Like many of you I have been following discussions of the revelation that Virginia Governor Ralph Northam dressed in blackface or as a member of the Ku Klux Klan when he was a medical student. It was reported that Northam… Read More ›
Rape Culture
Help, My Daughter Got a Bunch of Princess Stuff for Christmas! by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
Every year, I see multiple pleas from concerned mothers (rarely fathers, because (straight) fathers rarely take on emotional labor of child rearing) wondering what to do about the pile of pink plastic that just came into their home. It’s such… Read More ›
Shedding Shame by Joyce Zonana
As I follow my program, I grow clearer and stronger. I know exactly what I want and I take it. When I sit down to eat, I feel my appetite, healthy and strong. I feed that appetite, choosing just what I need and what will truly nurture me. When I get up from the table, I am complete and whole within myself. Whether I reach my “goal weight” or not, I’ve already succeeded. And so, this New Year, I won’t be making any new resolutions. I’m already on my path, shedding shame.
This Is What Rape Culture Looks Like: Part 3 by Carol P. Christ
Warning contains images of rape in the history of art portrayed through the pornographic male gaze According to the myth, Danae was the only child of the King of Argos who longed for a male heir. After an oracle declared… Read More ›
This Is What Rape Culture Looks Like in “Great” Art by Carol P. Christ
Warning: contains images of rape portrayed through the lens of the objectifying pornographic male gaze When I reflected on the discovery of a rape fresco from ancient Pompeii that depicted Leda and the swan, I did not mention that the… Read More ›
A Tribute to Viktoria Maroniva by Judith Shaw
It’s been a very tough month for women. The “Me Too” movement started in 2006, when Tarana Burke coined the phrase “Me Too” as a way to help women who had survived sexual violence. Then on October 15, 2017 it was… Read More ›
Spinning the Fire, Shifting the Current by Christy Croft
Seventy-two hours out of every week, I carry a hotline phone. While calls come in waves and some shifts are silent, my everyday and professional lives are peppered with reminders that evil doesn’t just pierce reality through acts of power,… Read More ›
The Wings of the Butterfly by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
Shhhhh… good women are quiet. My mother was a beautiful woman, she never complained. Denial is a silent violence that aims to make invisible a trauma maybe evident or not, to make it acceptable as normal and allow the… Read More ›
Breaking the Silence by Christy Croft
Yesterday, Time Magazine announced that its “Person of the Year” for 2017 would be “The Silence Breakers” – the name it has given to those women who helped launch and made headlines in the #metoo movement. This movement was started… Read More ›
Why We Don’t Tell by Gina Messina
Roy Moore is the next in line to be exposed as a sexual predator in a long list that has unfolded since the Harvey Weinstein scandal. I find it both comical and distressing that Moore has attempted to justify his… Read More ›
How Do We Heal Rape Culture? Part 2: How to Help Men Become Safer by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
In Part 1, I presented a spectrum of male behaviors and attitudes, from violently misogynistic to safe ally. Next it is time to think about how we – as women, male allies, and society – can help men move up… Read More ›
Rape Culture and Muslims by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
There is no doubt that Rape Culture is installed within religions and Islam is not an exception. Lately, “honorable Islamic scholar,” Nouman Ali Khan (NAK) was exposed as sexual predator, causing a battle in social media. NAK is only one more… Read More ›
Outraged? Yes, I Am! by Karen Leslie Hernandez
Readers, please note: this post includes accounts of rape and violence agianst women and quotes distrubing statements of assault made by Donald Trump. These are easily identifiable by the use of italics or as indented, quoted text. Of course I’m… Read More ›
Why Is The Abuser Still Among Us? by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
They say that men cannot control themselves. So, when they see a woman, the body overcomes the mind. If you have to rape, you rape. I have heard it many times, the same argument to justify cheating. “I am a… Read More ›
The Trump (Non)Contrition by Gina Messina
Regardless of bigotry and hate spewed by the Republican candidate for President of the United States, the American Christian Right has been among his strongest supporters. Following the disturbing video of Donald Trump discussing sexually assaulting women, many Republicans have… Read More ›
Who’s to Blame for Patriarchy? by Vanessa Rivera de la Fuente
A 16 year old girl was drugged and then gang raped by 33 men in Brazil. The police arrested the boyfriend as a suspect. A 30-second video recording the suffering of the girl was uploaded to social networks, as a… Read More ›
Painting Women from Judges – Part 1: Jephthah’s Reflective Daughter by Melinda Bielas
The story of Jephthah’s daughter – found in the Hebrew Bible, Judges 11:29-40 – is a difficult story to read. The first time I read it, I was in my Christian high school Bible class and I could not understand… Read More ›
Are We Living in a Rape Culture? by Carol P. Christ
rape in the military rape in war rape in sports rape in the university rape in fraternities rape at parties rape on the way home rape in the car rape on the street rape in the park rape in… Read More ›
Domestic Violence: The Sin that Sin Created by Kelly Brown Douglas
In these last several weeks, the horror that one out of four women will encounter domestic violence- sometimes referred to as “intimate partner” violence- in their life time has come to the national forefront. Indeed, women are more likely than… Read More ›
What I’m Wearing to the Pool and What it Means, by Sara Frykenberg
Recently a FAR colleague sent us writers an article entitled, “Toward a New Understanding of Modesty,” and asked if any of us would like to comment on it. I dove at the chance, pun intended. Not only did the article… Read More ›
Rape Culture and Abstinence Only Education by Gina Messina-Dysert
Rape culture, as has been noted on Feminism and Religion in multiple articles (see Carol Christ’s post this week), permeates every aspect of our society, every aspect of our lives. Something that I believe warrants serious attention is Elizabeth Smart’s… Read More ›
RAPE CULTURE IN THE MILITARY AND “TURNING BOYS INTO MEN” by Carol P. Christ
Rape is not something that “just happens” in the military. It is an inevitable product of military training. Unless and until we understand this and change the way soldiers are trained, we will never be able to stop rape in… Read More ›
Rape Culture, Sexual Violence, and Spiritual Healing by Gina Messina-Dysert
Recently I had the great pleasure of presenting on the WATER Teleconference Series and dialoguing with women from around the world about how to promote healing in a rape culture. Likewise, in a previous post I discussed rape culture in… Read More ›
Cosplay and Choice by Sara Frykenberg
Cosplay is often a deliberate, interpretive and self-chosen performance of gender and power. Like drag performers, cosplayers put on a show of the characters they represent; and in my experience, they often do so within diverse, supportive and principally, inclusive… Read More ›
What We’ve Learned from Steubenville by Gina Messina-Dysert
The nation has watched over these last several months as the rape case in Steubenville, Ohio has unfolded in the media. On March 17, 2013 the verdict was announced and the two teenage boys accused of raping a 16 year… Read More ›
Gendercide: Words and Poem by Bernedette Muthien
gendercide it took a full week of straitjacketing generations of genocidal femicidal trauma for the clay dam wall to explode and flood me in torrents of collective grief a poet with no words a lifelong activist struck dumb i choke… Read More ›
Les Miserables’ Fantine, Women’s Suffering, and Female Migrant Labor by Gina Messina-Dysert
Upon the recommendation of several friends and colleagues I decided to see the film Les Miserables. It is rare these days that I make it to the movies. My life is generally over scheduled and spare time is nonexistent. So… Read More ›
It’s Junk Science by Brian Froelich
Let’s be honest. It’s not about the junk science. There were some crazy things said recently but they were crazy with a purpose. Republican Rep. Todd Aikin (who is a policy blood brother to Republican Reps. Paul Ryan and Chris Smith)… Read More ›
Reproductive Justice by Gina Messina-Dysert
Following the testimony of Sandra Fluke on the lack of availability of contraception and the appalling remarks by Rush Limbaugh that took place in early March, 2012, much discussion around issues of reproductive justice has emerged. Among these conversations, Mary… Read More ›
1, 2, 3, 4: FEMINISTS DON’T WANT ANOTHER WAR by Carol P. Christ
War is a feminist issue for many reasons, most importantly because war is always war against women. Patriarchy, war, rape as the “spoils” of war, and the taking of women and children as slaves in the wake of war arose… Read More ›
