Dear Kimberly,
While listening to NPR’s Morning Edition earlier this week, I was struck by a phrase that reminded me of some of our discussions on this blog. The phrase? “Expectations of how a woman judge should act.”
It occurred during a discussion about critics of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor who claim her style is [...]
Dear Letha,
I loved your last letter, especially how you juxtaposed the situation in Swat Valley, Pakistan with the situation of Susan Boyle in the western media. I always like seeing the world through the lens of “inter-text”—putting seemingly non related topics side-by-side and noticing how they illuminate one another. And as we know, feminist study [...]
Dear Kimberly,
Your further thoughts about pride, lookism, racism, and anti-feminist religious teachings were right on the mark! I want to pick up on that discussion by sharing some thoughts I’ve had after viewing some seemingly unrelated television programs this past week. You may have seen them, too, Kim. If not, you can view these videos [...]
Dear Letha,
Now it is my turn to apologize for my slow reply to your last letter! As you know, this past month has been eventful for me. I moved to a new apartment in Seattle, and I also have been traveling a bit to look at different graduate school programs. The verdict is in: this [...]
Continue reading about More Thoughts on Women and Pride, also the Interplay of Lookism and Racism
Dear Kimberly,
So many things in the news have recently reminded me of your last letter about how women are judged by their appearance, causing some women to believe they must be slaves to fashion. And I also want to comment on something else I read in the news last week, namely, the news that a [...]
Continue reading about More about"Lookism," also Are Sins "Gender-specific"?
Dear Letha,
Now it’s my turn to apologize for a late response to your last letter! As you know, my life has been rather busy the past month with my applications for graduate school. However, I did want to take the time to get back with you and let you know that I was quite impacted [...]
Continue reading about The 1968 Beauty Pageant, Women’s History, and “Lookism”
Dear Kimberly,
I apologize for taking so long to respond to your November 22 letter; but as you know, I had some health issues come up and then was swamped with the editing and layout for the latest issue of Christian Feminism Today, which has just come off the press.
I want to pick up right where [...]
Letha,
I really appreciated what you touched on in your last letter, especially your explanation of the typology Yates uses to understand second-wave feminism. The “women over against men” category—which describes the more extremist segment of the movement—struck a chord with me. As you know, the perception that feminism is about angry women wanting to dominate men [...]
Dear Kimberly,
I appreciated your honest sharing in your last letter. Your struggles during your teenage and college years are struggles that many of us have experienced. But I wonder how many other bright young women have not chosen the path you followed and instead have abandoned their faith rather than give up their feminism. They [...]
Continue reading about Some Thoughts on Fundamentalism and Feminism
Hi Letha,
Thank you for such a rich letter filled with both fascinating insight and personal stories of your growing up. I appreciated your words on current events (the complexities of gender in the election) and I also thoroughly enjoyed the pictures you shared with us from your childhood and teenage years. Your photos give me [...]