each other because we were created to need each other.
—Karen Mains, Friends and Strangers

If there is any area in which our world needs reconciliation, it is the area of gender relations. Stories of manipulations, misunderstanding, harassment and power struggles between men and women are constant in the larger-than-life scenarios of the popular media. While we may distance ourselves from such obvious dysfunction, the truth is that these stories are really exaggerated reflections of the private pains that many of us struggle with. The objects in the mirror are closer than they appear.

A dating or marriage relationship ends in violence or death reminding us that, while we haven't gone as far in trying to control someone else's destiny, we have our own ways of misusing power in relationships. A woman confronts a boss's sexual innuendo and suggestive comments and loses her job. A beloved teacher or coach is fired for supposed sexual misconduct and men wonder, "Is it better to just back off and not get close to anyone?" A respected leader has an affair, inflaming our own deep fears regarding the sexual passions that we feel. An attempt to confront sexual harassment in the workplace ends with legal victory but ruined relationships.

While it is tempting to despair about the possibilities for men and women to communicate, work out their problems, and come together with mutual respect and regard, there is hope. That hope lies in a radical return to community, which will take women and men beyond sinful patterns to the interdependence for which we were created.

We were created for community. The creation of humankind in two genders reflects God's eternal existence in community—God the Father, God the ...

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