Joanna Brooks - Mormon Feminism: Essential Writings

EDITED BY JOANNA BROOKS, RACHEL HUNT STEENBLIK, and HANNAH WHEELWRIGHT

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Mormon feminism : essential writings / edited by Joanna Brooks, Rachel Hunt Steenblik, and Hannah Wheelwright.

pages cm

Includes index.

ISBN 9780190248031 (hardback : alk. paper)eISBN 97801902480551. FeminismReligious aspectsChurch of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.I.Brooks, Joanna, 1971 editor.II.Steenblik, Rachel Hunt, editor. III.Wheelwright, Hannah, editor.

BX8643.W66M67 2016

289.3082dc23

2015004452

for those who came before
for those who will follow
fresh courage take

On December 16, 2012, Mormon feminists around the world took action to raise the visibility of feminist issues by wearing pants to local LDS church services. (Male allies and others who supported the cause but did not wish to wear pants demonstrated solidarity by wearing purple.) Although not officially prohibited, pants-wearing by women at Sunday services jarred with deeply-held gendered dress customs in many Mormon communities around the globe. Wearing pants proved to be an especially transformative experience for many participants who had never openly discussed their concerns about gender in their home congregations. Hundreds donated the pants they wore to be joined in a commemorative quilt sewn by Feminist Mormon Housewives blogger Nikki Hunter of Idaho. One time, as I pondered how much black and gray and purple I was likely to receive as the color scheme of the quilt, Hunter recalls, I was overcome by the need for a nap, and as I awoke, I was given in a dream-state not only how the quilt should looka rising sun coming through a grove of trees at dawnbut the name of the quilt: Sunday Morning. Hunter pieced together 143 pants in all shades and textures of black, grey, and purples. The quilt honors the legacy of handcraft in Mormon womens culture and captures a sense of momentum and optimism about the future of Mormon feminism.

This book has been blessed by many hands. We are grateful to all of the authors who have contributed and granted permission to republish their essays, speeches, petitions, and poems, and often sent notes of encouragement and offered editorial input as well. Claudia Bushman, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, and Margaret Toscano provided definitive guidance from the inception of this project and continued to support it through its completion. We were honored to have the input of the women who attended our book workshopincluding several contributors to this volume and founding figures of contemporary Mormon feminismat the Fortieth Anniversary Exponent II retreat in New Hampshire in September 2014. Andrea Radke-Moss, Stacy Burton, Elouise Bell, Lynn Matthews Anderson, Judith Dushku, and Kristine Haglund also provided valued scholarly and editorial perspective. This manuscript has been touched by the legendary editorial hand of Mary Lythgoe Bradford. We thank Fara Sneddon for developing our list of additional resources, and Kristiina Sorenson and Shelley Hoffmire who not only developed the topical guide and book group questions but also carefully line-edited the entire manuscript.

Joanna Brooks: At every step of the way in this project, I have felt the presencesometimes palpableof Mormon feminists past, present, and future. I am deeply grateful to have been born to this legacy, to all the Mormon feminists who have cared for me and taught me, to my co-editors for their intelligence, dedication, reliability, energy, and grace, and to my family for giving me the time. Ella and Rosa, I am so proud to have feminist daughters.

Rachel Hunt Steenblik: I am immeasurably grateful for the opportunity to have participated in this project. It was a gift to work with Joanna and Hannah, as it was a gift to consciously and consistently turn my heart (and mind) to my spiritual foremothers and sisters. The work of remembering felt at times both harrowing and holy. I am thankful for The Exponent bloggers who offered continual support and suggestions, and for my husband, Spencer, and my daughter, Cora, who offered their patience and love, as well as their listening ears.

Hannah Wheelwright: I am grateful to witness the words of Mormon women and to partake of their rich living history side by side with such unwavering editors. I thank my five generations of Mormon pioneer ancestors, especially my parents, for instilling in me a strong moral compass and a faith that inspires the courage to act on it. Lastly, I thank all those who supported me in my time at BYU, and particularly the dear friends always close by.

Allred, Janice Merrill: independent scholar and theologian

Anderson, Lavina Fielding: editor, author, and co-founder, Mormon Alliance

Anderson, Lynn Matthews: independent scholar

Bell, Elouise: Professor Emeritus of English, Brigham Young University

Bradford, Mary Lythgoe: former editor, Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought

Brooks, Joanna: author and Professor of English and Associate Vice President, San Diego State University

Bushman, Claudia Lauper: Professor of American Studies, Columbia University; former director, Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for Church History

Butterworth, Lisa: Idaho State University; founder, Feminist Mormon Housewives blog

Cassler, Valerie Hudson: George Bush Professor of Political Science, Texas A&M University

Colvin, Gina: Lecturer, College of Education, University of Canterbury (New Zealand)

Dushku, Judith Rasmussen: Professor of Political Science, Suffolk University

Farnsworth, Sonja

Farr, Cecilia Konchar: Professor of English, St. Catherine University

Graham-Russell, Janan: Howard University

Hammond, Elizabeth: independent scholar

Hansen, Nadine McCombs: attorney