The blue organdy dress was a present my grandfather bought for me at the end of a summer I spent in San Francisco with my grandparents when I was six-going-on-seven. Was this the first time I crossed my father? Or… Read More ›
feminism and religion
The Power of Black Panther by Xochitl Alvizo
Note: Black Panther movie spoiler alert. I attended a friend’s dinner party recently in honor of her birthday. It was an intimate gathering of nine, mostly her immediate family, so I felt privileged to be included. At one point during… Read More ›
Claiming the Power to Choose Our Lovers and Partners by Carol P. Christ
My dear friend Carol Lee Sanchez once told me that the women of the Laguna Pueblo– whose culture is an egalitarian matriarchy–taught her that women must choose their men, not wait for the men to choose them.* This was a… Read More ›
Elen of the Ways and the Antlered Goddess (Part 1 of 2) by Deanne Quarrie
Why would a goddess have antlers when only male deer have antlers? These ancient goddesses come from a time when people were closely connected with reindeer. They were hunter gatherers and followed the Deer trods of the reindeer in their… Read More ›
A Feminist Liturgy of Old and Age by Lache S.
How the voices speak of what is and isn’t tastes of a superficial sauce I let drip from my lips. In the first dialectic of aging (harkening back to Marie Cartier’s helpful division of conversational foci), usually what is spoken… Read More ›
“Womenspiration” for International Women’s Day by Elise M. Edwards
Happy International Women’s Day! I hope it is a happy day for you as we recognize women’s achievements throughout the world. Our FAR community is not only for or about women, but as feminists in some form or another, collectively… Read More ›
Time Traveling Letter to Kids of the 70s (especially you, Natalie) by Natalie Weaver
Hmmm…. Time Travel? Maybe, I suppose. I recall a strange video clip in which Steven Hawking throws a Time Travelers’ Party. He sends an invitation for a fancy soiree, holds the event, and sets the scene where future folk will… Read More ›
Children of German Immigrant Farmers in Cherry Ridge: American Stories by Carol P. Christ
In my genealogy research, I traced my father’s grandmother, Catherine, to her roots on the Iloff farm in Cherry Ridge, Honesdale, Pennsylvania, about two hours north of New York City. Catherine’s parents were Henry Iloff, who emigrated in 1841 from… Read More ›
Questions that Matter: What is Feminism? by Elise M. Edwards
It certainly is a busy time of year for me, but I’m fortunate that many of the events I am participating in offer a chance to share what is important to me. Next week, I’ll be speaking to a group… Read More ›
Great Goddess, Mother Goddess, Creatrix, Source of Life by Carol P. Christ
The symbol of the Goddess is as old as human history. The most ancient images of the Goddesses from the Paleolithic era are neither pregnant nor holding a child. In Neolithic Old Europe the Goddess was most commonly linked with… Read More ›
In Light of Women by Mary Jane Miller
Why are so few women mentioned in the great feast days like Pentecost, the Last Supper, the Baptism of Christ, etc.? God made no commandment that they not be included. Inquisitive women like myself have always been around Christ listening… Read More ›
Just How Rotten Are Things in Denmark? by Marcia Mount Shoop
The Shakespearean quote, “something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” comes from a palace guard. After watching Prince Hamlet walk away with the ghost of Hamlet’s murdered father, the former King, the guard has a sinking feeling about how… Read More ›
Run Women Run! You Can Do Better than a Mediocre White Man! by Carol P. Christ
When I was in graduate school, I learned to doubt myself. Despite having won Danforth and Woodrow Wilson graduate fellowships that paid for my tuition and living expenses, I was continually told by professors and male students alike that I… Read More ›
The Beauty Way by Carol P. Christ
When I learned about the Navajo Beauty Way, I understood it to be a path in which human beings respect all beings in the web of life and live in harmony with them. But I didn’t understand why this path… Read More ›
Considering Our Spaces in the Pursuit of Justice by Elise M. Edwards
This past summer, my friend and I were perusing the exhibits at the National Museum of African-American History and Culture when she urgently called for my attention. “Psst… Isn’t this where you are from?” she asked, pointing at a placard… Read More ›
Reclaiming My Body by Carol P. Christ
Shortly after writing “Asking for Help,” a blog in which I described losing my physical strength following a series injuries, I finally took a friend’s advice—mainly to stop her from badgering me—and went to the doctor. This is something I… Read More ›
30 Years of Activism by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
My first memory as an activist is of attending my first political public meeting to listen leaders of the resistance talking against the Dictatorship, marching holding a sign that read “Democracy Now,” and taking my first dose of tear gas. It was… Read More ›
My Guardian Angel Is a Socialist by Carol P. Christ
When I began to research our family tree, my father told me that his grandfather George Christ emigrated from Germany because he was a socialist. I eventually learned that it was not George Christ but his parents, Thomas Christ and… Read More ›
Elie Wiesel Never Grabbed My Ass by Karen Leslie Hernandez
The #metoo campaign is empowering. I am enthralled (albeit sorrowful at the suffering), with the fact that thousands of women are bringing attention to the normalcy of sexual harassment and sexual assault. Yet, two months ago, my elation was squashed…. Read More ›
“It Came Upon a Solstice Morn” by Carol P. Christ
It came upon a Solstice morn, that glorious song of old, with angels bending near the earth, to touch their harps of gold. “Peace on the earth. good will to all,” from heaven’s all glorious realm. The world in silent… Read More ›
Another Season of Reflection and Review by Elise M. Edwards
I turn inward and become reflective at this time of year. It’s the Advent season in the Christian liturgical year, which encourages practices of piety focused on preparation, examination, and hopeful longing. It’s the end of a semester and a… Read More ›
Marija Gimbutas Triumphant: Colin Renfrew Concedes by Carol P. Christ
The disdain with which the work of archaeologist Marija Gimbutas has been held in the field of classics and archaeology was shown to me when I stated quietly at a cocktail party at the American School of Classical Studies in… Read More ›
Gifts from My Father by Carol P. Christ
My father was a very intelligent man who tested “genius” in the army. Drafted into the army at a young age, he decided not to take advantage of the “GI Bill” that would have paid for his college education after… Read More ›
My Mother’s Appearance in a Healing Dream by Carol P. Christ
My mother spent a good deal of her life defending my father to me and my brother. “Your father didn’t mean it,” she would say. “Your father loves you—he just doesn’t know how to show it.” “Your father never cried… Read More ›
“We Say the Silence Has Been Broken” by Carol P. Christ
We treat the physical assault and the silencing after as two separate things, but they are the same, both bent on annihilation. Rebecca Solnit When I was in my twenties and in therapy I had a recurrent dream in which… Read More ›
Kintsugi for the Soul – Part I – by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
Kintsugi is a Japanese art technique that consists of repairing broken porcelain or pottery with resin varnish dusted or mixed with gold, silver or platinum powder. It is the art of fixing what has been broken with a precious metal… Read More ›
Asking for Help by Carol P. Christ
I climbed trees and rode my bike and roller skated on sidewalks for hours on end when I was a child. As an adult, I have always been physically strong without having to work at it. Nor have I had… Read More ›
High Stakes for Women in Leadership: A Reflection and a Prayer by Elise M. Edwards
A few weeks ago, I was asked to give the invocation for a luncheon at my university. Baylor University was celebrating our presidential inauguration and there were several events leading up to the installation of the university’s 15th president. The… Read More ›
Please Keep It in Your Pants by Carol P. Christ
Trigger warning: this post describes sexual abuse Last week while responding to a comment on my blog, I suddenly remembered a series of incidents in which men I did not know exposed themselves to me in public places. The first… Read More ›
“There She Goes Again”: Speaking about Art and Sexual Violence by Carol P. Christ
I was at a dinner party for twelve lovingly prepared by two ex-pat friends, when the subject of Woody Allen’s most recent film came up. I don’t remember which one of them it was, because, as I said at the… Read More ›
