Sex
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Ten Commitments Of A Feminist Theologian
I was sitting opposite one of my PhD supervisors, having just attempted to dismiss the entire genre of feminist theology as not relevant to my project when my radicalisation began. I had grown up in a particular kind of evangelical church with a theology of complementarity that had impressed up on me that of course I was equal to my husband, but that my role was distinctly different from his. The kind of church where husbands were considered to be the leaders of their wives (and, of course, their children) and where only men could be elders of the church or preach in a service. Whilst I had started to…
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The Blessed Virgin, the Theotokos: The Bodily Autonomy of Women and a Post-Christian World
The rising cultural tide of a post-Christian world pushes against the shoreline of history. People once forced into the small inlets and coves eventually find themselves along the wide beaches of the peninsula. The wind carries their once silenced stories, and they crash loudly against the shore. Through strife and struggle, women have propitiated the Fates, having now been granted the gift of witness for their skill and wisdom no longer limited to the home. The maintenance of women’s domestication in Western countries stood the test of millennia, through limitations in career opportunity, education, political engagement, healthcare, and religious moralisation, women have been forced to experience a world that objectifies…
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The Awakening of the Invisibles: A Glimpse into the Practice of Laywomen in the Naḷakapānasutta
Despite significant progress in recent decades, gender inequality remains a pervasive global phenomenon. According to the United Nations (2024), at the present rate of change, it will take more than 137 years to achieve gender parity. This disparity manifests in distinct ways across social, economic, and cultural contexts, yet in much of the world, gender roles continue to be rigidly defined. Women are still predominantly responsible for household labor, childcare, and other domestic tasks—roles that are frequently naturalized and undervalued. The inequalities inherent in these socially assigned roles, combined with wage disparities, lead many women to prioritize domestic responsibilities over professional aspirations. For others, this prioritization is not a matter…
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Rape Culture in Pastoral Discourses: An Analysis of Women in the Evangelical Religious Context
Sexual violence against women, often legitimized by cultural and pastoral discourses, remains an alarming problem in Brazil. The concept of “rape culture” encompasses a set of beliefs, behaviors, and discourses that normalize and excuse sexual violence, often shifting blame onto those who experience it and protecting the aggressor, according to Judith Herman (1992). In the evangelical context, religious leaders play a unique role in shaping values and beliefs, influencing both individual behaviors and social structures. However, in certain cases, the language adopted by pastors not only reflects unequal gender norms, but also reinforces them, contributing to the perpetuation of a culture of female submission and violence. To understand this problem,…
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Reflections on Body Theology
Bodies matter. They shape how we experience life—through our senses, movements, and our interactions with the world. Yet, our bodies are frequently sites of inequality and violence. In 2025, state-sanctioned war and genocide (in Palestine and Ukraine to name just two places) targets and seeks to erase the bodies of entire communities, both physically and culturally. The COVID-19 pandemic has left lasting physical, mental, and societal scars, with millions facing health challenges like long COVID, deepening inequalities, and strained healthcare systems. Physical and sexual violence, especially gender-based violence, remains a global public health crisis. The bodies of Black people, ethnic minorities, immigrants, and refugees are still treated as though they…
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Yet still they speak
Content warning: sexual violence But she said to him, “No, my brother; for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me.” But he would not listen to her. He called the young man who served him and said, “Put this woman out of my presence, and bolt the door after her.” (Now she was wearing a long robe with sleeves; for this is how the virgin daughters of the king were clothed in earlier times.) So his servant put her out, and bolted the door after her. But Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore the long robe that she was…
