A conservative friend on social media recently admitted that some of the storylines around Donald Trump’s second term have been extreme but concluded this is simply the way the pendulum swings. In one sense, what he said was true. Since…
The leader-mother quandary
Kim Caldwell was introduced by the University of Tennessee as the new head coach of the women’s basketball team April 7, 2024. Long before Caitlin Clark’s extraordinary shooting and passing abilities brought unprecedented exposure to women’s college basketball, the UT…
White evangelical men weaponize the gospel against women because they don’t respect women
“Do men desperately need respect, while women desperately need love?” This was the question posed by Sheila Gregoire on a recent episode of the “Bare Marriage” podcast. “That is the thesis of a lot of bestselling books in evangelicalism like Love and…
What is a woman? We all are, according to Trump’s executive order
Years ago, I was teaching a small group of older children about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We were discussing Paul’s statement in Galatians, “There is neither male nor female; for you are all one in…
The inevitable invisibility of aging women in the church
In a 2019 essay for The Atlantic, Akiko Busch asks, “How might a woman’s identity evolve when she can go unrecognized, when she is no longer under the gaze of others?” The essay asserts an ultimate freedom of choice: because…
Silence is a dangerous thing
The year was 1967. The United States was in the middle of the Vietnam War. Many citizens wondered why troops were sent there and exactly why they were fighting. In this year, many Black and brown individuals raised their voices,…
Unseen and unheard: Syrian women in the shadow of change
The fall of a government always ushers in uncertainty, and in Syria such a transition could have profound implications for women, particularly if a more conservative Islamic regime comes to power. Women usually get the short stick in political turmoil….
Creating a sanctuary in times of fear
“Can’t we just agree to disagree?” This has been a common thread lately on social media and among conversations with people I know. Certainly, we can. I like vanilla, and you prefer chocolate ice cream. I cheer for my alma…
Progressive white Christian men, it’s time to get some skin in the game
This election has sent a lot of us in the middle and on the left reeling. It’s also reminded me that we have different things at stake. Nearly 60% percent of white men voted Trump. A lot of Black and…
This is what it feels like to be ‘collateral damage to your rage’
Donald J. Trump has been president or running for president my entire voting life. 2016 was the first presidential election I could vote in. I remember waking up that November and feeling, like many Americans, wholly shocked by the election…
Here’s the toxic racism and misogyny you let loose with a vote for Trump
If Kamala Harris had won, no Black people would be receiving text messages threatening to make them slaves again, and no women would be being told, “Your body, my choice.” When Trump wins, those things happen. And when Trump loses,…
‘Remember the ladies’
In 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, John, “Remember the ladies, and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember all men would be…