For New Readers

I’ve had a few new readers lately from a variety of sources, and I wanted to take a moment to explain some of the things I blog about. Reading my “about” tab would probably be instructive as well. While most people have heard of the emphasis on sexual purity in conservative circles, the prominence of Christian Right politics, and evangelicalism and fundamentalism, all of which I grew up with and have since questioned, rejected, and now blog against, not as many have heard of the Quiverfull and Christian Patriarchy movements, so I want to touch on that for a moment.

I grew up in a large (think double digits) homeschool family that was influenced by the Quiverfull and Christian Patriarchy movements. Having a large family was seen as a mission from God, raising up a quiver full of “arrows” to be shot out into the world to influence it for Christ. In addition to this, gender roles were held up as extremely important: husbands were to lead and wives were to submit; husbands were to protect and provide and wives were to keep the home and train the children. I was carefully prepared for my future role, which was of course to be staying home, birthing a quiver full of children, and being obedient to my husband. Now obviously, I’ve since left this course (read my story to learn more). For more on the Christian Patriarchy and Quiverfull movements, click here.

I spent a good deal of my blogging time blogging against the Quiverfull and Christian Patriarchy movements. I do this by laying out my experiences, offering sharp criticism, and shedding light on the movements and the problems they cause. I am currently in the middle of the Raised Quiverfull project, in which I have brought together nine young adults who were raised in Christian Patriarchy/Quiverfull homes and have since questioned and left to share their experiences by answering a series of questions. The first post went up this morning, after my introductory post yesterday. This project will involve three to five posts per week, which I will then supplement with my ordinary posting.

Oh, and as a young mother I also blog about parenting and reproductive rights.