--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Elizabeth A. Johnson explains that…" description: "\"Elizabeth A. Johnson explains that including divine female symbols and images not only challenges the dominance of male images but also calls into ques..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/sue-monk-kidd-404_challenges_elizabeth-a-johnson-explains-that-includ_1218994.png" --- # Elizabeth A. Johnson explains that including divine female… ![“Elizabeth A. Johnson explains that including divine female symbols and images not only challenges the dominance of male images but also calls into question the structure of patriarchy itself.” quote by Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/sue-monk-kidd-404_challenges_elizabeth-a-johnson-explains-that-includ_1218994.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/sue-monk-kidd-404_challenges_elizabeth-a-johnson-explains-that-includ_1218994.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/103/sue-monk-kidd-404_challenges_elizabeth-a-johnson-explains-that-includ_1218994.png) > “Elizabeth A. Johnson explains that including divine female symbols and images not only challenges the dominance of male images but also calls into question the structure of patriarchy itself.” [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Including divine feminine imagery challenges male‑centric narratives and questions patriarchal structures. **In simple terms:** Female symbols disrupt male dominance. Key Takeaway Embrace diverse symbols. Themes gender power religion art Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical critical When to use this quote - art exhibitions - religious education - media representation - academic study Key Concepts feminist theology iconography cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What impact do feminine symbols have on belief? - How can they reshape power dynamics? A Different Perspective Some may view it as tokenism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males/) [Patriarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriarchy/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) ## Related quotes > [Gold and precious gems are, in many places, the one form of wealth a woman can use to protect and enhance herself within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangechi-mutu/gold-and-precious-gems-are-in-many-places-the-one-form-of-wealth-a/) [Wangechi Mutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangechi-mutu/) > [... in the end, Goddess is just a word. It simply means the divine in female form.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/in-the-end-goddess-is-just-a-word-it-simply-means-the-divine-in/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“When we return to the divine female, we will stop trying to “save” women in other countries and realize that we have problems of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trista-hendren/when-we-return-to-the-divine-female-we-will-stop-trying-to-save-women/) [Trista Hendren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trista-hendren/) > [“Veronica: "Perhaps. If Sa'aw had but a male aspect, but recall the old, true worship of Sa'aw, male and female, bird, beast, and plant,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/veronica-perhaps-if-sa-aw-had-but-a-male-aspect-but-recall-the-old/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [Rap comes from the humble beginnings of rebelling against the status quo. Now, rappers have become the status quo themselves. 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If a daughter challenges it, the mother will generally defend the system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/women-themselves-condition-their-daughters-to-serve-the-system-of/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [When a woman starts to disentangle herself from patriarchy, ultimately she is abandoned to her own self.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/when-a-woman-starts-to-disentangle-herself-from-patriarchy-ultimately/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Myths born in patriarchy offer a limited source of data on women. 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That is often the yarn twisted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/lovely-quite-girl-no-trouble-no-trouble-at-all-you-wouldn-t-even-know/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“He came to see, and I did too, that patriarchy wounds men also, that men have their own journeys to make in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/he-came-to-see-and-i-did-too-that-patriarchy-wounds-men-also-that-men/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“. . . women internalize the feminine wound or feminine inferiority so deeply, there's little or no female authority and esteem to fall back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/women-internalize-the-feminine-wound-or-feminine-inferiority-so/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [Madonna Kolbenschlag suggest that if an awakened woman forgoes innocence and denial, if she refuses to make compromises with herself and defect to patriarchy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/madonna-kolbenschlag-suggest-that-if-an-awakened-woman-forgoes/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More by Sue Monk Kidd > [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“It's part of our overall Body Negation Program.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/it-s-part-of-our-overall-body-negation-program/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“That was the thing mauma and I loved, our time with the quilts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/that-was-the-thing-mauma-and-i-loved-our-time-with-the-quilts/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [In recent years my understanding of God had evolved into increasingly remote abstractions. 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Everything suddenly there--life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/the-translucence-that-comes-when-life-hardens-into-a-bead-of-such/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“There's no pain on earth that doesn't require a benevolent witness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-no-pain-on-earth-that-doesn-t-require-a-benevolent-witness/) [sue monk kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“afflicted with the worst female curse on earth, the need to mold myself to expectations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/afflicted-with-the-worst-female-curse-on-earth-the-need-to-mold/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Her forbidden bath all those months ago still hung leaden between us, though Handful didn't seem the least bit ashamed by my discovery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/her-forbidden-bath-all-those-months-ago-still-hung-leaden-between-us/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [“Why should God’s perfection be based on having an unchanging nature?” I asked. “Isn’t flexibility more perfect than stasis?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/why-should-god-s-perfection-be-based-on-having-an-unchanging-nature-i/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) [Explore all 584 Sue Monk Kidd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) ## More Challenges quotes > [I know for my wife and I, we always loved the idea of being young parents. 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