Lament of a Woman, Wounded

I will not keep silent.

I want to. Speaking up, fighting, exposing my strong feelings – these are difficult for me. I wrote the below lament months ago, for myself. It was deeply personal, an exercise I needed for my own emotional journey. I wasn’t planning on posting it publicly.

But then another social media storm erupted, stirred into existence by unbelievably awful words from a room of Christian men about spiritual teacher and leader Beth Moore. For days I’ve watched on social media as dozens of women, some I know and some I’ve never met, cry out in pain. It is a pain we women of faith know all too well – when a handful of words that happen to appear in the vast, beautiful Word of God are removed from their original intent, meaning, audience, and context; twisted into cruel ammunition; and loaded into patriarchal weapons that pulverize our female souls.

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My Girlhood as a Tiny Badass 80’s Female Action Hero

Perspective is the lens through which any story is told, and using a different perspective can drastically change how one event is seen and understood. Imagine if you will the story of To Kill a Mockingbird from the perspective of Tom Robinson instead of Scout. Or if Catcher in the Rye were told from a third-person perspective instead of from inside Holden’s mind. We’d understand those stories completely differently in those instances, though the events of what actually happened would remain the same. 

A wholly objective biography of my pre-teen years would tell the relatively unexciting tale of a mostly quiet, kind of odd girl with a huge imagination and moderate anger management issues, raised in a loving family and community, checking the boxes of a ‘normal’ white, middle-class suburban life. But! From a certain perspective, my girlhood is the true* story of a tiny badass 80’s female action hero, a la Sarah Connor or Ellen Ripley. I’m here to give you that story.

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Wreck-It Ralph: A Parable on Patriarchy

[I feel like I shouldn’t really have to say this, but… this post contains spoilers for the 2012 Disney film Wreck-It Ralph.]

During my children’s most recent viewing of one of their favorite films, Wreck-It Ralph, one scene jumped out at me from the hazy, half-listening fog of getting stuff done while my kids have screen time. About halfway through the film 2 male characters – the protagonist and the antagonist of the story – have a conversation about what is in the best interest of an absent female character. In and around that conversation, both King Candy and Wreck-It Ralph claim that they are “doing what’s best” for Vanellope. 

It was enough to make me groan out loud.

But then it began to dawn on me: this movie contains a parable of sorts… a parable about Patriarchy. 

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Stephanie Overanalyzes Children’s Entertainment: Toy Story (Part 2)

Part 2 – All About The Ladies

If you haven’t read Part 1 of Stephanie Overanalyzes Toy Story, you may want to do so before continuing.

I’ll Take My Feminism Where I Can Get It

Let’s face it, the Toy Story universe doesn’t have an abundance of female characters. The first 2 movies can’t even pass the Bechdel test. Toy Story 3 adds at least 5 named female characters, and really builds on the strong characterization Jessie got in Toy Story 2 by giving the girls crucial, if not major, roles in the story. Continue reading

Welcome to My Writings

Oh goody, another blog! Said no one ever.

A couple years ago, a good friend said to me, “You should really start a blog.” I responded with an extravagant eye roll and: “The world needs another white lady blog like it needs a hole in the head.”

This exchange tells you 2 things about me:

1 – I should really be nicer to my friends. Didn’t need to bite her head off, Steph!  She was trying to compliment and encourage you. A simple “thank you” would have sufficed.

2 – I’m under no delusion that my voice or my writing is crucial to society.

So why am I starting a blog when it’s at best a completely unnecessary hobby and at worst a vain exercise in self-glorification?

Short answer: Because I want to. I like writing.

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