Read our series of blog posts on by Mormon feminists across the spectrum of belief
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Stolen Sisters
We all carry wounds. For some, those wounds have been inflicted through ongoing oppression and the violence of colonization. We have to openly reveal our wounds, to acknowledge the ways we wound each other, before we can begin to stitch each other back up.
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My Mormon #MeToo Experience and the Language of Consent and Assault
CW: This post discusses experiences with sexual assault and abuse.
Four years ago, I watched the start of the viral hashtag MeToo on Twitter. At first, it was a trickle, and then a flood of people, mostly women, tweeting about their experiences with sexual assault. The hashtag was soon all over the internet, and it led to action and advocacy off-screen. It brought the necessary momentum to hold some perpetrators accountable for their actions and give a voice to some survivors.
It didn’t happen all at once—it took years—but #MeToo gave me the language to understand and talk about my own...
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No Room In The Inn
When I was a little girl growing up on the small Caribbean Island of Barbados, I always wondered what it would be like to be invisible.
As a tomboy growing up with a group of boys, I soon fell in love with wrestling. One of my favourite wrestlers John Cena’s tagline was “You can’t see me!” and in my little childhood brain I ate it up. Among friends at school, we would wave our hands and do our best John Cena impression before erupting into naive laughter.
Still, I didn’t truly discover what invisibility meant until I joined the Church of...
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The Mark of the Devil
This is a story. It's a true story. It's a story that happened to me. And, I'm sorry to say, in this story, I am the antagonist.
It began innocently enough. I had arrived on time for ward council. Early, in fact, because my bishop used to say that 5 minutes early is 10 minutes late, and I tried very hard to be as obedient as I possibly could be. So, leaving my children and their hair in the care of my husband, I dressed in garment-appropriate clothing. Or so I thought. "Ask yourself, "Would I feel comfortable with my...
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Can a Woman Be Friends with her Stake President Like a...
I wrote this blog post several weeks ago, before the announcement of a membership council for Natasha Helfer on April 18th (the evening before this posts). I believe the ideas I talk about below are relevant to her story, because Natasha's stake president was also the boss of her soon to be ex-husband. Her relationship with their priesthood leader isn't the same as his relationship to him, and whether that ties into the unique timing of this council is impossible to know.
My husband recently received a phone call from a counselor in our stake presidency. He was being extended...
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My Body—A Sacred Conduit for Revelation
Guest Post by Kelly. Kelly is wife, mom of two teenage daughters, and is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy.
The body is quite a gift! When experiencing good health, I am able to perform a variety of daily tasks ranging from the highly fulfilling to the mundane and tedious. My body allows me the ability to do almost anything—from menial chores like dusting and dishes, to reading poetry and playing the piano, to conversing and cooking dinner, to exercising, praying, having sex… you get the idea. My body has the capacity to serve many purposes,...
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Growing Towards a Cosmopolitan Mormonism
I was raised with a strong dose of Mormon Exceptionalism. Rather than seeing other Christians as siblings in the Church of Christ, I was taught the narrative of the One True Church. I internalized the idea that people of other religious traditions had some truth, but that we had the full truth. That other people did good in the world, but that we did God’s work.
I exasperate myself even typing that, but it was a frequent message I received as a child.
Over time I came to see that as an unhealthy mindset. While growing out of that mindset is...
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Dear LDS Woman: It’s Time to Break Your Own Heart
By Ramona Morris
Time after time, I have been on the receiving end of hearing girlfriends complain about being single. I’ve grown used to hearing tales of other young single adults who whine and throw tantrums when their knight in shining armor doesn’t come swooping in on a white horse to whisk them away for time and all eternity.
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Blessing for the Undernurtured Child Within
Dear Sister ______,
I give you a blessing for the undernurtured child inside. For too long you have clung to the lie that perfectionism would protect you. You let it tear at your self worth, buried in efforts to do more and be more, never satisfied with your own attempts. You thought if you were more perfect you would finally deserve love. But all along, you were loved and held. You were always worthy. You deserved to be protected and cherished. You can never convince the unloving to love you or the unapproving to approve. Do not make yourself invisible...
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The Eight Cow Wife: A Toxic Iconic Mormon Parable
The first time I remember seeing this film was at a ward party in the 1980s. I was a child and didn’t really understand it, but many of the messages seeped into my worldview and self concept. “Johnny Lingo” was made in 1969 and is steeped in racist, colonialist, and sexist ideas. The setting for the story is a small Polynesian island. The culture is misrepresented and appropriated for a morality tale. The people are presented as rather backward, simple, and mean-spirited. Their values are ridiculous. A white trader is the narrator that interprets the story for the white...
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.
