Recently a colleague contacted me with some delightful news. New to her congregation and in her first call, she had met with the parents and youth and proposed that they use my Sex + Faith book as a springboard for Sunday School conversations. To her surprise (and I will admit, mine too) they embraced the idea! Then came the question: How do we use the book for a conversation that engaged parents and youth over Read more
Many sexuality educators emphasize to parents and other care-givers that kids need “ask-able” adults. Hopefully as parents many of us are working toward being an ask-able adult that our child can turn to with difficult, embarrassing or even mundane questions. As a faith-based sexuality educator and parent, I have found the most importantly qualities needed to be an askable adult are being present and willingness to admit we don’t have all the answers but will accompany the Read more
When the Internet never forgets, the practice of forgiveness is all the more important. In response to the ubiquity of the Internet and its incomparable ability to remember, a recent European Union Court ruled in favor of a man who requested that Google remove references to a financial issue he had in his past. Information revealed in Internet searches continued to plague him even after he had rectified his financial situation. The ruling is often referred to Read more
Originally posted at Gathering Voices, TheThoughtfulChristian.com Twitter is not simply a tool for organizing or a space to share random thoughts. Like any significant technology, it alters our behavior and even thought patterns. How one seeks to organize across the globe has been changed by twitter (for more on how twitter works and issues related to hashtag #activism see the recent In the News). The creation of key phrases or aphoristic, value-laden slogans have been around for centuries. Jesus Read more
As a sexuality education and feminist ethicist, I am often asked why I spend so much time talking about girls empowerment. First, I think that is a false statement. When parents, students, Christian educators, and so on hear me talking about gender equity, they often assume it is only about “girls”. In fact, gender equity is about everyone both being unique and valued for how they live out their gender as well as not discriminating Read more
Originally posted at Gathering Voices, TheThoughtfulChristian.com Technology is often described as a “tool” – a means by which to accomplish a task more efficiently. Telephones reach people (almost) anywhere, and they help us send messages faster than other available forms of communication (ie. handwritten letters.) Machines assemble cars, knit clothes, and create food products in a fraction of the time a human can build most anything. Technology is not just a “tool;” it can radically reshape human Read more
Lately, it seems the news is plagued by stories of sexism and violence related to young women and girls globablly and in the U.S. While I think we all need to express collective outrage at such blatant and systemic acts of gender-based oppression and violence, we also need to see the daily impact of sexism all girls lives. Similar to what Jennifer Harvey recently wrote about “girls” vs. “boys” items and gender policing in Read more
Reposted from www.fsrinc.org/blog Valentine’s Day has been civilized and capitalized, hallmarked and disneyfied, all in an attempt to clean up love and signify sexuality into a compartmentalized relationship standard, tied nicely with an over romanticized bow. As a cradle Catholic, the veneration of saints has been part of my religious heritage. I still remember elementary school projects about our patron saints. So, every year when Valentine ’s Day rolls around, I find myself wanting to Read more
Reposted from Young Adult Catholics, Call to Action Sex, sexuality, gender, sexual pleasure, sexual orientation . . . that’s not something “good” Catholics, especially women, ought to talk about. As a teen, everything I knew about the topic was hearsay (or should I say, heresy). I grew up attending Catholic schools through high school and participating in a Catholic campus center in college. Sexual health and reproduction were addressed two times in health class: as Read more
When it comes to advertising, it’s difficult to know whether the content is reflecting society or shaping it. In many ways, I think it is a delicate balance of both. A Tide commercial which many of you may have already seen has caught my attention time and again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCYwAOCLiTA I’ll admit that I’m partly drawn to this commercial because my husband does most of the laundry. As a toddler, my daughter was very messy. She Read more