Joan Scott The Catholic Church Analysis

Furthermore, sources regarding women in the Catholic Church illustrate Joan Scott’s notion of symbols and normative claims in the study of gender , and by extension colonialism. The first example is of Santa Rosa of Lima, who was declared a saint in the 16th century and was one of the fastest canonization during this time period. Her life is detailed by Don Gonzalo de la Maza who was friend with Rosa, and wrote about her life soon after she died. What makes Saint Rosa so special to the Church is that her life and service was used as a symbol of ideal womanhood in the colonial era. Saint Rosa had a large relationship to the city of Lima, Peru that quickly extended to Europe . The main symbol that the Catholic Church used to demonstrate gendered normative claims was the concept of …show more content…
A woman who was a virgin, or even claimed a vow of chastity, was virtuous in the eyes of the church, and through this symbol the ‘ideal woman’ was born. This is clearly exhibited by Rosa’s vow of chastity, outward modesty, and purity of life that she honored in her personal promise to God, as told by De la Maza . In addition, Rosa recounts a story in which her brother scolds her for crying over her hair as a child, claiming that there was no point crying over hair when there were so many souls in Hell. This account exposes the gendered normative claims surrounding women and their bodies in relation to God. Rosa was taught not to care about trivial, personal beauty issues because they did not matter in regards to the Lord. As her life went on, De la Maza details ways in which Rosa physically punished herself as a religious practice and by performing her devotion. Santa Rosa became the Church’s body of holiness in which ideal womanhood was demonstrated and performed by what was deemed as a