This is the third installment of my discussion of Stephanie Coontz’s Marriage, a History. You can start with Part I and Part II. Early Christianity was deeply ambivalent about marriage. Celibacy was preferable to marriage, but marriage was preferable to … Read more →
This post contains graphic descriptions of violence, including rape and mutilation. Yesterday I wrote about one woman’s attempts to ban Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved from her children’s high school curriculum. I wrote about the necessity of facing terrible things, as … Read more →
I first learned of the Magdalene laundries in Ireland from the film The Magdalene Sisters, which follows three young women who are committed against their wills to an institution that forces them to labor doing laundry, which at the time … Read more →
This is the second entry in the Forward Thinking series, a values development project organized by Libby Anne of Love, Joy, Feminism and Dan Fincke of Camels with Hammers. The first question dealt with the meaning of civic responsibility. This … Read more →
Yes, you read that title correctly. I first came across this story at Daily Kos, but got further details from The Colorado Independent. In 2006, a woman 7 months pregnant with twins suffered a massive heart attack. She was taken … Read more →
It’s always a little disappointing when a Facebook friend you like puts up a post that expresses views you really don’t like. This time it was a chain letter that apparently originated with “holiday confessions” by CBS presenter Ben Stein, but … Read more →
Libby Anne of Love, Joy, Feminism has been blogging a lot about how she lost faith in the pro-life movement. Today she has a post about social safety nets for poor women and families, and the idea that women must somehow … Read more →
From the BBC: The general synod of the Church of England has voted narrowly against the appointment of women as bishops. The measure was passed by the synod’s houses of bishops and clergy but was rejected by the house … Read more →
I just learned what a symphysiotomy is. Symphysiotomy was a surgical procedure used in the 20th century that involves unhinging the woman’s pelvis and widening it by up to 3.5 cm. It was often used in Ireland as an alternative … Read more →
Savita Halappanavar’s family gives an interview in the Bangalore Mirror: Savita’s brother, Sanjeev Yalagi, asked: “Is religion bigger than humanity? My sister begged to be saved. But, the doctors waited for three days and it resulted in my sister’s death. … Read more →