Sacred and obscene laughter in The Contendings of Horus and Seth, in Egyptian inversions of everyday life, and in the context of cultic competition.
by Ellen Morris
2007 In Egyptian Stories: A British Egyptological Tribute to Alan B. Lloyd, ed. Thomas Schneider and Kasia Szpakowska. Alter Orient und Altes Testament Series. Münster: Ugarit-Verlag, pp. 197-224.
Download (.pdf) Pornography & Colonization
Accepted for publication in The Critical Initiative, California State University, San Marcos' academic, peer reviewed, journal.
In memory of Adrienne Rich, Lesbian Poet (1929-2012) by Kittredge Cherry
Posted on the Feminism and Religion project
I light a memorial candle for lesbian feminist poet and essayist Adrienne Rich, who died March 27, 2012 at age 82.
Rich was one of the most influential poets of the 20th century. Her writing was a guiding light to me and countless others, both people of faith and secular readers. The following lines from her poem “Natural Resources” (from The Dream of a Common Language: Poems 1974-1977) became like a creed for many of us.....
ON NOT GETTING WHAT WE WANT AND LEARNING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE BY CAROL P. CHRIST
Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion project
Many women’s dreams have not been realized. How do we come to terms with this thealogically?
Although I am... more
Many women’s dreams have not been realized. How do we come to terms with this thealogically?
Although I am as neurotic as the next person, I am also really wonderful—intelligent, emotionally available, beautiful (if I do say so myself), sweet, caring, and bold. I love to dance, swim, and think about the meaning of life. I passionately wanted to find someone with whom to share my life. I did everything I could to make that happen—including years of therapy and even giving up my job and moving half way around the world when I felt I had exhausted the possibilities at home.
Feminism In Theology By Andrew Tripp
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
At the outset, I need to name and own my identities as a large white male. I have privilege and voice that makes me... more At the outset, I need to name and own my identities as a large white male. I have privilege and voice that makes me hesitant to even write to the audience of this blog. While I consider myself a feminist, I have met some who have told me that as a man I cannot be a feminist. Such folks have told me that I lack the existential knowledge of the systemic pressure put on women, and at best I can be an ally. With that said, if it was not for feminism in theology, I do not know if I could be a theologian.
Is Baptism a Male Birthing Ritual? By Michele Stopera Freyhauf
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
Quite a number of years ago I had a conversation with one of my professors, a feminist theologian, who posed the... more Quite a number of years ago I had a conversation with one of my professors, a feminist theologian, who posed the question “Why do I need a man to purify my baby with the waters of baptism? Is there something wrong or impure about the blood and water from a mother’s womb – my womb?” Before you jump and shout the words Sacrament or removal of original sin, this question bears merit in exploring, especially in today’s world where women are taking a serious beating religiously, politically, and socially. In today’s world, violations and rants are causing women to stand up and say STOP! This is MY Body. This outcry was provoked by chants of ethical slurs against women– Slut! Prostitute! Whore! The cry got even louder when the issue of religion and government was raised in the fight of healthcare coverage of contraception. The cry got even louder with the enactment of the laws in Virginia and Texas (and many other states to follow suit) that forces women to undergo transvaginal ultrasounds in early stage abortions. The mandatory insertion of a wand into a woman’s vagina (mandated by the government, mind you), is a violation and has women crying RAPE!
'A matter of age: old age, women, and the importance of age as an analytical category'
by Lynn Botelho
Do Not Cite Without Permission. Draft Only. Paper read at theSixteenth Century Society Conference, 28 October 2011, Fort Worth, Texas.
Lynn Botelho's paper, 'A Matter of Age', explores the extent of our knowledge about older women in early modern... more Lynn Botelho's paper, 'A Matter of Age', explores the extent of our knowledge about older women in early modern Europe. It looks at the place, composition, and nature of women past the age of menopause. It surveys western Europe over two centuries. Furthermore, it does not confine its investigative sweep to only post-menopausal individuals, but it also seeks to incorporate 'older' women, those who are ageing but not yet truly old. Central to this study is the awareness that a great deal of women's history is written about the 'Every Woman', one that is neither too young, nor too old, and one that is still firmly identified with her reproductive years. What emerges from this historiographical reading is the central importance of 'age' as a component in understanding the lived experience and, consequently, ‘age’ should be incorporated alongside the trinity of academic analysis: race, class, and gender.
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Modesty Codes in Pentecostalism and Mormonism by Amanda Pumphrey
Originally posted on the Feminism and Religion project
“You look like a lesbian.” “Why do you want to look like a man?” “Hey, boy head!” These were just some of the... more “You look like a lesbian.” “Why do you want to look like a man?” “Hey, boy head!” These were just some of the responses I got from friends and family when I decided to cut off my hair. The gendered connotations that come with how one decides to wear one’s hair are an overarching signifier of the dominant culture’s obsession with normative appearances. Many religious institutions and congregations uphold normative understandings of appearance and dress. Growing up in a conservative town in rural South Georgia and being raised within a Pentecostal tradition came with many challenges regarding gender, sexuality, and dress.
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WOMEN ARE NOT SLUTS, RUSH, DOUCHE-BAG IS NOT FUNNY, JON, AND SEXISM IS MORE THAN “INAPPROPRIATE,” MR. WHITEHOUSE SPOKESPERSON! by Carol P. Christ
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
Why is it OK to insult women, our bodies, and our sexuality in ways that it is no longer OK to insult other groups?
The recent controversy over Rush Limbaugh’s rant about Sandra Fluke would not be so important if Limbaugh were not the “voice” allowed to say things that Republican politicians cannot say in public. Republican politicians wish to appeal to men who would say exactly what Rush said, while watching Fox News or over a beer with their buddies.
The Virgin-Whore split is alive and well in our culture. Sandra Fluke finally did get to testify in a hearing called by Nancy Pelosi. She assumed a woman’s right to choose when and with whom we have sex and whether and when we will have children, but she did not focus on sexual freedom. One of her examples was a married woman who could not afford birth control and another was a woman who needed birth control pills for reasons having nothing to do with sex or sexual activity. She did not appear in Congress in a mini-skirt (though she should have had every right to do so) but in a business suit. Yet she was called a slut and a prostitute and asked to post porno films of herself on the internet.
Sexual Difference, Gender and Sexuality in Social Practice: the Possibilities and Limits of Materialist Feminism
Submitted to Central European University, Department of Gender Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Gender Studies.
Supervisor: Erzsébet Barát
Second reader: Veronica Vasterling
Budapest, Hungary, 2004
The concept of the ‘material’ gained wide currency in feminist theorizing recently. Its recuperations draw on... more The concept of the ‘material’ gained wide currency in feminist theorizing recently. Its recuperations draw on different theoretical traditions and thus give rise to the competing views of the cultural materialism of the post-structuralist paradigm and Marxist historical materialism. The new conceptions of materialization in gender and sexuality paradigm (Judith Butler) and materialist theory of becoming in the sexual difference paradigm (Rosi Braidotti) are introduced as contradictory elaborations of the very basic concepts of feminist theory—sex, gender, sexuality and sexual difference. Nonetheless, their reworking of materialism takes place either in the resignificatory discursive practices or the symbolization of matter and thus primarily does refrain from the appropriate theorization of the economic. The materialist feminism of Rosemary Hennessy insists on the need of systemic analysis that accounts of uneven and contradictory developments in late capitalism and its share in people’s lives. The satisfaction of the human needs is supplanted by the promise of the pleasure taking shape of commodity. Hennessy comprehends non-heteronormative sexual identities as reified and commodified, too, and argues for historicization of sexual identities in the framework of the developments of capitalism. The thesis juxtaposes the three mentioned approaches to the material in order to argue for Hennessy’s rearticulation of the historical-materialist tradition.
“If You Allow Gay Marriage…” by John Erickson
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
… you have to allow polygamy, bestiality, and everything else!” The title for my post this week is a quote from an... more
… you have to allow polygamy, bestiality, and everything else!” The title for my post this week is a quote from an individual I used to associate with. This individual, haling from a conservative evangelical background, tried to explain to several others and myself the reasons why gay marriage would eventually lead to the repeal of anti-polygamy and bestiality laws across the United States.
The problems that I have with this particular argument are conflating gay marriage with religious freedom. Activists and scholars can draw comparisons to anti-polygamy cases such as the 1878 U.S. Supreme Court case Reynolds v United States and the 1882 Edmunds Act and 1887 Edmunds-Tucker Act that disfranchised and led to the imprisonment of Mormon polygamists. But in the end, gay marriage is not about religious freedom but rather human rights.
Preying on Victims: Radical Christianity and Exploitation of Tragedy in the Name of God By Michele Stopera Freyhauf
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
It is our moral responsibility, whether we identify as Christians or not, to pray for not prey on the victims of... more
It is our moral responsibility, whether we identify as Christians or not, to pray for not prey on the victims of tragedies.
Over the last month, dare I say years, society has witnessed or been subjected to an all out war from radical Christians across America deploying the wrath of God and reveling in the tragedy of others to perpetuate their apocalyptic message of rhetoric and terror. As I hear the news over the last few months, an old Billy Joel song starts to play in my head “We didn’t start the fire.” Whether we started the fire or not, we should not feed the flames of hatred but figure out a way to extinguish it.
Here is a brief synopsis of current events that reflect this hatred and radicalism perpetuated in the name of God – examples of Christianity terrorizing or preying on victims through their actions.
The Westboro Southern Baptist Church: Preying on Victims at Funerals and Thanking God for their Tragic Deaths
A FEMINIST TAOIST VOICE PART 2: MY DIALOGUE WITH ELISA FON, ACUPUNCTURIST, TAOIST, FEMINIST AND FRIEND by Sara Frykenberg
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
Taoism is a philosophy that, for me, has been around so long because it is meant to move and change with society…
Acupuncturist, healer and friend, Elisa Fon and I began a discussion of Taoism and feminism in Part 1 of this interview. Elisa defined her vision of feminism and Taoism, explained Taoism’s relational and yet, individual emphasis on what is particular in each of our experiences and considered the basic relationship of yang and yin. Part 2 picks up where she and I left off, returning to the discussion of yin, yang and supposed dualisms.
Sara: I was wondering if you could talk a little about the complementarity of yin and yang?
A FEMINIST TAOIST VOICE PART 1: MY DIALOGUE WITH ELISA FON, ACUPUNCTURIST, TAOIST, FEMINIST AND FRIEND by Sara Frykenberg
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
“So it all kind of depends… even in men compared to men, and women compared to women, you would have to have a... more
“So it all kind of depends… even in men compared to men, and women compared to women, you would have to have a counterpart to judge something as yin or yang—you are never statically just yin or just yang…”
Elisa Fon is a student of acupuncture, graduating this semester from Yo San University in Santa Monica, CA. She also studies reiki, energy healing, meditation and yoga. Elisa and I have known each other for most of our lives as friends, as one another’s support and as chosen family. Over the last few years, however, we have more consciously fostered an intentional aspect of our intimacy: a challenge to each other to live more authentically, to walk counter-abusively and to live towards physical, spiritual and emotional empowerment. One privilege of this relationship has been the opportunity to create a language together in order to speak across our differences and share our respective passions: feminist theo/alogies (mine) and Chinese medicine/ healing arts (Elisa’s).
Women being “Raped too much?”: Fox News, Liz Trotta, and Rape Culture by Gina Messina-Dysert
Originally published on the Feminism and Religion project
I may be a bit late to the conversation, but it is impossible for me not to comment on the infuriating statements made... more I may be a bit late to the conversation, but it is impossible for me not to comment on the infuriating statements made by Liz Trotta on Fox News about the staggering 64% increase in sexual assaults against women in the military since 2006. Responding to reports from the Pentagon about women serving in combat, Trotta complained that money is being wasted on women in the military who are “raped too much.” The statements by the Fox News pundit well demonstrate the existence of rape culture within our society and the continued problem of victim blaming and double victimization experienced by women who have been raped.
Bareed Mista3jil: Negotiating Gender, Sexuality, and Religion in Lebanon by Amy Levin
Originally published on Feminism and Religion project
It’s not often (enough) that I (have the time to) come across non-academic books that articulate and reflect some of... more It’s not often (enough) that I (have the time to) come across non-academic books that articulate and reflect some of the most complex intersections between religion, gender, and sexuality. Those that do are commonly produced in the Western hemisphere, often representing the voices of Euro-American cultures and religious traditions. That is why I want to give voice to Bareed Mista3jil, a book, or collection of “41 true (and personal) stories from lesbians, bisexuals, queer and questioning women, and transgender persons from all over Lebanon.” Bareed Mista3jil was published in 2009 by the organization Meem, a community of lesbian, bisexual, queer women and transgender persons (including male-to-female and female-to-male) in addition to women questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity in Lebanon. The purpose of the book is to give voice to those in Lebanon with non-conforming sexualities and identities in order to give hope to this under-represented, often silenced population. Here is a description from Meem on the origin of the book: