With 113 comments, the post that generated the most discussion during the second year of the Exponent Blog, was…
Radical Mormon Feminist Manifesto by Jana
Some of the Exponent bloggers who were working on the blog in 2007 recently reflected on this game-changing post, nearly a decade after it was published:
EmilyCC: I read it yesterday and was so impressed with the insight Jana had, naming things that would become part of most MoFem communities a decade before they would really be addressed.
Deborah: That was such a touchstone moment. I know that I had trouble sleeping the week it went up because I worried about the aftermath/repercussions. We were barely a year old, FMH wasn’t much older, and Mormon feminist conversation on the *web* was still in its infancy — this post was, quite simply, the boldest statement to date on this new platform for women’s voices. As an added wrinkle, was in the middle of outreach with another Mormon-related group that had some board members who were concerned that we were . . . well . . . too radical! But now I read it with a measure of awe and gratitude, amazed at Jana’s prescience and courage.
Caroline: Absolutely. I too was anxious about the manifesto post and very worried about the repercussions. Now, of course, I read it very differently and am proud that Exponent featured it 10 years before any other feminist venues would take this sort of stand. Well done, Jana. It was ahead of its time.
Continuing our blog’s tenth anniversary celebration, here are the other top ten commented posts of 2007:
How the Doctrine of Polygamy Affected My Modern Mormon Life by Caroline
I can’t tell you how often I agonized over this, early in my marriage, as I would tearfully ask my husband over and over again if he would take another wife in the next life.
Tales from a Garment Wearer by Caroline
I’ve been thinking about garments because I recently got an email from someone who was struggling with garments and was worried about the temple recommend interview, as well as what friends and family might think of her, if she was clearly not always wearing them.
Temples, Trauma, and (Visiting) Teaching by Guest
What came next was completely unanticipated—my visiting teacher turned to me and said, “You know, now that we’ve had the ‘official lesson,’ I just have to say that I HATE going to the temple.
The Crush: One Woman’s Experience With Extra-Marital Infatuations by Guest Lori
All growing up I was one of those girls that could be described as “boy crazy.” …Well, I’m sorry but this tendency to have crushes didn’t just magically turn off when I got married.
Smart Girls by Guest
Another woman recounted being told by her father’s friend, a successful businessman, that she’d better “dumb it down” or she would not get married. Recently, even President Hinckley seemed to play off of this idea when he said to the young men: “And so I say to you young men, rise up and discipline yourself to take advantage of educational opportunities. Do you wish to marry a girl whose education has been far superior to your own?”
Share a Six Word Memoir by Caroline
Can you tell your life story in six words? A few months ago, NPR mentioned Smith Magazine’s six word memoir contest. Many of the submissions were heartbreaking and hilarious. Here are some of my favorites:
- Fat fired lawyer loves three-legged cat.
- Never really finished anything, except cake
- After Harvard, had baby with crackhead.
General Relief Society Broadcast by Deborah
Deborah missed the broadcast because of misinformation about its location, so she asked readers what happened. It was the day of General Relief Society President Julie B. Beck’s infamous and controversial “Mothers Who Know” talk and Exponent readers had a lot to say about it!
The Best Hymns to Sing on Mothers’ Day by Caroline
This post is one of our top five most viewed posts of all time, consistently generating a surge of new views as Mothers Day approaches each spring.
Church Music – What Does “In Keeping With the Spirit of the Hymns” Really Mean? by Guest Debbie Mayhew Zufall
I worry about the future of LDS church music. Of the centuries of church music available, very little of it is used in our church meetings.
This post is part of the Exponent Blog Ten Year Retrospective Series, in honor of the blog’s tenth anniversary.
Thanks again for this fun look back at some of your classics. I agree with all of you about Jana’s Radical Mormon Feminist Manifesto. It certainly seemed more radical at the time than it does now. She really did hit on a lot of points that have become more central and accepted (at least in our online groups). And I really like looking back at Caroline’s post about polygamy and its “long tentacles” (what a perfect description!).
I love these posts that look at the blog posts of the past. It’s so interesting to see how our content has both changed and remained the same. (Also, Caroline was on fire in 2007!)