I recently had the privilege of hearing one of the most concise, respectful, and thoughtful explanations and approaches to Mormon Feminism through this brilliant podcast by our friends at the Feminist Mormon Housewives Podcast. If you are new to the concept of feminism, and particularly how feminism fits into an LDS perspective, please enjoy this wonderful discussion between Lindsay Hansen Park, Danielle, Meredith, and Amanda. And please make sure you visit the podcast website and subscribe to enjoy their growing library of content.
Regarding abortion. I can agree with you that no child should be brought into the world only to be abused, neglected, or thrown in a gutter. I am curious as to why you did not discuss adoption as an option in more cases. I believe there ARE cases where abortion is necessary but there are far more times when it seems adoption could be a viable option. It’s a false dichotomy to say that the only choices are abortion or throwing your kid in a gutter. There are myriad other choices in there (learn how to parent, place your child for adoption, etc.) and those choices should be discussed by feminists more, in my opinion.
I agree with the the podcast title! “Feminism Wants What [I] Want.” Great podcast, so thanks.
As a male (active, faithful, married, father) I did feel the section on modesty was a bit disconnected from my experience. I don’t feel the male part of that discussion was well represented.
I totally agree that we have sent a dysfunctional message to our youth and especially our young women concerning their bodies, their sexuality and their responsibility for the ‘temptations’ of others. But the implied “improved” message I heard (“Wear what you want to wear. How your clothing choices affect others around you is not your problem.”)seemed a little too simplistic and dismissive of what it feels like on the other end of that message. (This may not have been the intended message but it was the one I heard.)
I felt like a male voice on this topic (and maybe all of the topics) would have been welcomed.
Anyway, thanks for the discussion. Maybe taking up the issue of modesty with a joint panel of male and female participants would be interesting. What message WOULD be the most productive concerning modesty for our youth?
Great podcast. Thanks for sharing (it was my first intro to MFHpodcast).
I agree with Angie that it was odd that adoption wasn’t discussed at all in the abortion debate, simply because it’s one of the main alternatives provided by LDS-pro-life advocates.
And I do have one issue with their discussion on their abortion section (and I myself am Pro-Choice by the way). Some of their points were not consistent with each other. I heard over and over that they “do not want more abortions” but then there was talk about how the abortion rate does not drop when making it illegal and women will simply get bad/illegal/unhealthy abortions… which is fine… but that stat coupled with the comments regarding poverty/poor life for unwanted children doesn’t compute.
A big point I heard (and one which I agree with), is that mother’s who doesn’t want to have their child because of money/lack of father/etc reasons should be able to not have that child. It helps combat poverty. Improves quality of life overall in society. But that would mean that there would, by necessity, be MORE abortions than there currently are now (at least in that subset of abortions).
If you argue on “the less-poverty/better quality of life” angle, then you are arguing for more abortions. It’s not that you WANT abortions, it’s that you PREFER abortion over a bringing the child into a bad quality of life in abject poverty and starvation. And that’s a good choice, and one I approve of, but you are arguing for more abortions.
You can definitely argue that making abortions fully legal would NOT increase the AMOUNT of abortions, but simply make that total amount be SAFER abortions, because they are not being done with coat hanger, etc. But this argument does not make room for the poverty/quality of life issue. Because the mother with the potential child coming into poverty and quality of life issues would be aborted, if wanted by the mother, anyway, either throughout a safe approved method or through an unhealthy method.
Hope that made sense. I just notices that there were arguments in the podcast that seemed in conflict with one another.
the women talked about how pornography is dangerous when it becomes an addiction and because ti skews our perceptions of what normal people are like. It would be interesting to hear their observations, or the church’s attitude, about either consentual couples watching or using porn together as foreplay, or if they create porn of themselves to enjoy together. What would a bishop say if a man said he looks at porn of his wife? Is there any study that shows that is harmful?
I enjoy hearing feminist perspectives but found a lot of little c/big C discrepancies in the discussion. I grew up in eastern WA, graduated unmarried from BYU, then moved to the east coast for 8 years, and now live in Germany as a SAHM mom to four kids under 10 with a husband working for the US military. So I may be out of the loop of many who live in high LDS concentration areas, but I see that as a blessing for me and my family.
I particularly found the pornography and abortion discussions rather biased and not as informed as I’d wish for this platform.
As a fresh BYU college grad I worked for the largest national grassroots pro-life organization and clearinghouse at the UN in NYC and in DC where we focused on legislation, political action and education. It was an eye-opener for sure, particularly coming to understand their history with the Church since their founding after Roe v. Wade. I didn’t walk away a crazed pro-lifer but I do understand strategy and rhetoric a lot better now. I find the whole issue sad and one that at the local level needs more transparency for our youth so that if they or a friend finds themselves facing an unwanted pregnancy, they know where to go for helpful resources with their physical, mental, social, economic health in mind. If someone is facing an unwanted pregnancy, they need support and good information about the ramifications of whatever choice they make. Most people would be shocked to see how many safety nets are simply not there from a legislative and regulatory standpoint. Our local leaders need to be more aware of what resources are available from services provided by the church in their area AND by their communities. I wish there was more of this by way of orientation/training in YM/YW/EQ/RS/bishopric callings – the front line of support. Youth and parents often don’t know where to turn and when they turn to their church leaders, those leaders and families would be best served if those resources were readily known and available.
As for the discussion on pornography, the best stuff I’ve heard is from non-LDS Mark Gungor – youtube his marriage seminars, they are hilarious and fun in their treatment of oft-hushed topics within marriage! For addiction, John Dehlin’s conversation with Tony Litster was the most enlightening in addition to the podcast with Dehlin and Natasha.
All that said, I am grateful feminist concerns are being raised and hope the dialogue can continue in a respectful, thoughtful manner. I really appreciated Andrea Radke-Moss’s podcast. I am encouraged that some of the tensions and frustrations I felt growing up will not even be on my daughter’s radar as she grows up.