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This groundbreaking collection gathers together for the first time
the essential writings of the contemporary Mormon feminist
movement-from its historic beginnings in the 1970s to its vibrant
present, offering the best Mormon feminist thought and writing. No
issue in Mormonism has made more headlines than the faith's
distinctive approach to sex and gender. From its polygamous
nineteenth-century past to its twentieth-century stand against the
Equal Rights Amendment and its twenty-first-century fight against
same-sex marriage, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(LDS) has consistently positioned itself on the frontlines of
battles over gender-related identities, roles, and rights. But even
as the church has maintained a conservative position in public
debates over sex and gender, Mormon women have developed their own
brand of feminism by recovering the lost histories of female
leadership and exploring the empowering potential of Mormon
theology. The selections in this book-many gathered from
out-of-print anthologies, magazines, and other ephemera-walk the
reader through the history of Mormon feminism, from the second-wave
feminism of the 1970s to contemporary debates over the ordination
of women. Collecting essays, speeches, poems, and prose, Mormon
Feminism presents the diverse voices of Mormon women as they
challenge assumptions and stereotypes, push for progress and change
in the contemporary LDS Church, and band together with other
feminists of faith hoping to build a better world.
With at least fifteen million adherents around the globe, Mormonism
maintains a powerful claim not only on the loyalties of believers
but on the interests and imagination of non-Mormons as well. No
issue in Mormonism has made more headlines than the faith's
distinctive take on sex and gender. From its polygamous
nineteenth-century past to its twentieth century stand against the
ERA and its twenty-first century fight against same-sex marriage,
the LDS Church has consistently positioned itself on the frontlines
of battles over gender-related identities, roles, and rights. Even
as the LDS Church has maintained a very conservative position in
public debates over sex and gender, Mormon women have developed
their own brand of feminism rooted in Mormon history and theology.
To be a Mormon feminist is to live the tension between the
visionary theology of Mormonism (for example, the faith's
distinctive belief that God is a married couple, a man and woman)
and its conservative institutional politics, between women's
experience-based knowledge and the all-male Church hierarchy. This
groundbreaking book gathers together for the first time essential
writings of the contemporary Mormon feminist movement from its
historic beginnings in 1970 to its vibrant present, offering a
guide to the best of Mormon feminist thought and writing. This
volume presents the voices of Mormon women-including historians,
humorists, theologians, activists, and artists-as they have
challenged assumptions and stereotypes, recovered lost histories of
Mormon women's leadership, explored the empowering potential of
Mormon theology, pushed for progress and change in the contemporary
church, and joined their voices with other feminists of faith
hoping to build a better world. Designed for use by book clubs,
study groups, and classes, this highly accessible but rigorously
developed book includes a timeline of key events in Mormon feminist
history, discussion questions, and a topical guide.
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