Like many in the FAR community, I participated in the world-wide 2017 Women’s March. So did Madge, the bodacious cartoon character who took me by surprise in 1990 and went on to become the narrative character of The Maeve Chronicles…. Read More ›
Women’s Rights
Radical Inclusivity – Just Go ‘Inside’ – by Karen Leslie Hernandez
I am a firm believer of experiencing that which you don’t understand, so then, you can understand. Reading a book is one thing. Stepping into that which you wonder about, is another. With that philosophy, I have found myself in… Read More ›
Householders’ Superstitions and the Higher Truth by Oxana Poberejnaia
I watched this short video on facebook about Sisa, an Egyptian woman who spent forty years a man in order provide for her family. There is a longer version on YouTube. Sisa, a widow, decided to work to feed her… Read More ›
The Spirit and Jarena Lee: Inspiration to Break Boundaries by Elise M. Edwards
I am so frustrated that we are still fighting to affirm women’s place in leadership. I’ve been thinking about this struggle in the context of church ministries (especially preaching) and social activism, seeing a stark contrast between the way institutional… Read More ›
Gay Pride and Gay Resistance by Marie Cartier
Welcome to the resistance, Feminism and Religion family. This month is Gay Pride Month in many cities, including mine—Long Beach, California—where we just celebrated our 34th gay pride parade and our annual “Dyke March.” This blog is primarily a photo… Read More ›
Reflections on Trauma, Part I: Pink Pussyhats by Stephanie N. Arel
I have been thinking frequently about trauma, about what perpetuates suffering and what supports the arduous journey of transforming traumatic experiences, especially in the aftermath of traumas of human design. The violation of bodies lies at the heart of such… Read More ›
Photo Report from the Woman’s March, Los Angeles by Marie Cartier
All Photos by Marie Cartier
Sex, Death and the Gods (Part II) by Vibha Shetiya
This continues my reflections on the Devidasis in Part 1. The overall picture that emerged from the documentary “Sex, Death and the Gods” was that, in its current form, there were many layers to the Devadasi system. For one, the… Read More ›
It’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month – So, Do Something by Karen Leslie Hernandez
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. By the end of this month, approximately 93 women will have died at the hands of their partners and about 150 children will have died at the hands of their parents. And that… Read More ›
The End is Nigh by John Erickson
How will the world end? No, it isn’t Lucifer himself coming from hell to bring in the end times, it is someone far worse, and his name is Donald Trump.
Today, I am 50. And I Know Jack-Diddly Squat by Karen Leslie Hernandez
You’d think after all these years I would know, right? I would be sure. I could walk comfortably, touting that I am certain, as so many others my age do. The reality is however, I still don’t know. I am… Read More ›
“Suchness” of inequality vs. the “story” of patriarchy by Oxana Poberejnaia
In the TV film about American suffragists “Iron Jawed Angels” Alice Paul (played by Hilary Swank) says to a psychiatrist who came to prison to assess her mental state during her hunger strike: You asked me to explain myself. I… Read More ›
A Complicated History by Elise M. Edwards
In my previous post, I wrote about my participation in planning a memorial event for the lynching of a man named Jesse Washington in Waco, Texas one hundred years ago. It prompted me to reflect on the challenge of faithfully… Read More ›
#HillYes by John Erickson
I’m going to do something I’d never thought I’d do: fill your newsfeed with yet another article pertaining to the 2016 United States Presidential election and yes, I’m going to talk about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (hint: I’m emphatically supporting her and I’m unapologetic about it.)
To Work and to Pray in Remembrance by Elise M. Edwards
One hundred years ago, Jesse Washington was lynched downtown in Waco, Texas. Next week, on March 20th, some of my colleagues and I are organizing a memorial service to remember this horrific event and pray for a better future for… Read More ›
I Am a High School Drop-Out by Karen Leslie Hernandez
In 1985, four months before I was supposed to graduate from high school, I awoke one morning, made a hasty decision to escape my harsh reality, and by the end of the day, I was a high school drop-out. Even… Read More ›
Dear Gloria: The Feminist Candidate I Can Believe In Must Be Unbossed and Unbought by Carol P. Christ
In the past week, founder of Ms. Magazine Gloria Steinem, whom I have always greatly admired, stated that young women are supporting Bernie Sanders because his campaign is where the boys are. She has since recanted the comment, but I… Read More ›
Mazel Tov Tzidkaniyot of the Wall by Ivy Helman
I have never understood the logic behind sexism. Why is half (or so) of the human race better than the other half? Of course, patriarchy and patriarchal religious traditions offer various seemingly logical reasons, sometimes even divine explanations for the… Read More ›
The Right to Choose is the Right to Our Lives by Marie Cartier
Friday, January 22nd marks the 43rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973 which provided all women nationwide, for the first time, the right to get a legal abortion for any reason–the right to choose. There are celebrations,… Read More ›
Why Is Pizza Round? The Black Goddess of Rome by Stuart Dean
The poem Moretum (discussed in my last post) narrates the preparation of a meal that can be characterized in modern English as ‘pizza.’ Round flatbread is baked; to go on it, a cheese spread is mixed. The details of the… Read More ›
Taking leave: How did you do it and how did it go? Sara Frykenberg
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been preoccupied this summer with many questions regarding pregnancy, becoming a mother, and how to mother while doing my “work” as a feminist. But next to my constantly changing physical reality… Read More ›
Caitlyn Jenner is a Friend of Mine
To speak ones truth is oftentimes a difficult and nearly impossible act. However, to live one’s truth, on a day-to-day basis, is an aspect of life that has become so foreign to individuals who have become so comfortable in their own skin that I fear the activist and social justice roots that we all claim to hail from have fallen at the wayside and been replaced by complacency and reductionism.
The Religiosity of Silence by John Erickson
In a repetitive culture of abuse and silence, is it really shocking to find out that an individual who preached such hate and discontent for others actually perpetuated other forms of heinous abuse against others?
Mr. Big Man by Jameelah Medina
This past week, I have discussed with college students the time I was wrongly arrested and harassed by an Islamophobic Sheriff Deputy several years ago, which led to a successful court case against my county spearheaded by the ACLU. I… Read More ›
It is a Matter of Focus by Deanne Quarrie
Many of the young women I meet tell me that they think feminism is not what they are about, that they prefer to work for the good of all. I understand that and certainly we can all choose where we… Read More ›
Passover and the Exodus: A Feminist Reflection on Action, Hope, and Legacy by Michele Stopera Freyhauf
Last week, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was in the news again, but not for reasons you would expect. She, along with Rabbi Lauren Holtzblatt, penned a feminist essay about the Exodus title “The Heroic and Visionary Women of… Read More ›
Today is International Women’s Day—Let’s celebrate! by Barbara Ardinger
According to their website, International Women’s Day (March 8) is a “global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women’s Day is a… Read More ›
Reclaiming the Feminist Beginnings of America’s Thanksgiving by Michele Stopera Freyhauf
For those who are unaware of my research focus and methodology, I try to use history to reconstruct or reclaim the feminine voice through more of an exegetical lens rather than an eisegetical or ideological lens. When it comes to… Read More ›
Voting Day by Sara Frykenberg
Can we think of the voting place as an altar where we hole-punch a prayer to the honored dead? This past Sunday, Barbara Adinger wrote a beautiful blog entitled “November, a Silent Month?” While welcoming the November darkness and a… Read More ›
Right to Life vs Right to A Life: Abortion & The Death Penalty by Marie Cartier
Earlier this week I went to hear Sr. Helen Prejean speak about the death penalty. You will remember, if the name does not immediately ring a bell, that the amazing movie Dead Man Walking (dir. Tim Robbins, 1995) was about… Read More ›
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