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Lauren Shields

Florida-based writer/

improvisor/

surprised minister

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    • "It's not my responsibility to be beautiful. I'm not alive for that purpose. My existence is not about how desirable you find me."

      - Warsan Shire

    • About Me

      Feminist. Christian. Bad bowler.

      As a kid there were two things I promised myself I would never be, because they looked incredibly boring: a writer, and a minister. I am both, and they are not. I believe in the power of speaking the truth in love, and if that doesn't work, speaking the truth a lot louder. I want to leave the world better than I found it.

    • Work

      The blog, the book, and what happened next

      The Modesty Experiment

      Extreme Modesty

      As a first-year seminary student, I was inspired by covered Muslim women. They said the hijab made them free. I designed an experiment: for nine months, I covered my hair, arms and legs and stopped wearing makeup. The result changed the way I viewed beauty, power, and faith.

      Book

      Beacon Press, The Beauty Suit, May 2018

      The Beauty Suit is about my nine month modesty experiment, but it's also about the limits of Kardashian-esque hotness as "empowerment" (hint: it's just capitalism, coopting feminism). I look at the other end of the ideological spectrum-- the three Abrahamic traditions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam-- in an effort to find a counter-narrative.

      Find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and IndieBound.

      Coverage

      If You Don't Have Haters, Are You Even a Feminist?

      I summarized the Modesty Experiment in an article and, much to my delight, it was accepted to Salon. I was not prepared for the blowback, like the articles on Jezebel and XOJane. However others, like Yahoo, dug the whole thing. Other appearances:

       

      Other articles by me

      • Salon, Dressing Modestly, for Feminism and Faith
      • Feminist Current, The Internet, Self-Objectification, and Untimely Beginnings
      Articles about me
      • The New York Times, Piling on Clothes to Lay Herself Bare
      • Beacon Broadside, My Closet Tried to Hold Me Hostage But We’re Cool Now: What Lauren Shields’ “The Beauty Suit” Taught Me About Different Kinds of ‘Modesty’, 
      • Brown Girl Magazine, ‘I Cover My Hair—and I’m a Feminist’: An Interview with Author Lauren Shields
      Interviews/ Podcasts
      • "Sunday Morning: 'Lauren Shields: A Nine-Month Experiment in Modesty,'" a great live interview with RNZ (Radio New Zealand)'s Jim Mora
      • The Beauty Suit on MeaningofLife.tv, in which I talk about my project from a more religious perspective
      • Voices, a podcast about progressive faith
      • Makin It Through Comedy: A podcast from Stanford's KZSU 90.1FM, on what it's like to be a working comedian in the Bay Area

      Medium

      Sometimes I Have to Say a Thing

      I'm an introvert, and when I feel strongly about something, writing helps me sort it out. Black Panther, #MeToo, and more.

    • Media Contact

      For interview and bookings please use this contact form. Otherwise, find me on social media.

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