Monday, December 06, 2010

Mormon Feminism: A Patheos Symposium

Excerpts of Mormon Feminism: A Patheos Symposium--
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Kathryn Soper
As Sisters in Zion: Mormon Feminism and Sisterhood
by Kathryn Soper
It's a good time to stop worrying so much about who's a feminist and who's not, and instead focus on how women who care about gender issues can better cooperate by emphasizing similarities and respecting differences.


Claudia L. Bushman
All Else Will Follow
by Claudia L. Bushman
While we once were a people who repeatedly risked everything, we now have to cheer tiny moves, marveling that such things can come to be.

Tresa Edmunds
Getting Down to Work
by Tresa Edmunds
The church will not be cajoled into change, but leaders have proven to be sensitive to the needs of the members. I am firmly of the belief that if we ask to have our needs met, they will be. And when that day comes, I don't think I'll care much what you call it.

Rixa Freeze
A Tale of Two Women
by Rixa Freeze
Giving birth and nurturing my children at the breast are the most empowering, fulfilling, and radically transformative acts I have ever engaged in. It doesn't really matter whether these choices are feminist or traditional, conservative or radical. What matters is that I could choose.

Kristine Haglund
This Great Social Upheaval
by Kristine Haglund
It will take earnest work to become informed about the theological issues at stake, and to articulate them in a way that makes sense to Mormon women with widely varied political and ideological commitments, and then to stay engaged in the conversation which will inevitably be painful.

Caroline Kline
We Are Responsible for Asking the Questions
by Caroline Kline
Just as the biblical metaphor of the body of Christ insists on the place and importance of everyone in the Church, I believe in the importance of a multiplicity of Mormon women's voices.

Neylan McBaine
Confident and Proactive
by Neylan McBaine
I have a feeling that if the goals of a mainstream Mormon feminist movement were clearly delineated, Mormon women generally would be surprised at how closely the answers line up with their own ideals, even if we still disagree on how to achieve them.

Melissa Proctor
A Source of Social Capital
by Melissa Proctor
I would suggest that among educated, white, Mormon women of a certain socioeconomic class and age, it is actually very fashionable to self-identify as a feminist.

Rosalynde Welch
After Choice
by Rosalynde Welch
Third-wave feminism's emphasis on "choice" presents a theological problem. We need to develop a deeper understanding of subjectivity and agency if we are to move the feminist conversation forward and reach a broader audience.

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