How Christians shift the blame for sexual violence — All through my childhood and adolescence, my Christian school and church taught me that it is the duty of the woman to cover her body so that the man will not look upon her lustfully and consequently “stumble” (another word for “sin.”) From an early age, I was taught that…

The crucial work of a professor — “As we go around the circle, tell us your name and choose an adjective that starts with the same letter as your name. And then add a movement. For example, my name is Hope, so I will be Hungry Hope.” [I clutch my stomach and bend forward as if starving]. …

The list was longer than I thought — During the first years at my conservative Evangelical Christian high school, I heard whispers by the lockers about the “scary” Bible class required for all juniors. A lifelong Christian school student, I scoffed. I had this in the bag. From sword drills in second grade all the way to last…

Swearing, whistling, and getting into character — A week before the Spring ‘23 semester started, I got an email with the generic subject line “Class.” Knee-deep in syllabus revisions and faculty in-service Zoom calls, I skimmed through the message and caught a few keywords: uncontrollable movements profanities hitting things middle finger Wait, what? Squinting in confusion, I…

Though constraining, corsets allowed for surprising movement — A few days before Halloween, a friend of mine posted a meme on her Facebook page. It said, “Remember ladies: boots before corset.” Anyone who has experienced the unforgiving rigidity of a corset will attest to this hack. After lacing up a corset that tightly squeezes your…

Self-induced suffering on the streets of NYC — Almost 25 years after its release, Bringing Out the Dead continues to be one of the most overlooked films in Martin Scorsese’s oeuvre. The film was totally overlooked when it was released in the US in October 1999. …

And got a surprisingly helpful answer — At a religious school, you’ll find more than reading, writing, and arithmetic. You take classes with God himself. From kindergarten through high school I attended a Christian school, and so religion and academics melded into one murky soup: The Lord took center stage in Bible class (for obvious reasons.) In…

The youth group race that revved me up for the wrong reasons — Sizzling summer nights in the backseat of a car? Yes, please! But hold on there, Jezebel. Pump the brakes. This is godly fun we’re having, not “worldly” fun. At 16 years old, the difference wasn’t totally clear, though. I couldn’t always tell whether the tingly feelings came from the spiritual…

A cautionary tale about Medium titles — As a brand-new Medium writer this summer, I dipped my toes into the blogging pool, experimenting with subject and form. After publishing a few pieces about my conservative evangelical upbringing, I got to know other Medium writers in the “deconstruction” world. Eager to put out more stories, I submitted to…