Unless you’ve actively studied the gay rights movement in the U.S., it might be possible that you’d never heard of “Stonewall” before President Barack Obama name checked it in his second inaugural address. You might have had the opportunity to learn about U.S. women’s history at some point, given that we now have such a thing as ‘women’s history month’ (March), but you might not know much about the Seneca Falls convention. My speculation is that most people know that... Read more
One of the many great things about participating in the Faith and Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute at The Center for American Progress this past year has been learning about organizations doing essential work for justice that I didn’t even know existed. One of them, Law Students for Reproductive Justice, invited me to speak on a panel about religion and reproductive justice at their regional conference in Chicago this weekend, and I’m excited to attend and learn about their work. The... Read more
During the 2008 election, Barack Obama took a lot of criticism for comments he made at a fundraiser while speaking about economically anxious working-class voters in the Midwest: “it’s not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.” GOP opponents in particular seized on these remarks as indication of Obama’s otherness, how out of touch... Read more
Last Friday, @feministtexican tweeted a simple query: feminist books by women of color that everyone should read – go! And her followers were off and running. @lizwithhat compiled the responses in Storify, and I thought I’d share some of the listed responses here. In part this is because I’m starting a new semester teaching Introduction to Gender and Women’s Studies again, and I am thinking again about how important it is, especially for white feminist educators like myself, to read,... Read more
We’re both over 40 now. I got there a little over a year ago. And forty years ago today, on January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court decision in the Roe v. Wade case legalized abortion nationwide for women in the U.S. On this anniversary of that landmark decision protecting a woman’s health and ability to make her own decisions, I share part of my story that RhRealityCheck published this week: When I was a teenager, maybe 16 or 17 years old, my... Read more
Around Christmas, I shared some of the creative work that Jann Aldredge-Clanton has done with Christian hymns and inclusive, female-centered language and images for the divine. I also want to share one in her series of profiles of remarkable faith leaders who are, in her words, “changing church.” In her book of the same name, and now on her blog, she talks about why she chose to profile ordained leaders working to include the divine feminine as part of a... Read more
On January 22, 2013, the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that nationally legalized abortion is 40 years old. Because there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation surrounding one of the most politicized women’s health issues, I am sharing some of the infographics from the Guttmacher Institute in the days leading up to this landmark. Here is the fourth one, focusing on the racial and ethnic disparities in reproductive health outcomes that are tied to larger social and economic... Read more
You may or may not have been following the controversy around President Obama’s first choice to deliver the benediction at his second inauguration next week. In short, he kept with his own practice of choosing a public opponent to gay and lesbian rights in selecting Louis Giglio to do this time what Rick Warren did four years ago. Giglio withdrew his name after his views became widely known, and ever since then, people have been offering up suggestions and lists... Read more
For the past year I have been privileged to be part of the Faith and Reproductive Justice Leadership Institute at The Center for American Progress. I wrote more about our shared work and activities previously, and shared some of the interview that Sally Steenland did with me as part of that work here. Now, I am thrilled to share part of the newly released public statement that nineteen of us have been discussing for the past year. We are faith... Read more
On January 22, 2013, the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that nationally legalized abortion is 40 years old. Because there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation surrounding one of the most politicized women’s health issues, I am sharing some of the infographics from the Guttmacher Institute in the days leading up to this landmark. Here is the third one, focusing on the disproportionate impact of abortion restrictions on poor women. For more information on the barriers to abortion... Read more
Caryn Riswold
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