Catholic Nuns

Analysis:

Nuns are often thought of as the stern women in long grey dresses hitting young students with rulers. The media perpetuates this singular view of the Catholic sisters through stereotypical visuals of these women praying and singing from hymnals while clutching a crucifix. The Google search for “Catholic nuns” brings up images such as the following:

The focus of these pictures has no focus on the faces or the individual personalities of the women beneath the habit. Instead, all that these pictures showcase is the religion, and it is usually presented sardonically in regard to their faith.

The religion itself is the subject of countless comedic devices, including Monty Python priests hitting themselves in the face and Jim Gaffigan’s stand-up, which either satire the dress itself, the ceremony, and especially deviation from the faith. The common people are constantly fed images of stuffy women who call themselves ‘married to God’ and never any images of what these people do when they aren’t in mass. An article outlining the process of becoming a nun highlights prayer above all else when making the decision and outlines many religious aspects but not until the very last sentence in the article does it mention the benefits of a secondary education as a nun. (http://anunslife.org/resources/how-to-become-a-catholic-nun)

                This single story of the Catholic nuns is demeaning to the individuals who wear the habit and value their roles within the Catholic Church. The media focuses on the most negative aspects or on scandals that rarely actually happen. Documentaries from vatileaks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clU-9-1U3dw) highlight abuse and violence scandals among the Catholic Church and crimes allegedly committed by nuns. This story is dehumanizing and dangerously broad. If more pictures of nuns playing with Frisbees and hula-hoops were the norm, the view of nuns would be much less stern and unfeeling than it truly is.