For Mormon feminists, progress 'with an asterisk'

[struggle4progress]

A new age rule for missionaries is a step, Mormon feminists say, but they remain far from the mainstream in a church run by men.
By John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times
December 3, 2012, 5:00 a.m.

SALT LAKE CITY — ... One social blog, Feminist Mormon Housewives, started in 2004 by an Idaho woman who said she was discouraged from mentioning her feminist politics in her church social circle, now has 1,000 members ...

In a landmark study in January, the Pew Research Center reported that 58% of American Mormons say that the more satisfying kind of marriage is one in which the husband provides for the family and the wife takes care of the house and children. About 38% prefer a marriage in which both the husband and wife have jobs and both take care of the house and children. Among the general public, including many other major religious groups, the balance of opinion on this question is reversed. Mormon men and women express similar views on this question, and there is no difference in views across age groups ...

After the missionary announcement, church leader Jeffrey R. Holland, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, was asked why officials didn't allow women to serve for two years like men. "One miracle at a time," he said.

Over the years, Mormon feminists have butted heads with church leadership. Decades ago, Sonia Johnson, a Virginia church organist, was excommunicated for speaking out against the faith's opposition to the national Equal Rights Amendment. In the 1990s, Mormon feminists were among half a dozen scholars purged by the church for their criticism. The group, some of them men, became known as the September Six ...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mormon-women-20121203,0,2140975.story

[ForgoTheConsequence]

1. Oxymoron.

I admire the effort but Mormonism is the antithesis of feminism. A feminist Mormon is like a vegan butcher.

[cbayer]

2. You must not have read any of Joanna Brooks writings.

She is the role model for Mormon feminists and getting more attention all the time.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

3. I know who she is.

And I appreciate the struggle of trying to wedge enlightened progressive ideas into your faith, I've fought that struggle my whole life. But eventually you have to realize you're trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. Mormonism and Christianity in general is a patriarchal system. They're not compatible.

[cbayer]

4. I really admire her. She is getting a lot of radio time these days.

But I disagree with you. Women have made great strides over time, including within patriarchal religious systems. Perhaps this is due in part to the struggles you have engaged in.

Some things are worth fighting for, imo. To give up is sometimes allowing them to win.

[trotsky]

6. If all women gave up and left the Mormon church...

the church would die off. Literally.

[white_wolf]

5. The strength of patriarchy within Mormonism is astounding considering how recent it is.

It's only a couple of centuries old, but when it comes to dealing with issues of patriarchy it's hard to say whether the LDS or the Catholic Church has further to go.