"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."
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 pastor. 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 like to yell at people really, really nicely.
Work
The blog, the book, the... binterviews?
Upcoming 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 three Abrahamic traditions, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, for a counter-narrative.
Find it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and IndieBound.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.
Media
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:
- Salon: An excerpt from the book
- Voices, a podcast about progressive faith. Check out my interview on Episode 18!
- Feminist Current: social media and self-objectification. Also about how I met my husband (inconvenient, but true).
- Fanboy Planet: A guest post on misogyny in Jurassic World. Why? Because I felt like it.
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.
