Welcome to the Summer, 2009 edition of Web Explorations for Christian Feminists. Here you’ll find a new list of websites and web pages, with my comments about each one.  If you're like me, you like to keep informed on many different topics, so the links I've listed call attention to a wide variety of subjects—subjects that I think we, as Christian feminists, along with our sisters and brothers of other faiths, will want to learn more about. This time,  I've arranged them in subject categories.   Please keep in mind, however, that the links in Web Explorations take you to sites outside eewc.com, and thus EEWC can’t be responsible for any content they may display. Nor does the inclusion of a link mean that a particular item necessarily represents the views of EEWC. The links simply take you to a number of sites I’ve discovered since the last Web Exploration edition and want to share with you. Some topics will no doubt interest you more than others, but take some time to scroll through the list and then just choose those that grab your attention, while skipping the others.  (But  I hope you’ll return to check out some of the others later!)

Relationships

Friendships help you live longer
That's the message of this article by Tara Parker-Pope from the New York Times. Scientific studies back up the claim.

Relationships more than financial success are key to happy life
The above link will take you to Connie Schultz's comments on a longitudinal study that followed a cohort of Harvard men over a 72-year period.  (Women were not included in this study.)

Women's Bodies, Body Image, and Beauty Standards

Women tell stories of their first period
Eighteen-year-old Rachel Kauder Nalebuff collected stories of how 92 women of all ages and from around the world experienced their first period.  Abigail Zuger, M.D. reviewed My Little Red Book for the New York Times.

"When a period ends more than a sentence"
According to UNICEF, a considerable percentage of girls in developing countries, especially some countries in Africa,  miss school because they lack suitable hygiene products during their menstrual periods.  Writing for the Huffington Post, Elizabeth Scharpf and Rachel Kauder Nalebuff provide information and insight into the problem, including religious taboos that have historically affected attitudes toward menstruation.   Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the New York Times, also addresses this problem in his blog under the title "Getting Girls to School in Africa,"  You might also want to read the responses of readers who sent in comments.

"Girls and their bodies"
From PBS Parents comes excellent advice on raising girls to have a positive body image and avoid eating disorders.

Body Image and weight: "Love your jiggly bits"
Newspaper columnist (and EEWC member) Susan Campbell shows her wisdom, courage, and creative sense of humor in this anecdote about what she told a doctor who scolded her for gaining a tiny bit of weight over a period of years.

"Lookism" discussions on the 72-27 blog
As many of you know, Kimberly George and I write a regular cross-generational Christian feminism discussion in a blog format called, 72-27.  We've been posting essays at least once a month in the form of letters to each other.  Several have dealt with body image, self-esteem, and society's unrealistic beauty ideals for girls and women.  In case you've missed any of them, in addition to the January post in the heading above, you might want to check out the February, March, April, and May posts particularly.  They've all dealt at least partially with various aspects of "lookism," showing how gender discrimination is often tied to women's appearance and society's unreasonable and often cruel beauty standards. We've written about the messages young girls absorb about weight and body image, the exploitation of women in advertising, the links between racism, lookism, and a devaluation of girls and women in general and how that devaluation is associated with violence and oppression in various ways and places throughout the world.  Recently, our 72-27 blog was recommended on two feminist websites, Feministing (produced by young women in their 20s and 30s) and Women, Girls, Ladies (intergenerational).  Check out some of their other posts to see what many feminists are thinking and writing about as girls and women face old and new challenges in the 21st century.  An interesting discussion on Christian feminism showed up on the Feministing community forum recently, and I believe the readers' comments, questions, and personal anecdotes show the importance of the kind of work we in EEWC are trying to do.

Touched-up Photos
New York Times writer Eric Wilson shows how Photoshop and other photo editing software enables magazines to lie about what celebrities and models actually look like.  Yet, these images are viewed by young girls and women as the ideal they are expected to emulate.  Might there be a movement toward demanding more authenticity rather than artificiality?

Why One Young Woman Dropped Out of Beauty Contests
Writing for the Web magazine Campus Progress.org, Amanda Angelotti, who calls herself a proud feminist, tells why she once entered beauty contests and why she dropped out.

"Conservatives divided over Miss California USA controversy"
Beauty pageants and beauty queens were much in the news this spring, one reason being the controversy over Carrie Prejean, Miss California in the Miss USA Pageant.  The controversy erupted over her public statement of disapproval of same-sex marriage in response to a question, an answer that led many conservative Christians to embrace her as a courageous role model and spokesperson for the religious right. Others, however, raised questions about the appropriateness of exalting her as an example of Christian womanhood after some questionable photos came to light.  This report was written by Bob Allen for the Associated Baptist Press, May 12, 2009. (Carrie Prejean was later stripped of her title for failing to carry out the terms of her contract.)

Breast implants and Beauty Pageants
One question that comes up regarding beauty pageants is that if women are being judged on their natural beauty (which is really not something they can take credit for anyway), shouldn't it be their authentic, natural beauty and not "enhanced beauty"?  According to this report from the Huffington Post, the Miss California Pageant paid for breast implant surgery for Carrie Prejean before she competed in the Miss USA finals. Questioned about this, a spokesperson for the pageant said it was not unusual for contestants to seek figure enhancement to achieve better proportion in the swimsuit competition, and that women go about it in different ways, including the use of tape and "chicken cutlets." This remark by the pageant official (without explanation) prompted New York Times health writer Tara Parker-Pope to comment that  beauty contestants would face the hazard of samonella if they were literally inserting raw poultry in their swimsuits!  They are not. Parker-Pope went on to explain what the term "chicken cutlets" really means when it is used in the context of a beauty contest rather than a butcher shop.

"Love Your Body campaign" from NOW
The National Organziation for Women has an ongoing campaign to get across the message, "BE YOU-tiful."

Women and the Legal System

"Sexism and the Supreme Court Nominee"
In this Huffington Post essay, Ciara Torres-Spelliscy discusses negative attitudes toward Sonya Sotomayor's nomination to the United States Supreme Court in the light of research Torres-Spelliscy and her colleagues recently conducted.  According to this study by the Brennen Center for Justice, "The problem is clear: even after years of women and minorities making strides in the legal profession, white men continue to hold a disproportionate share of judicial seats compared with their share of the general population." Torres-Spelliscy and her coauthors, Monique Chase and Emma Greenman, suggest some solutions.

"The Supreme Court: Why Women Matter"
Peggy Drexler provides some concrete reasons for why it's important to have women on the Supreme Court.

How Women Built the Law
From The American Prospect: A review essay by Alyssa Rosenberg about the part women and women's concerns have played in legal history, as described in Fred Strebeigh's book, Equal: Women Reshape American Law.

Violence Against Women -- Physical, Emotional, Verbal, and Societal

The continued brutalization of women in the Democratic Republic of Congo
"Women and girls of all ages, from old women to very young children, have been gang-raped, and in many cases their sexual organs have been mutilated. The victims number in the hundreds of thousands. But the world, for the most part, has remained indifferent to their suffering," writes New York Times columnist Bob Herbert in this chilling, heartbreaking report.

"After Wars End, Mass Rape Persists"
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof reports that in Liberia, even after the war ended, "it has been easier to get men to relinquish their guns than their sense of sexual entitlement."  Thus, mass rape continues, as shown in reports of girls as young as three and seven being brought to hospitals and shelters for survivors of  individual and gang rapes. It is painful beyond belief to imagine the physical and psychological suffering these children have had to endure.

Childbirth in developing countries can be dangerous  
This article from The Guardian points out that "having a child in a developing country is one of the most severe health risks for women. For every woman who dies, another 20 suffer illness or injury, which can be permanent."

Bringing hope to women suffering from fistula birth injuries in Tanzania.
Fistula injuries are all too common outcomes of obstructed labor during childbirth in this impoverished African country, affecting the lives of women in devastating ways.

Complex issues surrounding female genital mutilation
Why is it that some women defend the practice of FGM?  Could alternative rites of passage make a difference?  This article explores the complexity of the topic. It was written by Michelle Goldberg for The American Prospect, April 28, 2009.

Actress-Model sued after death
The feminist website "Feministing" calls attention to this blame-the-victim example.  A South Korean actress and model was sued by a company that had used her image in their advertisements.  The model had been beaten by her husband, and photos of her during her hospitalization from the abuse were published in the news media. The company claimed she had therefore "disgraced the image of the company by damaging her social and moral image through her own fault" and thus owed the company a large sum of money in damages. Backed by South Korea's Supreme Court, the company is now seeking the money from her heirs, the estate left to her young children, since the model apparently took her own life.

Sexist vintage ads
Scroll through these advertisements from the past century, and groan at the attitudes toward women, domesticity, and rigid gender roles!

Rush Limbaugh wonders why so many women don't like him
Syndicated columnist Conne Schultz provides some explanations for the negative opinions.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues

Are "Defense of Marriage (DOMA) Laws" a type of religious violence?
Jon Pahl tells why he thinks they are a form of religious violence in this article from the March 12, 2009 issue of Sightings, published by the Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion at the University of Chicago Divinity School.  Dr. Pahl is Professor of the History of Christianity in North America at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia.

How hospitals treat same sex couples
An article by Tara Parker-Pope from the New York Times, May 12, 2009. 

A follow-up to the article about the lesbian kept from her dying partner's bedside
This story was featured in our last issue of Web Explorations. This is an update.

Video and text: "Two Little Boys" -- Anti-gay bullying leads to suicides
Read this article and the accompanying graphs by Charles Blow, whose New York Times column, By the Numbers, presents statistics and opinion in relation to items in the news.  The video embedded with the article is from ABC News with Charles Gibson, which may also be watched directly here.

NC to pass anti-bullying legislation
Commentary from Feministing about legislation moving through the North Carolina legislature that is expected  to include sexual orientation among categories listed as reasons for harassment and bullying. (Among other examples listed are race, disability, and religion.)  See also this related article and comments from the Greensboro, NC News and Record.

Religious Right claims hate crime legislation would persecute Christians
This article from People for the American Way points out that "athough federal law has punished hate crimes based on race for more than a decade, the Religious Right is incensed at the prospect of using the law to protect gays as well." 

Transgenderism and Judaism
Leora Tanenbaum, an Orthodox Jew, wrote this essay for the Huffington Post after a male-to-female transgender professor returned after a long leave to resume teaching at Yeshiva University. Leora talks about where transgenderism fits into Judaism.  Readers of Christian Feminism Today will remember Leora from her attendance at the EEWC Conference in Charlotte, NC in 2006 and from her book Taking Back God: American Women Rising Up for Religious Equality, which was reviewed by Alena Amato Ruggerio.

Video: Ellen Degeneres's commencement speech at Tulane University
Ellen is her usual humorous self as she delivers this commencement address, but she also has some serious things to say about being true to oneself.  She tells how she felt a need to be honest when she came out as a lesbian and how it hurt her career for several years.  No one wanted to hire her -- until the invitation came for her to be a talk show host.  The rest is history.  It's not hard to see why her program is so popular. Here's an example (and be prepared for a good laugh as she talks with a delightful 88-year-old woman named Gladys).

"Gay Marriage Issue Won't Go Away"
Excellent article by columnist Connie Schultz which goes beyond the theoretical and abstract and touches on everyday lives with friends, family, and neighbors.

Video:  "A Gay Soldier's Husband"
Imagine how it would feel to have a spouse serving in Iraq and not be able to express yourself freely in letters, emails, or photos, while the service person has to pretend he or she is not married because of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.   This video about one man's same-sex marriage shows how it feels.  An opinion video for The New York Times.

Satire Video: "How Would You Feel If Someone Put Your Marriage  to a Vote?"
A group in California produced this satire, "The Defenders," to protest the passage of Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage.

Women Misunderstood, Misjudged, Maligned, or Made Invisible

Anna Quindlen on Mary Todd Lincoln
Columnist Anna Quindlen shows us how Mary Todd Lincoln has been misunderstood and maligned, while her gifts and intellect have gone unappreciated.  History shows she had so much to contribute to her husband and the world, but she was blocked by the gender restrictions of her day.

Making women invisible literally
Two women serve on Israel's new cabinet, but you wouldn't know it from what was done to the photo of the cabinet.  From the Huffington Post, April 3, 2009.

Did Susan Boyle represent invisible women?
The skepticism and ridicule Scottish singer Susan Boyle received when she began her audition for Britain's Got Talent, the stunning drama of what happened to the judges and audience as she sang, and then the amazing number of viewings on YouTube afterward was an unfolding of events that occurred just when the world needed something uplifting. This phenomenon led Tina Brown to write: "Among the many underdog groups Boyle scored with was that universally dismissed demographic —Invisible Women: the unbeautiful 47 year-olds who don't rate a second look and never get a chance to make their point in the meeting."  Brown went on to say, "There are so many aging women who feel dissed by popular culture and employers alike" (From The Daily Beast, April 20, 2009).  For more about what Susan Boyle's audition and video have to say to us and the lessons a number of other writers drew from it, see my comments in the April 20 edition of 72-27.   You might also want to check out this link from the National Organization for Women (NOW) about the importance of being oneself in spite of outside pressures.

"The plight of women soldiers"
From The Nation.  An article by Helen Benedict adapted from her Beacon Press book, The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq.

About those studies and articles on female happiness or lack thereof
Sensationalized media reports about research that examined studies of happiness were quick to blame feminism for a reported decline in women's happiness over time.  Check out this article and this one for a different perspective.

Patriarchical Attitudes and Practices

Connie Schultz talks about why "women must pray a little harder" in every religion
Events in the news have caused columnist Schultz to write, "I am left to wonder why most religious conservatives of any faith interpret sacred writings to include permission to oppress their women."  Good question!

Women's shelters in Afghanistan
Some women are finding protection in spite of cultural traditions that regard women as property of men. A report by Kirk Semple from the New York Times.

Two Videos:(1) Pakistan: Children of the Taliban   and (2)  Class Dismissed in Swat Valley
(from PBS Frontline/World and  the New York Times, respectively)   I also discussed these films in detail in the April 20,2009 post of 72-27. and Kimberly George continued the discussion on her May 23 post.

Quiverful-- the movement and the book
Mark Karlin interviews Kathryn Joyce, the author of Quiverful: Inside the Christian Patriarchy Movement.

Reaching Out Between Religions

Video:  Amy-Jill Levine: "Reassessing Jewish-Christians Relations"
A lecture by Amy-Jill Levine, professor of New Testament Studies at Vanderbilt University.  Readers of Christian Feminism Today and the EEWC website might remember David Scholer's review essay on Dr. Levine's book, The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus.   As a person of the Jewish faith teaching in the field of New Testament studies, Dr. Levine brings a unique perspective to the topic of Jewish-Christian relations.

Audio: A Gaza Doctor's Case for Peace (NPR, "On Point, April 15, 2009)
On April 15, 2009, I was standing at a bus stop, listening to NPR on my portable radio during the long wait.  The program "On Point" came on with one of the most outstanding and moving interviews I have ever heard.  I knew then that I wanted to share it with "Web Explorations" readers.  I hope you will take time to listen to the online audio. Its an interview with Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a devout Muslim obstetrician who lived in Gaza, was well known for his care for both Israeli and Palestinian patients, and worked with Israeli medical colleagues at a University Hospital in Israel. On January 16, 2009, during the Israeli invasion of Gaza, an Israeli tank shelled his house killing three of his daughters and his niece.  A recording of his actual cries and desperate pleas for an ambulance will tear your heart out.  Both Palestians and Israelis were profoundly touched by his comments broadcast not long after the incident.  He told "On Point" host Tom Ashbrook that his religious faith enabled him to believe God would bring good out of even such a horrendous tragedy. His faith had already sustained him through the death of his wife from an illness just a few months earlier, leaving him with eight children to raise.  Now he had lost three of those precious children through the violence in Gaza, but still he was not bitter and filled with hatred.  Instead, he is determined all the more to work for peace, and he is teaching this to his remaining children.  To honor his daughters' memory, he is establishing an international foundation to empower girls and women.  "If you educate a woman, you educate a nation," he says.   Watch the videos on the "On Point" page, too.  (For a recent update on Dr. Abuelaish, listen to this brief report broadcast on NPR's Morning Edition June 10, 2009.)

Green was reportedly the prophet Mohammed's favorite color
Writing for the online magazine Slate, Christopher Beam provides many reasons for the importance of the color green in Islam.

Women, Work, and Money

Should the First Lady Get a Salary?
This article raises some interesting questions that could also apply to churches and what they expect from pastors' spouses!

Wage gap
From Women's E-News. A state by state comparison shows that a gender gap in earnings continues.

Articles on women and work from American Prospect: The first three of a series

Pink Collar Blues"
"When Opting Out Isn't an Option"
"Outside the 9 to 5"

Materials Written or Recorded by Members of our own EEWC Family

Kimberly George's podcasts on "Faith, Women, and Justice"  This four-part series was recorded for a special class Kimberly was invited to teach in a Seattle church.  The information she shares and the comments of those who attended, many of whom became newly aware of various Christian feminist insights, make the series well-worth taking time for listening. 

Psychologist Terry Sandbek's informative article on learned helplessness was featured on his blog, "The Worry Free Life " on May 31, 2009.  He followed it up with an article on learned optimism  the following week.  Terry is married to EEWC's Sharon Billings, who is also a therapist and who contributed to the Christian Feminism Today panel and discussion on childhood sexual abuse.

The Gift of Discomfort
Read the text of Susan Campbell's commencement speech to the graduating class of Hartford Seminary (from which she received a master's degree in religious studies several years ago).  Susan was profiled in the Spring, 2008 issue of Christian Feminism Today and her recent book,Dating Jesus, was reviewed by Virginia Ramey Mollenkott in our Winter, 2009 issue.

And don't forget to check the blogs of some of our other EEWC members and friends, as described in our last issue of Web Explorations (Winter-Early Spring, 2009).

General Interest

Amelia Bloomer project
Excellent resource.  Annual lists and descriptions of feminist literature for children and young people "from birth throgh 18" (archived for past years).

Talking about Dying
Jane Brody, writer on health issues for the New York Times, says that she avoided talking about death when her mother was dying, because she thought an upbeat, hopeful approach and not showing grief in her mother's presence was the way to go.  She now knows she was wrong and has written a book about preparing for death while we are healthy and learning how best to be supportive to a loved one who is facing death.  See also this interview with her about the book.

"Pondering Chick Flicks"
I don't really like the term "chick flicks," and the author of this article, Melissa Silverstein, doesn't necessarily like it either.  But it's a term tossed around in the popular culture and serves as an attention-getter for this analysis of the history of women in film. Writing for the Women's Media Center, Silverstein reminds us that there was a time when films featured strong feminist women and  "relayed women's stories as important and valid to the culture and often appealed to men as well."  Why is this less true today, and what can be done about it?

Video: Trailer for the movie "Precious"
This is a soon-to-be-released movie you won't want to miss, so be watching for it.  Based on the novel, Push, by Sapphire, it's a raw and honest look of what some impoverished young girls have to cope with and the importance of having people in their lives who will help them believe in their humanity and worth -- and show them love and affirmation.  Although the film won three awards at the Sundance festival, concerns have been raised about marketing the picture to reach a general audience, but promised backing by Oprah Winfrey may make a difference.    (Originally called Push, the movie title was changed to Precious to avoid confusion with another movie called Push.)

From Frank Schaeffer: "How I (and other pro-life leaders) contributed to Dr. Tller's murder"
"My late father and I share the blame (with many others) for the murder of Dr. George Tiller the abortion doctor gunned down on Sunday," writes Frank Schaeffer in this May 31, 2009 article. Frank, son of Francis and Edith Schaeffer who were famous for their books, films, and ministry at L'abri, is the author of Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found the Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back  The book was discussed in depth in the Spring, 2008 issue of Christian Feminism Today, which featured a review by Anne Eggebroten, some personal reflections by Sharon Gallagher,  and Anne Eggebroten's essay, "Crazy about Abortion," on the role Frank Schaeffer and his father played in the rise and radicalization of the religious right as it focused on the politics of abortion. Frank now says he deeply regrets the rhetoric in which he once participated, incendiary speech that stirs up hatred and can lead to horrific violence.  You can listen to Frank Schaeffer's own comments about this as he talked with Rachel Maddow on her MSNBC program , and then again on a later program in response to further threats by the man charged with Dr. Tiller's murder.   On a related note, see Anne Eggebroten's essay "Calling abortion murder invites violence,"  a commentary written for the online news magazine, Women's E-News."  You might also want to read this essay by syndicated columnist Connie Schultz, "Generalities Fail Us in the Abortion Debate" and this one by Dr. Suzanne Poppema from the Los Angeles Times.

That's all for this edition of "Web Explorations for Christian Feminists."  See you again in the fall!

Your Web Explorations Guide
Letha Dawson Scanzoni

© 2009 Evangelical & Ecumenical Women's Caucus