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Speaking of femininity, the 2001 film Legally Blonde is fascinating to view through a critical lens such as yours. Not long ago, I saw Alex Meyers's twenty-minute review (with spoilers).
Without explicitly calling it hatred of femininity, Meyers seems to recognize that element in our culture. At 15:56, he spends half a minute speculating that, had the film been made in more recent years, girly-girl protagonist Elle Woods would have been reimagined as the enemy of a not-so-girly central character.
I will forever be in the debt to author of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin.
I was 15 years old, living in a rural conservative Christian community that exactly zero out gay people and was starting to question assigned gender roles. As far as I could tell, I was the only person who was doing this and felt very all alone. Then I read this book. It blew my mind. I recommend it to anyone serious about moving past toxic masuclity.
That and Frankenfurter a year later from Rocky Horror Picture show became my guideposts. As a nerdy theatre and band kid who didn't play sports and constantly had unrequited crushes on both girls and boys, I am sure my friends all knew I was bi before I did.
Christianity, especially the white evangelical variety, has done tremendous damage to both men and women, but especially women.
Many who identify as evangelical Christian don’t actually know that much about the theology behind the faith. But they are molded and bent by its patriarchal masculine culture.
When I look at the church — I grew up a Southern Baptist — I’ve increasingly come to wonder whether evangelical Christianity should even be considered a religion. Is it really a faith or just a social and political movement whose primary purpose is to maintain the social standing and status quo for a certain segment of white America?
Curious if you've read "Dear Ijeawele" and what you think of it. If you haven't read it, it's the tiniest book, so a quick read but a lot packed into it.
Speaking of femininity, the 2001 film Legally Blonde is fascinating to view through a critical lens such as yours. Not long ago, I saw Alex Meyers's twenty-minute review (with spoilers).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=585sX8iALVU
Without explicitly calling it hatred of femininity, Meyers seems to recognize that element in our culture. At 15:56, he spends half a minute speculating that, had the film been made in more recent years, girly-girl protagonist Elle Woods would have been reimagined as the enemy of a not-so-girly central character.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=585sX8iALVU&t=956s
I will forever be in the debt to author of The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin.
I was 15 years old, living in a rural conservative Christian community that exactly zero out gay people and was starting to question assigned gender roles. As far as I could tell, I was the only person who was doing this and felt very all alone. Then I read this book. It blew my mind. I recommend it to anyone serious about moving past toxic masuclity.
That and Frankenfurter a year later from Rocky Horror Picture show became my guideposts. As a nerdy theatre and band kid who didn't play sports and constantly had unrequited crushes on both girls and boys, I am sure my friends all knew I was bi before I did.
Christianity, especially the white evangelical variety, has done tremendous damage to both men and women, but especially women.
Many who identify as evangelical Christian don’t actually know that much about the theology behind the faith. But they are molded and bent by its patriarchal masculine culture.
When I look at the church — I grew up a Southern Baptist — I’ve increasingly come to wonder whether evangelical Christianity should even be considered a religion. Is it really a faith or just a social and political movement whose primary purpose is to maintain the social standing and status quo for a certain segment of white America?
Curious if you've read "Dear Ijeawele" and what you think of it. If you haven't read it, it's the tiniest book, so a quick read but a lot packed into it.