Authority

Sue Monk Kidd describes her original state as "Unambiguous Woman" — putting male authority figures at the center of her life and accepting to be secondary. She is not outwardly submissive, but lives with no "inner authority." Over time, she discovers the "Sacred Feminine" — that which keeps a woman powerful and grounded in herself but connected to everything else. Going to another woman becomes for Sue a "breakthrough act," because women are programed to turn to men for solutions and insight.

Much of the book deals with the nature of patriarchy, a system of social organization marked by male power, authority, and supremacy. It is a hallmark of Western civilization, and is only beginning to decline as the women's movement advances. In learning to recognize patriarchy, Sue Monk Kidd develops her Feminist Critique. Patriarchy values rationality, independence, competition, efficiency, stoicism, and militarism - the supposedly masculine characteristics...