tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913587525785298444.post4732675636810097509..comments2023-05-13T04:58:46.682-05:00Comments on mashena: Church, Culture, and Body ImageNicolehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12416478929643863722noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913587525785298444.post-53373659832563194332012-05-22T10:35:15.580-05:002012-05-22T10:35:15.580-05:00Just realized I never responded to these other two...Just realized I never responded to these other two comments. Sorry!<br /><br />SuperBri! Awesome to see you too! I was probably a bit harsh with my "no more princesses ever!" lol. I don't necessarily find it a bad story - - just a problematic one.<br /><br /><br />April - thank you! :)Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12416478929643863722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913587525785298444.post-19686290259095835982012-05-17T06:59:45.343-05:002012-05-17T06:59:45.343-05:00It was good to read this. Kind of a lame comment, ...It was good to read this. Kind of a lame comment, but it WAS good to read this. Thanks for sharing. :)Aprilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913587525785298444.post-25908897859369466782012-05-12T17:33:20.096-05:002012-05-12T17:33:20.096-05:00Hey, superNicole! ;-) Good to read you after so lo...Hey, superNicole! ;-) Good to read you after so long. ;-) This was super interesting. I don't... really know where I stand. But it was nice to see your point of view! <br /><br />Love, SuperBriannaBrianna Siegristhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16376685938960433888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913587525785298444.post-39796651812259169812012-05-09T19:23:00.583-05:002012-05-09T19:23:00.583-05:00Thanks for coming by and commenting :)
I'm so...Thanks for coming by and commenting :)<br /><br />I'm so with you. I think more often than not it's a mistake of omission rather than intention (at least that's what I hope!) but I would love for the church to examine critically it's view and interactions with women (deeper than complementarianism vs, egalitarianism, which is about men anyway for the most part). So much is so heavily culture influenced that we don't even realize it. <br /><br />I like how you worded, "we feel so guilty for not being attractive to all men." exactly! Why did Iso pend so much time fretting over whether men, Christian men, would find me attractive? In my head was a running dialogue that a good Christian man deserved a wife pleasing to look at because looks were important to men. (which we were told repeatedly while we were being told to cover up so as not to make our brothers stumble)<br /><br />Anyway, thanks again for the comment. Nice to have some camaraderie here!Nicolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12416478929643863722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8913587525785298444.post-27505789483830031432012-05-09T18:15:13.900-05:002012-05-09T18:15:13.900-05:00I found your post via Rachel Stone's blog. I f...I found your post via Rachel Stone's blog. I find your experience in the evangelical world to be much like mine! I was so embarrassed about my body, I hid it, and ultimately became quite self-destructive. I think that there are some insidious power issues at play in the church when it comes to womens' bodies. We are not taught that our bodies are good for anything more than what our sex organs can do. Seriously! Mens' bodies are celebrated for many things - their power, athleticism, ability to fix things - what specific non-baby-making things is a woman's body celebrated for, from the pulpit? By not telling young girls that their bodies can do more than serve (service) a man, we are kept in a place of insecurity that ultimately makes us easier to control. I think that many women live in sin by coveting a body they do not have, even developing addiction behaviors in the form of eating disorders, but the church doesn't speak the truth about this, for fear that women will "stop trying" to appeal to the male gaze. This is so insulting and betrays the thinking that womens' bodies need to be controlled in order to be appealing to men. <br />The truth no one tells you is that men have a wide variety of tastes in bodies. We feel so guilty for not being attractive to all men, but the truth is that some men are super into skinny women and some men are decidedly NOT into skinny women (my husband would be in that group!) and neither of these groups of men deserves to be considered "shallow." They like what they like, and if a certain guy isn't attracted to a specific body type, that's fine. I wish I had known this long ago, it would have helped me get over the shame I had about my body. The church is not invested in telling women the nuanced truths about attraction because by keeping us insecure, we are less likely to discover the power in our bodies. This is so important to discuss and I'm so glad you brought it up.Charity Jillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11069170240271205650noreply@blogger.com