I’ve been asked to consider this topic again, as Meghan has decided to make it the launching point for a blog series of her own and emailed me her first response. I initially wrote about it in a response to a Christianity Today article demonizing women for choosing abortion based on disability. The point of my response, for the TL;DR among us, was that there are a whole host of reasons a woman might choose abortion and that it is possible... Read more
The Religious Fundamentalism and Sexuality Project has (finally) returned! Last time, we met Calulu, Jenn, Meggie, Parker, Shadowspring and Vyckie. Unfortunately, Shadowspring will not be able to continue her story this fall. As a result, I’ll be adding Libby Exline’s answers to this group in her place. Libby’s introduction is below, along with her answer to the first question. Throughout the project, as before, you’ll be able to follow those of the respondents who have blogs by clicking on their names. I... Read more
This just in from the Department of Bizarre Feats of Religious Jackassery: Tim Tebow Trademarks Signature Move to ‘Control How it’s Used’ The New York Jets backup quarterback is trademarking “Tebowing,” the move in which he goes down on one knee and holds a clenched fist against his forehead while praying during games. After Tebow led the Denver Broncos to a handful of fourth-quarter comeback victories last season, “Tebowing” swept the country – with actor Robert Downey Jr. even doing... Read more
In the attempt to track down sales figures for the evangelical Christian marriage book market, I found the following article by Jeremy Lott. He originally wrote it in 2003, but recently reposted it on his blog. The article discusses the range of products that make up the Christian culture market, including books. I think it’s worthwhile to look at Christian culture as an industry, the same way we look at Hollywood. The booksellers, music labels and product manufacturers are self-consciously creating... Read more
“Is your husband home?” I wasn’t prepared to answer that question. If my neighbors’ wide, gently sloping rooftops with huge antennae sprouting out like pine branches hadn’t been enough to make me feel like I was living in the 1950s, that question totally did it. I had just been asked by a door-to-door salesman if my husband was available. Whose planet was this!? I glanced down to make sure I wasn’t wearing an apron or a baby. This was the... Read more
In evangelical Christian culture, marriage is a commodity. Marriage books are sold like gardening manuals or cheat sheets for the SATs. The sales pitch for marriage in Christian culture is more intense than any you’ll ever experience on a used car lot. Christians are made to believe that they’re God’s designated curators of Marriage, That Holy and Venerable Institution, and that falling down on the job can undermine the entire fabric of society. Just look at these book titles! Marriage... Read more
Justin Lee, executive director of the Gay Christian Network, has just written an excellent post using The Lion King to illustrate the unequal terms in which evangelical Christians (in this case, his 16-year-old self) think about sex and relationships. Check it out here: Crumbs from the Communion Table: Can you feel the sex tonight? In my mind, for Timon and Pumbaa to be gay would have meant that they were having sex. But for Simba and Nala to be straight meant only that they... Read more
What do John Howard Griffin, Barbara Ehrenreich, Timothy Kurek and Rachel Held Evans have in common? What do they have in common with Natalie Reed and “Thomas,” an anonymous subject of Kristin Schilt’s research on gender inequality in the experiences of transgender men in the workplace? What about with ex-fundamentalists like Libby Anne and me? They’ve all lived outside the privilege markers assigned to them at birth: some intentionally, for the sake of research or activism, and some in the... Read more
I have been asked to write a response to S.E. Smith at Tiger Beatdown after both of our articles appeared on R.H. Reality Check. What follows is that response. My previous post titled Disability, Prenatal Testing and the Case for a Moral, Compassionate Abortion began with a long disclaimer in which I wrote, If you come away from this article thinking that I advocate genocide of a disabled population or the coercion of women pregnant with disabled fetuses into abortion, that... Read more
Ever since Todd Akin’s remarks about women’s bodies’ magical powers to repel the sperm of rapists sent echoes of shock reverberating through the mainstream media, pieces of similar doctrines have bubbled back up into my memory. Akin’s views did not surprise me, as they did not surprise other bloggers who study the Religious Right. Instead, his assertions reminded me just how much liberty fundamentalist Christians take with scientific and medical matters, and how willingly some of them abuse their authority... Read more
The Phoenix and Olive Branch
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