1. Why Christian Bookstores are Awful—February 1
This is one of my favorites, and, as you’ll see, one of my longest. I did research for this one, scoping out a few Christian bookstores and taking notes. It’s interesting that tonight is the Alma Christmas festival which is where the idea for this post originated. Last year’s festival is when I ventured into the local Christian bookstore and discovered so many of the travesties that I list. I thought, ‘I have to write a post about how awful this is.’
2. Getting My Irish Up—March 16
I visit some subjects multiple times on my blog. One of them is xenophobia. In this post on immigration you can kind of tell I’m pissed off and so sick of the attitudes I’d been witnessing. A few days later, I went off on a similar rant about people’s prejudice against Arabs and Muslims (and, of course, had to explain that the two terms are not interchangeable).
3. Heritage—January 11
This one might be my favorite. I envision it being the lead off essay when I finally pull together my book, Musings of a Christian Feminist. It explains how I got to be the way I am. At least, where I get my feminism from.
4. Crazy—January 18
This one didn’t get any comments on trektrebek, but I remember it did get a few on facebook. Regardless, it’s a topic I feel very passionately about. Our society has a long way to go in its attitudes toward mental illness. I’ve even started another piece on the subject that I’m considering posting.
5. A Modesty Proposal—June 14
This piece was prompted by a Facebook kerfuffle involving a “Christian” page (not the one alluded to in my interview with Peter, btw. Yes, I’ve been kicked off two “Christian” fb pages for speaking gospel truth). I’d had it up to here with people passing more judgment on women’s dress than on men’s actions.
6. War, What is it Good For? (Part 7 in the Brilliance of Blaise series)—July 2
Every Fourth of July I have similar reactions to the nationalism that’s mistaken for patriotism. It’s somewhat sickening to me to see the idol our country has made of war. This piece discusses how Americans don’t have a good sense of what war is really like because our homeland has never experienced it (with the exception of Pearl Harbor) within any living person’s memory. It’s one thing to fight war abroad; it’s another to experience it in your own country.
7. Renaissance Peeps (Part 3 in the Brilliance of Blaise series)—February 28
One of the earlier “Blaise” entries, in which my essay is prompted by a Blaise Pascal quote, this one celebrates knowing a little about everything. People who know me know that I’m a trivia buff, having played quiz bowl in high school and having been a regular patron at BW’s since I was 14 to play NTN. I included this one because it is relatively light and fun compared to the rest on this list. And I’m pretty passionate about the topic as well.
8. Something on Race—July 17
I felt compelled to write in response to the Trayvon Martin case. At the time there were many other things involving race going on as well. It just became so glaringly obvious that our country hasn’t made the strides we’d like to think it has in terms of racial harmony.
9. What Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus Can Teach Us About the Need for Feminism—August 30
This one is not a favorite but it got the most comments. In it, I hold Robin Thicke equally responsible for the mess that was the VMA performance and decry the misogyny of his lyrics. I also disagree with some other feminists who claimed that speaking out against Miley’s performance was “slut shaming.”
10. My Biological Clock is Broken (?)—April 15
This one evoked some appreciative responses from some of my girlfriends. In it, I discuss the pervasive idea in our society that a woman’s highest calling is that of motherhood, and how detrimental that idea can be.