I just accidentally ran across this piece of weird voyeurism on the internet. (How I got there? I can’t even remember.) The body that drove John Edwards mad: Rielle Hunter struts in her swimsuit Now, before you tell me that the Daily Mail is a piece of trash: The Daily Mail is a piece of trash. Still. They reproduce the assumptions of the modesty doctrine, demonstrating its currency outside the Christian patriarchy movement. I’ve compiled several excerpts below to discuss... Read more
Note: This is my second post in response to Nadiya Takolia’s article in the Guardian. Read the first one here. Today I want to discuss two problems with Takolia’s narrative about the hijab as a feminist, empowering device. The first has already been pointed out, but I want to reiterate it because it’s important: Takolia justifies her decision as follows: There is much misunderstanding about how women relate to their hijab. Some, of course, choose the headcover for religious reasons,... Read more
Saliha has written another great post that resonates with me as a former Christian fundamentalist. Suffering Doesn’t Make You Special, It Just Makes You Miserable One of the ways those who benefit from religious oppression are able to nurture and sustain oppressive social structures (like male supremacy/patriarchy) is by convincing the oppressed that their suffering is both natural and ultimately good for them. Some go so far as to say that extreme sacrifice is the only means to self purification and divine... Read more
I recently wrote my Christian Fundamentalist Homophobia series to point out how I and other fundamentalist children were taught to feel contempt and disgust for people who didn’t live up to our artificial standards. We were taught to separate people from their self-expression, as though they were somehow trapped in an impregnable cocoon and all we could actually see was the demon that controlled them. In other words, we hated everything about them but loved a vague idea in our minds... Read more
Sarah at Who I Am Without You is starting a project on the harmful effects of spanking. In her own words: I want to compile a collection of stories from victims of spanking. I want young parents to be able to see the issue from words that could someday belong to their child. People who want to participate can write a short post, about 100-300 words in regards to the issue of spanking, and I will post them one at... Read more
Those who have followed my comments on the WHAS11 Lousiville story on William Branham and the Message will be interested to see the full interview of David Forsberg on facebook here. Forsberg is a Message believer from Norway who was interviewed during a visit to Branham’s grave for Easter 2012. Forsberg’s views on Branham’s resurrection are a little unclear, but the extended footage seems to indicate that he holds a more moderate view of resurrection similar to the one my church... Read more
The following song was an incredible help to me during the worst of my conflict with my mother after leaving fundamentalism. I think it’s especially pertinent for adult children of fundamentalists, as we were raised with such stark distinctions between believers (our brothers and sisters) and the enemy (“the world”). Most of us have also experienced the jarring realization that our families don’t see us anymore, just the “worldly” caricatures we know so well. I’ve posted the lyrics to the whole... Read more
The Guardian recently published an article by Nadiya Takolia titled “The hijab has liberated me from society’s expectations of women.” It’s far from the first of its kind; indeed, the Muslim feminist blogosphere is really sick of talking about whether or not the hijab is inherently oppressive. Yessenia at Queereka has already articulated many of the points that I would make about the article. Before I go any further, I want to promote the following insightful stories from an ex-Muslimah and... Read more
Note: This is part of an ongoing series on songs that helped me break away from fundamentalism. An excerpt of the lyrics I found most meaningful is below the jump. (more…) Read more
Trigger warning: The following post contains frank descriptions of the hate speech against LGBTQ people that my church used to inculcate fear and contempt in its youth. I have decided to write about homophobia for two reasons: first, to demonstrate the falsity of fundamentalist rhetoric about “hating the sin and loving the sinner,” and, second, to shed light on the tools fundamentalists use to instill fear of LGBTQ people in their children. This is the third and final part of... Read more
The Phoenix and Olive Branch
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