Dear Readers,
Between moving to a new state, starting a PhD program, and teaching composition at a new university, I've gone a little MIA. Plus, I haven't had reliable internet for the last two weeks.
No worries, though, I am back, and I will be posting again with at least semi-regular commentary and links. In fact, if you're wondering why I chose to pull last year's post on The Glee Project out of the archives, TGP will air its season finale tomorrow, and I intend to discuss how the producers' racial and gender preferences shaped this year's competition.
So, what has happened while I've been absent? A lot of interesting articles have shown up as part of the never-ending Mormon Moment. Within the Mormon intellectual community, a number of people have shared a FAIR (name of the website) article that argues against viewing the LDS church structure as hierarchical. According to the author, Mormons do ourselves a real disservice when we argue that we have equal opportunities for men and women to serve as leaders in the church. Instead, the author recommends viewing the church as a cooperative paradigm with no position of service above any other. The beauty of the article is that she takes the time to admit and confront the fact that many LDS women are hurting because of the current way Mormons view leadership in the church. I don't agree with the entire article, but it's well worth a read.
In a more accessible setting, Joanna Brooks, author of Book of Mormon Girl, did an interview on The Daily Show, where she established the need for Mormons and non-Mormons alike to view Mormons as human. According to Brooks, there's a terribly cycle in the US where memories of nineteenth-century oppression (the founder of the faith was martyred while he was defenseless in a prison cell, after all) lead Mormons to feel uncomfortable talking about their faith, which feeds into criticism of Mormons, which only leads to greater discomfort. Another compelling argument. I'd also recommend looking into her discussion of her decision to leave and then re-join the faith. As a Mormon feminist I've shared some of her concerns, simply because I know about the 1990's events that she lived through. But, as Brooks argues, I'd agree that times have changed, and there is a clearer place in the faith for those who are more liberal.
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Then, of course, there's been plenty going on with Chick-Fil-A, and we teased you last week by describing a terribly important link, only to not include it. Unfortunately, I'm just as curious as you as to what article Erica was linking.
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