Tag: feminism

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Goddess with a Thousand Faces – Jasmine Elmer

ramblingmads

Steeped in ancient magic, dark divinity and wild ways, Goddess with a Thousand Faces takes you on a historical journey like no other…

Blending mythological retellings with historical research, Goddess with a Thousand Faces traverses the world and transports through time to bring ten formidable and inspiring ancient goddesses to life. Meet Artemis, the Greek goddess of the wilderness, never without her bow and arrow; Sedna, Inuit goddess of the ocean, guarding the icy waters and all its creatures; Isis, Egyptian goddess of healing, who dwells by the River Nile, just to name a few…

Jasmine Elmer explores these goddesses of our past, uncovering their truths, their rebellion and their freedom. For too long, they have been written out of history; lost to the sands of time and stamped into silence. Goddess with a Thousand Faces restores these women to their glory.

Pour over this treasure trove of myths, legends and mighty goddesses. Hear the messages echoing through the ages and see yourself in the faces of these icons. For while their stories might ancient, today they are more important – and more powerful – than ever.

A treasure trove of beautiful storytelling and ancient wisdom, perfect for fans of Love in Colour by Bolu Babalola and Storyland by Amy Jeffs.

Amazon

Jasmine Elmer is a straight-talking ancient world expert. Deciding her subject needed a ‘glow up’, she began her mission in 2020 to make the subject relatable and representative. Outside of writing, she spends her time bringing that energy to television screens, appearing on broadcast channels such as Channel 4, Channel 5 and National Geographic, as well as hosting and featuring on many podcasts. Her debut book Goddess with a Thousand Faces is a bold exploration of world goddesses, blending storytelling with historical fact. It follows from years of research as a student at universities like UCL, Cambridge and Exeter and a career as a secondary school teacher of Classics. She is of dual heritage, Pakistani and white, and her mother was born in Canada. She grew up in East London but now lives in Exeter, Devon with her husband and son. She has five cats and is absolutely not ashamed of that fact! When she has some downtime, she loves spending time in nature, curling up with a good book and a hot choc, and having a laugh with her friends. She flits between meditation and being frazzled. Such is life.

My thoughts: This was a really interesting, totally fascinating book, bringing a selection of goddesses from pantheons across the globe, from Inanna of Sumeria, to Sedna of the Inuit, spanning thousands of years and dozens of belief systems.

Retelling one of the stories of each goddess and then discussing their history, importance and impact through a modern feminist lens, this was a really thought provoking read. I actually really wished it was longer and looked at more goddesses, it felt like a great jumping off point for deeper research and another thing to get totally obsessed with.

Some of goddesses, particularly the Greek and Norse ones were familiar to me from previous reading and a mild obsession with mythology, others were less familiar and in a couple of cases, I had not heard of them at all. Which was a bit frustrating as of course goddesses from pantheons outside of Europe aren’t often featured in many mythology encyclopedia apart from those of Egypt sometimes.

Before I vanish down the rabbit hole of research and reading, I will recommend this as a great introduction to a wide range of religious beliefs, many old and some still practised around the world today and the goddesses that form part of those faiths.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Jesus and Women – Niamh M Middleton

ramblingmads

In Jesus and Women, Niamh Middleton combines insights from evolutionary biology, feminism and the #MeToo movement to highlight the revolutionary attitude of Jesus towards women. Her careful exegesis, comparing the treatment and depiction of women in the Old and New Testaments, illuminates the way forward for the treatment of women by Church and society. More importantly, however, it holds the potential to greatly enrich our understanding of Jesus’ divinity.

Middleton’s bold approach encourages Christian women to reclaim their religion as a tool for empowerment, correcting the regressive course that Christianity has taken in this regard since Roman times. She also cites the remarkable life and untimely death of Western heroine Diana, Princess of Wales as an archetypal example of why Christianity must be reclaimed by its female members. Above all, she powerfully argues that while political feminism can tackle the symptoms of the perennial ‘battle of the sexes’, only a revolution of grace can bring about a full restoration of the harmony between the sexes described in Genesis.

 

Praise for Jesus and Women

“As the global #MeToo movement has clearly demonstrated, women are no longer willing to accept being treated as the ‘second sex’, both inside and outside of the Church. Jesus and Women is an inspirational call-to-action for all women, making it clear that they are every bit the equal of men in God’s eyes and that it is time to make their voices heard to bring about the fair and impartial world that is their inheritance and due. A must read.” Richard Moriarty, The Sun 

 

“Jesus and Women: Beyond Feminism by feminist theologian Dr Niamh M. Middleton provides a long-overdue dissection of institutional sexism within the Church, and how women must lead the way in restoring gender equality. This is an essential read for all Christians, and anyone concerned with the question of gender equality.”

Timothy Arden, The Scotsman

Dr Niamh M. Middleton lectured in Theology and Philosophy at Dublin City University from 2005 until 2020, when she decided to take early retirement in order to focus on writing  Jesus and Women: Beyond Feminism, published through The Lutterworth Press. She previously studied at Mater Dei, Dublin and the Pontifical University, Maynooth. Her main area of research concerns the implications of evolutionary theory for Christianity and the relationship between religion and science overall. Her previous publications include Homo Lapsus: Sin, Evolution and the God who is Love (2019). Visit www.niamhmiddletonauthor.com.

 Social

Twitter: @briemma

FB: @niamhmmiddleton

My thoughts: I was raised going to church and as a feminist, so this book intersected with my personal interests quite nicely.

It is very interesting, exploring the women of the Bible – in the Old Testament, and then in more detail and with relation to Jesus, the women of the New Testament – particularly Mary, his mother, Mary Magdalene, and Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus.

I didn’t agree with everything that was said and there were bits I did really like too. Which is the right balance I think with an academic text. I’m passing my copy onto my mum to get her take – she’s a practicing Christian and feminist, so it will be interesting to see how she approaches it.

I think this book is certainly useful for women’s groups at churches, as a starting point for discussion and in the way it aims to bring the discussion about the role of women in the Bible and in the church up to date. Dr Middleton is very knowledgeable and writes in an engaging, relatable way that made it easy to follow and connect with.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own

blog tour, books, reviews

Blog Tour: Bad Habits – Flynn Meaney*

ramblingmads

Alex is a rebel with a purple fauxhawk and biker boots.
St Mary’s Catholic School is the strict boarding school where she’s currently trapped.
Despite trying everything she can to get expelled, she’s still stuck with the nuns, the prudish attitude and the sexism. So Alex decides to take matters into her own hands. She’s going to stage the school’s first ever production of The Vagina Monologues . . .
Trouble is, no one else at St Mary’s can even bear to say the word ‘vagina’ out loud!

A riotously funny novel about the importance of friendship and finding your voice.

My thoughts:

I went to church school, which wasn’t quite like this one, but I recognised certain elements and I think teenage me, who was so fed up of the hypocrisy and the useless sex ed lessons (raised by a midwife and nurse who used to treat sex workers and AIDS patients as part of her job meant I was a lot better informed than many of my peers) as well as all the usual things to hate about high school, and Alex would be friends.

I’d certainly be joining her Feminist Club and starting protests, I have been told I needed to tone myself down and focus on schoolwork.

Alex is a force to be reckoned with and I think Father Hughes has a bit of a soft spot for her, tolerating some of her excesses more than he might for another student.

I loved her quiet but determined friend Mary Kate, sometimes you don’t have to be the loud out there one to get things done.

This was overall just a really fun, smart book that sticks it to the patriarchy and celebrates friendship and empowerment in all its forms.


*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

feminism, jewellery, life, relationships, wedding

Wedding Wednesday: Why I chose to wear an engagement ring 

ramblingmads

The other day I read a really preachy article (which I don’t have a link to) about why the writer, as a feminist, wouldn’t wear an engagement ring. 

Now I strongly believe that everyone has a right to their own opinion but the tone of the piece and the fact that she was using feminism as her reason really annoyed me. 

I’m a feminist. I believe in equality, equity of the sexes, and a woman’s right to choose what she does with her life and her body. My mum instilled these beliefs in me growing up. 

However, I don’t feel like those beliefs preclude me from wearing my engagement ring. 

I am aware of the original symbolism of wedding rings and the whole patriarchal problematic wedding traditions. But I don’t see the engagement ring on my left hand as a symbol of ownership. 

Nobody, least of all C, owns me. I am my own person, regardless of marital status. 

I see it instead as a symbol of commitment, of a promise to be a team, to stick together, to be a family. I see it as C’s love and mine for him. We’re going to get married, be together for good, legally bound and all that jazz. Not because society says so, but because we want to. 

And that doesn’t contradict my feminism. This is my choice. Isn’t that what women have been fighting for all these years – the ability to make their own choices? 

feminism, ramblings, thoughts

Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman…

ramblingmads

Last week my dad announced he’s a feminist. He then rattled on for half an hour and didn’t let any women (me, mum) speak.

Last night we watched Bones, a show I quite enjoy, in which a men’s rights activist is murdered. A ‘meninist’. The sort of person who truly believes that ‘every job taken by a woman is a qualified white man out of work’.

Women still earn less than men for doing the same work, women of colour even more so, despite it being illegal here in the UK. Women still shoulder the vast majority of housework, chores, cooking and childcare. More women work part-time, and not necessarily because they want to.

I also watched Confirmation this week, a drama based on real events and real people, with Kerry Washington playing Anita Hill as Olivia Pope with bad suits. Hill testified against US supreme court nominee Judge Clarence Thomas in a hearing about his alleged sexual misconduct. No other women were permitted to testify. She was vilified in the press, he became a member of the supreme court.

Was the all male senate panel’s attitude towards her because she was a woman, because she was black, because she spoke up? Thomas tried to make it about race (he was African-American, as was Hill), but they didn’t buy it.

Would a man’s word have carried more weight, would his testimony been so easy to dismiss?

This week Beyonce released Lemonade, one of the themes of which seems to be infidelity. Now she hasn’t explicitly said it’s about her marriage, but the internet is alight with people trying to find out who Jay-Z cheated on her with.

But where’s the backlash against him? If he did sleep with someone other than his wife behind her back (as opposed to in an open marriage) then why aren’t people criticising him? Is it just easier to blame a woman, after all she betrayed the sisterhood, he’s just a man. And that’s what men do.

I read a recent interview with Monica Lewinsky, who had a brief affair with Bill Clinton in the 90s, he stayed president, she was humiliated and found it hard to keep her life on track. Now she runs an anti-bullying initiative, he’s supporting his wife’s White House run, but Lewinsky is still treated to vindictive comments but the married man many years her senior is just good ol’ Bill.

And you wonder why it’s hard to be a woman.