Spirituality

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Spiritual Transformation & Non-Violent Feminist Practice, pt. 1

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This is a review of Leela Fernandes’  Transforming Feminist Practice: Non-Violence, Social Justice, & the Possibilities of a Spiritualized Feminism. The title of the book was the basis of an interesting personal challenge: as a friend put it to me, why apply women’s spirituality to feminism or issues of social justice? For that matter, why…

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The “Goddess Array” in Wolf’s Vagina: A New Biography, pt. 3

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I apologize that, due to Wolf’s writing resonating powerfully for me, I’m falling back on massive quotes more than I would like to. In my defense I will note that I feel she writes with more clarifying passion than I do, and I want to share that in its purest and clearest form with my…

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The “Goddess Array” in Wolf’s Vagina: A New Biography, pt. 2

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In my last posting on Vagina: A New Biography, I closed with the virulently damaging effects of rape — physically, sensually, and emotionally — for women. As the author notes, there have not yet been any books written to study if men can suffer similar ill effects from rape — though some data seems to…

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The “Goddess Array” in Wolf’s Vagina: A New Biography, pt. 1

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  In an instant, I realized that original sin did not, as the Judeo-Christian tradition has it, originate in human sexuality. Our species’ original sin was in deviating from our earliest tradition of reverence for the feminine and for female sexuality, and all that it represented for us. Our original sin lies in five thousand…

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Two articles: christianity & community

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Finished a book and two articles so far; two somewhat disturbing and one very encouraging. M. Shawn Copeland’s article “Body, Representation, and Black Religious Discourse” I found disturbing for several reasons. For a single example, she has actual, chilling quotes from women, or relatives of the women, who were violently sexually abused as slaves. Like…

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Is there organized religion after patriarchy? pt. 4

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After Patriarchy: Feminist Transformations of the World Religions, edited by Paula M. Cooey, William R. Eakin, & Jay B. McDaniel Conclusion In closing, this book interested me for a number of reasons — primarily that of why intelligent and educated women stay in religions which effectively exploit them. I say “intelligent and educated” because I…

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Is there organized religion after patriarchy? pt. 3

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After Patriarchy: Feminist Transformations of the World Religions, edited by Paula M. Cooey, William R. Eakin, & Jay B. McDaniel Judaism Continuing with the quick review of the articles contained within this provocatively titled book, we move to Judith Plaskow’s “Transforming the Nature of Community: Toward a Feminist People of Israel.” She argues that Jewishness…

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Is there organized religion after patriarchy? pt. 2

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After Patriarchy: Feminist Transformations of the World Religions, edited by Paula M. Cooey, William R. Eakin, & Jay B. McDaniel At this point in my reading of this book I got bored with the apologists for the big, irritatingly misogynistic organized religions — so I jumped a few articles ahead, to the two chapters which…

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Is there organized religion after patriarchy? pt. 1

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After Patriarchy: Feminist Transformations of the World Religions, edited by Paula M. Cooey, William R. Eakin, & Jay B. McDaniel. This book is an exploration of what changes might occur in the current largest — and rather androcentric — world religions, in order for them to grow past their current — and usually obsessive —…