Book review

Spiritual Transformation & Non-Violent Feminist Practice, pt. 2

Posted onThursday 21 March 2013Wednesday 20 March 2013

Reflecting on spirituality vs. ethics, I was fascinated to realize I’d made one of the mistakes the author notes: considering non-violence as equivalent to passive resistance — as nothing more than yet another tactical tool to be used in accomplishing social justice. Instead, Fernandes refers extensively to Gandhi, noting his belief that non-violence is a…

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

Posted onWednesday 20 March 2013

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…

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

Posted onWednesday 6 March 2013Tuesday 5 March 2013

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…

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

Posted onTuesday 5 March 2013

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…

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

Posted onThursday 28 February 2013Tuesday 5 March 2013

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…

Are women now better than men? The Frailty Myth, pt. 3

Posted onSaturday 23 February 2013Thursday 21 February 2013

The horrible reality of domestic violence and rape isn’t new, of course — Freud originally reported the emotional trauma which ensues in girls and women who cannot prevent persistent sexual abuse or incest. Unfortunately the sheer number of abused women and children in this condition, throughout all levels of society — along with public outrage…

Are women now better than men? The Frailty Myth, pt. 2

Posted onFriday 22 February 2013Thursday 21 February 2013

This double standard (as in asking less of girls so that they think that’s all they’re capable of) is bad for girls — but let’s be honest here: it’s bad for boys too. Some of the examples in the book — of abuse heaped on girls for being physically more capable than boys (91-92) —…

Are women now better than men? The Frailty Myth, pt. 1

Posted onThursday 21 February 2013Thursday 21 February 2013

I was originally an anthropology major with a sociology minor. As a consequence of that training, I have read an awful lot of papers on how minorities are treated, and so I genuinely thought I understood what it meant to be a(n often feared or hated) minority. However — as I discovered when I read…

While Reading “Her Blue Body”

Posted onSaturday 16 February 2013Friday 15 February 2013

Checklist for the Day: roses chocolate card. Check. Success. Boyfriend brownie points Redeem for valuable prizes! Today only, double bonus value: Try dinner candles jewelry lingerie more Sweetly sincere silhouetted sparkles Smiling empty glittering chains All payment Money is love is sex. Reading of the inspiration: Vali Brother of demanding murdered Spring Solely bred…

Two articles: christianity & community

Posted onFriday 15 February 2013Saturday 9 March 2013

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…