Blog Tag: intersectionality
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Seeds of Faith: Eradicating the Roots and Shoots of Racism in...
Plant, seed, and soil symbolism abound in holy writ. Seeds of faith may start out small, like a mustard seed, and then swell, enlarge, sprout and become delicious. Seeds may fall on various terrains that are more or less hospitable to germination. Small faith may grow powerful enough to move mountains. In some fields, desired plants and weeds may grow up together and require sorting at the period of harvest.
As anciently as 300 B.C.E., the wild mustard plant was cultivated into a variety of other vegetables. In the days of Christ, wild mustard had been cultivated into kale, collard...
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Guest Post: Young Mormon Feminists (Re)Unite!
by Brittany Sweeney-Lawson
Saying Young Mormon Feminists has a bit of a rebellious streak would be putting it mildly. The very foundation for the blog was set back in July 2012 when founder Hannah Wheelwright was still a student at Brigham Young University, and received a particularly memorable visit from her home teachers. They informed her in no uncertain terms that her progressive and feminist ideals could be the perfect storm that would ultimately lead her away from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Little did they probably suspect their conversation with Hannah would be the catalyst that would...
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Toward Intersectionality: Censuring White Mormon Feminism
A few weeks ago I watched the Tournament of Roses parade perched atop a cold ladder set up on Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena, California. I observed several floats and entries that were thematically related to the 100thanniversary of the passage of the 19thamendment. A marching formation of women costumed in period dresses and suffragist sashes accompanied the floats. I observed the signage on the floats and in the hands of the participants: “Votes for Women” and “Women Win the Vote 1920!”
I noticed the vintage white dresses and thought, “It’s significant that they’re all wearing white, since it was only...
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#EqualAccess Series Guest Post: Not So Safely Gathered in …. Abandoned,...
By Melissa Malcolm King
This post is part of The Exponent’s #EqualAccess Series. Disabled voices rarely get a chance to speak for themselves, but this blog series seeks to eliminate the stigma that disabled people are less than, and need a representative to speak on their behalf. This blog series is intended to break stereotypes by gathering the voices of disabled individuals. #DisabilityExperience
The images displayed in the Ensign, Come Follow Me materials, and Church media generally depict the same redundant images: a cis-gendered, able-bodied heteronormative Caucasian family with 2.5 children. Even the Church-approved media reflecting the history of the Church...
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Guest Post: No Room at the Inn, No Place at the...
By Melissa Malcolm King
I am left with many mixed emotions following so many recents events that have taken place in the media, within the church walls and in my personal life. I had an awakening of sorts and realized that I have been cast aside many times throughout my life. Like the story of the Christ, I was born with no room at the Inn...cast out, misunderstood and persecuted for being who I am. Like the Savior, I am still determined to fulfill my mission and stand with those who also have no voice. I find myself unwelcome in...
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Jesus Doesn’t Want Us to Teach the “Ideal”
So many times, when I or others have expressed that a particular way that a message at church has been framed or presented is hurtful or irrelevant to a swath of the congregation, the response is something along the lines of "well, we have to teach the ideal." So basically, it comes across as a giant "You're not good enough. Church isn't for you. Church is for married people with 4.5 smiling blond children. Maybe you should go get married and make some babies and then church will be for you, too."
There are so many things wrong with this...
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Don’t Forget About Us
By Blaire Ostler
Dear Mormon feminists,
I’m glad to see so many women happy about the latest changes to the temple endowment. I’m genuinely moved by how things have improved for cisgender, heterosexual, monogamous women. I mean that sincerely. You deserve to celebrate.
However, please keep in mind these changes do very little for your queer sisters and siblings. While you are celebrating, don’t forget your queer siblings are denied full-fellowship, temple recommends, sealings, baptisms for our children, and are still often excommunicated for our gender identity and/or sexual orientation. Please remember when you say these improvements are “gender improvements,” what has...
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Travelling towards intersectionality
I don’t remember the moment I identified as being a feminist. Rather, I have gradually become more aware of the power structures around me and ways I’m excluded from institutional authority. Over time, I have become better at noticing the ways I’m included that I have taken for granted, when others are excluded. This intersectional awakening has included aspects of class, race, education, age, sexuality, ability/illness and religion as well as gender.
When I was 10 years old, I insisted that mum not sit me at the children’s table at Christmastime. I knew what kinds of conversations I wanted to...
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Someone To Talk To All the Time
Who's That Girl?
Marcella Torres grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. A Latina ex-Mormon learning to wear tank tops. Sculpture BA and Art History BFA from University of Utah. Currently attending Performance MFA program at School of The Art Institute Chicago. She has worked as an art educator for the last 8 years, holding positions with Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts, CUAC Contemporary gallery and Arts Bridge. Just trying to figure things out.
Someone to Talk to All the Time | 2013 | Projected Video Essay
Someone To Talk To All The Time is one part of the essay series Pionero...
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What we see
"Do you know why you’re so good at drawing this model?" asked my figure drawing 101 professor. "Because she looks like you."
The model was hired from the student body of my junior college. She was a petite, White, eighteen-year-old, like me.
Unconsciously drawing yourself is common among art students. They will painstakingly study the unique person posed directly in front of them, in plain sight, and then proceed to draw exactly what they see--themselves. And this happens all the time! It is perfectly normal.
This perspective problem can happen in other situations besides sketching. Instead of seeing others' concerns, challenges, hopes...
What is Exponent II?
Exponent II provides Mormon feminist forums for women and gender minorities across the Mormon spectrum to share their diverse life experiences in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance. Through these exchanges, we strive to create a community to better understand and support each other.
Exponent II was founded in 1974 by a group of Mormon women in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These women were inspired by the original periodical, “The Woman’s Exponent,” to create a forum “posed on the dual platforms of Mormonism and Feminism.”
For 50+ years, Exponent II has shared women’s voices in its quarterly magazine, and members of the community have convened at an annual retreat. Our reach has expanded as technology has advanced: the blog, founded in January 2006, has reached millions. As we look to the future, we are focused on growth and building a more inclusive community.
