Made to Be She
by Kristen Clark & Bethany Beal

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Christian non-fiction

In today’s culture, lines of gender and sexuality appear to be blurred, but that comes as no surprise at a time when truth is seen as relative and each person is told to follow his or her heart wherever it leads. But there is an absolute authority on truth, including a distinct line between man and woman. That absolute authority is the Creator of man and woman—and the entire universe—and He has given us everything we need to know about life, including the two different genders, in His written word (the Bible). In Made to Be She sisters Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal stand on that firm foundation as they share insight into how to sort through the noise and confusion to get to the truth of the question of what it really means to be female.

The first, and probably most important, thing I want to say about this book is that it is, indeed, completely biblically grounded. I really appreciate the authors’ commitment to the truth, unashamedly taking what will undoubtedly be an unpopular stand about gender, biology, and femininity. I believe this book could be a great resource for Christian women who don’t quite know how to respond to today’s culture or aren’t even sure what they should believe. I do not have any confusion about these matters myself, but I did still gain some valuable insight.

History of the feminist movements over the years is explored, and I found it interesting seeing how it plays a role in our modern culture, even when we don’t realize that some of what we think has its roots in feminism. Particularly fascinating to me was the idea that religion can also skew our view of womanhood, for example the way “purity culture” (a big movement in the 90s when I was a teen) gave young women a mission without a heart change or a biblical understanding of why they were keeping themselves pure. The authors challenge their readers to examine their own beliefs and possible feminist attitudes or ideals they may have without even realizing it. 

The Bible is not silent or unclear on gender or gender roles, and Christian women should not be either. I can see this book being read in church groups or other similar settings, even possibly mothers reading it and discussing it with their teenage daughters—though be aware that the authors go into some depth about sex and sexuality, completely within a biblical context. I considered suggesting it to my daughter and discussing it with her as she read, but as she is only 14, by the time I finished reading the book, I knew I’d prefer to wait a few years on that. With that in mind, I do recommend this book to every Christian woman, especially those who are overwhelmed by today’s tumultuous, truth-denying culture.

I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.

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