SHE HAD HER HAND ON THE GOSPEL PLOW:

Sexism? Blame it on the plough.: Surprising insights from the social sciences (Kevin Lewis, December 12, 2010, Boston Globe)

As economist John Maynard Keynes famously said, we are ultimately “the slaves of some defunct economist.” However, according to a new study by modern-day economists, we — especially women — are the slaves of ancient agriculture. In some areas of the world, agriculture depended on the plough, which demanded brute strength, while in other areas, agriculture was more friendly to routine labor. Obviously, men were more suited to the former, and women to the latter. That was then, but what about now? The authors found that historic reliance on the plough for a particular country, region, or ethnic group continues to be associated with fewer women in the workforce, male-dominant attitudes, and a male-biased population ratio. Moreover, in families that recently immigrated to the United States, women are less likely to be in the workforce if their ancestors lived in plough-intensive areas.

Alesina, A. et al., “The Origins of Gender Roles: Women and the Plough,” Harvard University (October 2010)

Which calls to mind two things: first, the backbreaking soil of New England; and, second, the leveling effectys of Christianity, as consider this song we used to sing in the East Orange Gospel Ensemble:

We Are Soldiers

We are Soldiers,
In the army,
We have to fight,
Although we have to cry
We have to hold up the bloodstained banner
We have to hold it up
Until we Die!

My mother was a Soldier
Oh yes!
She had her hand on the Gospel Plow
Oh yes!
But one day she got old,
She couldn’t fight anymore,
She said I’ll stand here, and fight anyhow.

Woe oe oe oe!

We are Soldiers,
In the army,
We have to fight,
Although we have to cry
We have to hold up the bloodstained banner
We have to hold it up
Until we Die!

My Father was a Soldier,
Oh yes!
He had his hands on the Gospel Plow
But one day he got old,
He couldn’t fight anymore,
He said, I’ll stand here and fight anyhow.

O O – O – O

We are Soldiers,
In the army,
We have to fight,
Although we have to cry
We have to hold up the bloodstained banner
We have to hold it up
Until we Die!

I’m so glad that I’m a Soldier
Oh yes!
I’ve got my hand on the Gospel Plow,
Oh yes!
One day I’ll get old,
And can’t fight anymore,
And I’ll stand here and fight anyhow.

Oo- O - O!

We are Soldiers,
In the army,
We have to fight,
Although we have to cry
We have to hold up the bloodstained banner
We have to hold it up
Until we Die!

Think of mother she'll be there

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 12, 2010 9:40 AM