Trigger Warning for rape and sexual abuse Social media can be powerful. Yesterday, a Twitter trending topic reminded me of that. On #IDidNotReport, people explain why they didn't report rape or sexual abuse. The results are a strong reminder that we still live in a rape culture. I encourage you all to check out this trend. Here are a few tweets: #ididnotreport because she was female, smaller than me, & we were at a club. The fact was I felt powerless & she didn't accept … [Read more...]

Here are some of my favorite posts this week! Enjoy, and post your favorites in the comments!"Ashley's Song Part 2" by Jermaine Lane: A couple days ago, I asked everyone to share any links they might have about self-injury in honor of Self-Injury Awareness Day. Jermaine responded with this poem! Check it out!I won't post too many Rush Limbaugh articles, but here are a few that I think are neat:"Dear Rush Limbaugh, Birth Control Doesn't Work Like Viagra" by Adam Serwer: Adam explains the … [Read more...]

Yes, I know this isn't the first horrible thing Rush Limbaugh has said. Trust me, if anyone knows that, it's me. I grew up listening to my father listen to Rush. I remember when Limbaugh had his own television show and I remember sitting on my father's lap at age 4 or 5 and laughing at the show's silly caricatures of Bill Clinton. I remember singing along with the parody songs he played on his show long before I was old enough to actually know what they meant. I remember learning at a young … [Read more...]

In light of Self-Injury Awareness Day, here are a few things that self-injury is NOT, taken from the book Hope and Healing for Kids Who Cut by Marv Penner: It is not just a fad. It is not an extreme version of tattoos or piercings It is probably not a suicide attempt (though self-injury is often the result of deep emotional pain or a symptom of other problems like depression, so the issue of suicide should definitely be addressed! Avoid accusations though, and understand that self-injury … [Read more...]

I sometimes visualize the ongoing cycle of racism as a moving walkway at the airport. Active racist behavior is equivalent to walking fast on the conveyor belt.The person engaged in active racist behavior has identified with the ideology of White supremacy and is moving with it. Passive racist behavior is equivalent to standing still on the walkway. No overt effort is being made, but the conveyor belt moves the bystanders along to the same destination as those who are actively walking. Some of … [Read more...]

My spiritual journey lately has mostly taken place within the pages of books and class lectures. I've been reading the Qur'an, reading a book on Muslim feminists, listening to lectures on Judaism, and learning about the psychology of religious coping. I haven't really bothered to go to any churches or religious services. This is partly because my car is on the fritz, and partly because I almost never leave church happy. Except at University Church. Abe and I discovered this little church in … [Read more...]

As I struggled to catch up on my school reading this week, my blog reading suffered. So, I don't have many links for you this time, but I had to share one thing. The series "Male and Female God Made (Most Of) Them" by Laura Ziesel is, I believe, extremely important. I've never heard Christians talk about intersex people in a healthy, positive, and affirming way. But now, Laura is starting that conversation. I hope that she can inspire the church to move beyond this binary, black and white view … [Read more...]