
Martha Cecilia Ovadia
Pop-Theology! We Have A Place In This Story
One of the first things that drew me to writing about religion and pop-culture was a long-held belief by Catholics I knew that the Jedi Order was modeled after the Jesuits. Just a random google search shows how popular this theory is. I think the broader generalization, that Jedi are priests (or any men in traditional leadership), works just as well for this discussion. And if Jedi are priests, they also represent typical patriarchal structures and the chains that bind them.


Pamela O'Leary
An American Feminist Listening to Rwandan Feminists
After traveling over 36 hours, I quickly checked into my hotel and showered. I then ran off to a women's empowerment panel at a cute cafe on top of the Kigali Public Library, overlooking the beautiful hills of Rwanda. For my entire professional career, most of my weeknights are spending organizing and attending similar panel events about women's leadership. It was such a cool opportunity for me to start my vacation doing something so familiar to me. I was so eager to listen t


John Erickson
'Rotterdam' by Jon Britain and Directed by Michael A. Shepperd Review
'Rotterdam', at its heart, is a play about love. Much of Jon Britan's play focuses on the relationship between a young lesbian couple, Alice and Fiona, and the former's inability to come out to her parents while a secret her girlfriend has finally surfaces. Fiona tells Alice that she has always known that she was a man and would like to transition and now be called Adrian. The staging, music, and scene changes are unique and present a different approach to what could have p

Becca Spence Dobias
Intuitive Eating
For the most part I’m all about the body positive movement and am happy it’s gaining such momentum. I’ve had two babies and honestly, though there are days I’m unhappy with my saggy belly skin, mostly I don’t want to look like I didn’t grow and birth two human beings. I love what Kerry Washington said: “My body is the site of a miracle now. I don’t want to be pre-miracle.” I think it’s awesome that we’re starting to let people know that they can be truly beautiful regardless


Dr. Marie Cartier
Blue (continued writing 43-47)
Editor's Note: After last month's post about Blue, we are excited to dive back into this beautiful world and learn more about Tic-Toc and Julie! To stay up-to-date with previous posts, make sure to read them in this order prior to this one: Blue Blue (continued writing 38-42) Make sure to check out the original artwork made exclusively for her novel by Linda McClure by visiting her site - www.amethystcraft.com. So—she was an LA girl and she had an LA dog. Vader could become

Martha Cecilia Ovadia
The Rise of Dolores Umbridge: The Nature of Evil in a Rowling World
I recently engaged in an fascinating Facebook exchange on Exvangelical -- an online community (and podcast) for those who have left evangelicalism/ fundamentalism to share stories of their experiences (and to support one another as they process) with others in a safe, affirming, private space. As I was scrolling my homepage, I came across a post from a woman who's child was reading the Harry Potter books (what I would give to experience them anew just one more time). She had


Elizabeth Walker
We Are Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman showed us a few things about this political climate: (1) women will lead the way, and (2) men have the choice to follow along. Let’s pause for a moment and think about how the rhetoric of the past year and a half. Women have been demonized, marginalized, and diminished throughout this election. Women knew that we are held to a different standard when interview. Women knew we had to look a certain way at work. Women knew that having a mentor is very difficult