"feminism"

Beyoncé Bowl Round-Up



If you follow me on any social media platform or were anywhere near me IRL on Sunday, you probably heard me say something about Beyoncé that may have tended toward idolatry.

And for good reason!

Here is a round-up of articles that explain far better than I could why the performance (and Beyoncé as a person) is so wonderful.


A Defiant Dance of Power, Not Sex: Beyoncé, the Super Bowl and Durga by David Henson
In that moment, it seemed Beyoncé was dancing on the fresh graves of sexism, male supremacy, all her talking-head concern troll critics that sought to reduce her to anything other than the powerful woman and artist she is. She dared them to think of her as something less than beautiful, something less than talented, something less than powerful, something less than a woman.
What Beyonce’s Halftime Show Reveals About The Evangelical Love/Hate Relationship With Human Sexuality by Joy Bennett
Why are we more comfortable with displays of masculinity and sexuality than we are with displays of femininity and sexuality? Why do we not have a problem watching football with our kids, but we attack and belittle the halftime show. Why is female sexuality so offensive? Why is male sexuality NOT offensive?
Beyonce & Policing Female Sexuality by Suzannah Paul
Dancing or dressing a certain way--or simply existing in the world in a female body with breasts and feminine curves--does not turn a woman into a sexual object...Our bodies are part of our humanity, and our sexuality is, too. In creating people in the image dei and having Jesus live a fully embodied life, God affirmed the goodness in human bodies and humanity. Female bodies are not to be feared, hidden, or ashamed of--and it's not the place of Christians to cast shame upon them either.

Why Beyoncé is my kind of feminist by Emma Gannon
Maybe, just maybe, it’s OK to want to be attractive to men AND be considered a feminist....A woman’s own standard of how she wishes to look or conduct a relationship with a man or woman is a personal thing and should not pervert any definition of feminism.
Super Bowl XLVII: Why Beyoncé’s Appeal Crosses Gender Lines by Rachel Grate
And this is why Beyoncé’s music crosses gender lines: It asserts female power while proving female empowerment does not exclude men. This is what feminists have been trying to convince men of for ages – that we are not anti-men, we are pro-equality. Beyoncé is pro-equality and questions gender roles, and her spreading that message to the Super Bowl – to a space largely defined by those roles – is in many ways a feminist victory.

 What do you all think? Please tell me you are now all members in the Cult of Beyoncé.

Theologian Thursday: Dorothy Day (1897-1980)

 I'm not sure if I would typically classify Dorothy Day as a theologian, but she did a lot of awesome work and wrote some pretty good stuff, and since I've been pretty fascinated with her this week I thought she'd make a good profile for this week's post.

Dorothy Day was a major player in the Catholic Worker Movement, which was founded by Peter Maurin. She advocated for social justice and equality for the poor and otherwise disenfranchised through nonviolent means.

One thing I find interesting is that she didn't convert to Catholicism until her daughter was born (despite the urging of her partner, Forster Batterham, to abort the pregnancy), and she decided to give her the spiritual upbringing she never experienced. Subsequently, she found in the Catholic Church a positive outlet for her longing to do good in the world.

She worked creating "houses of hospitality" to serve the poor and homeless. She organized farming communes to give people work to do and provide food to eat during the Great Depression. She practiced "voluntary poverty," as modeled by St. Francis of Assisi, in order to respond to the call of Jesus Christ on her life.


What you should read:
Ratings:
(To read more about my rating system, click HERE.)
Gender Equality:
She believed all people had a role in caring for the poor, and served right alongside Peter Maurin in his work. (I do wish she used gender inclusive language in her writing...  but I know that's just a symptom of the time period in which she lived.)
Environmental Sensibility:  
The local agricultural focus of  her work illustrates the value she saw in caring for creation. I think her love for the environment also comes out in her disdain of violence and the atomic bomb.
Heretical Tendencies:
Though many of her views were politically radical, I think for the most part her spiritual beliefs were on par with Catholic orthodoxy. She was catechized as an adult, was baptized (apparently conditionally because of her previous baptism in the Episcopal church), gave confession, and took communion. Her cause for canonization is currently open, and she is considered a "Servant of God."
General Badassery:
The fact that she was an outspoken anarchist and a subscriber to a Christian form of communism during the Red Scare is pretty badass.

What a confusion we have gotten into when Christian prelates sprinkle holy water on scrap metal to be used for obliteration bombing, and name bombers for the Holy Innocents, for Our Lady of Mercy; who bless a man about to press a button which releases death on fifty thousand human beings, including little babies, children, the sick, the aged, the innocent as well as the guilty.

Theologian Thursday: Elizabeth Johnson

This is the first Theologian Thursday I've done in which the theologian is still living. I've had this weird anxiety that if I profile someone who's still around, they'll somehow find my blog (everyone Googles themselves, you know. Don't pretend you don't.) and think I've grossly misrepresented their life or work and hate me forever. But I've been on a feminist theology kick lately, and I figure Elizabeth Johnson is one of the least likely people to hate me forever. Or at least I hope so. Anyway.

 (image from here)
Elizabeth Johnson is one of my favorite Catholics! And she's basically one of the reasons I'm a feminist, too. I read her Consider Jesus in undergrad, and She Who Is earlier this year, and she's pretty rad.

Johnson received her BA from Brentwood College, her MA from Manhattan College, and her PhD from Catholic University of America. She currently teaches theology at Fordham University. She's also a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph. She started studying theology right before Vatican II, and the council's focus on dialog with the modern world has shaped her work.

One of the most important things Johnson advocates for is the use of feminine imagery when talking about God. She says it's no coincidence that the Church has been oppressive to women while using male-gendered pronouns and metaphors to talk about God. But she points out that the Bible is rich with images of God taking feminine form--a hen gathering chicks, a laboring or nursing mother, a washerwoman, a seamstress, etc.--and therefore we are free and encouraged to do so in our worship and our personal spiritual life. This is so empowering for women who have their whole lives been forced to envision God as a male ruler or similar oppressor, with whom they could not identify.

(If you want a list of biblical references to female imagery, check out this blog post from Mike Morrell. It's a great resource!) 

What you should read:
  • She Who Is. No brainer. Just do it.
  • She has tons of published articles and they're all good. (OK, I haven't read ALL of them to know that, but I mean, I imagine they have to be.)
 Ratings:
(To read more about my rating system, click HERE.)
Gender Equality:
I mean, this is obvious right? I'd give her six stars if I could.
Environmental Sensibility:
Most feminist theologians agree that as we see the value of women as an important part of God's story, the same becomes true for all God's creatures, including the environment. Oh! And this reminds me of another of her books--Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit. Check it out.
Heretical Tendencies:
Having new(ish) unpopular ideas is never easy, especially if you are a feminist in a Church that doesn't allow ordination of women and has hundreds of years of engrained patriarchy. But I love that Johnson is committed to the Catholic Church and working for its betterment rather than running away from it.
General Badassery:
Again, I wish I could give her six stars! Like I said, I do not envy her position as a feminist in the Catholic Church, but she is so awesome for studying what she's passionate about and speaking truth to power (consequently, she's been blasted by lots of bishops and other Catholic officials). She's written tons of great stuff, won awards, and been in important leadership positions, and is generally just rad.

And a quote (I had to just pick one since there are so many good and important ones!)
"What is at stake is simultaneously the freeing of both women and men from debilitating reality models and social roles, the birthing of new forms of saving relationship to all of creation, and indeed the very viability of the Christian tradition for present and coming generations. Are the religions of the Book up to the challenge?"