Women's History Month ~ and a book beginning

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Whenever I sit in my favorite coffee place, writing and people watching, I am con-stantly struck by people's shoes.  Not in a philosophical, "where they've been" or "the things they've seen" kind of way, but by the fact that the men walking to work at the court-house are wearing sensible, presumably comfortable loafers.  Shoes that don't wreck your knees and ankles, distort your posture, and generally make you daydream all day about being barefoot.

On the other hand, the women walking to work at the courthouse are mostly wearing stylish instruments of torture.  Because this is what we're told strikes the right balance of sex appeal and professionalism to earn us a seat at the table.
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Resist and Persist: Faith and the Fight for Equality ~ by Erin Wathen, 2018, sexism

Over the past few decades, the roles women play in public life have evolved significantly, as have the pressures that come with needing to do it all, have it all, and be all things to all people.  Misogny has evolved as well, becoming in some ways more subtle and indirect.  But patriarchy is still sanctioned by our institutions:  capitalism, government, and even — and maybe especially — the church.  This is perhaps the ultimate irony — that a religion based in the radical justice and liberation of Jesus' teachings has been the most complicit part of the narrative against women's equality.

Pastor and blogger Erin Wathen navigates the complex layers of what it means to be a woman in our time and place — from the language that we use to the clothes that we wear to the unspoken assumptions that challenge our full personhood at every turn.  This fearless book examines the challenges to women's equality in light of our current culture and political climate and calls women and men alike to break through the barriers that hold us all back.  At the end of each chapter is a set of questions for discussion.

March is Women's History Month
and thus a very good time for me to read Resist and Persist, which is on my list for the TBR challenge.

Today, I'll wear my RESIST tee-shirt encouraging women to RESIST bigotry, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, misogyny, hatred, fear, lies.

Here are free coloring pages of women who have made a difference:  Rosie the Riveter, Jane Goodall, Florence Nightingale, Marie Curie, and Sally Ride.  (Yes, I know Rosie was a poster representing working women who filled the gap when men went off to war.)

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Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click this link for book beginnings shared by other readers.
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