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The Christianity Today women’s blog provides news and analysis from the perspective of evangelical women. We cover news stories and books related to international justice and evangelism, pregnancy and sexual ethics, marriage, parenting, and celibacy, pop culture, health and body image, raising girls, and women in the church and parachurch.
Her.meneutics was co-founded by Katelyn Beaty and Sarah Pulliam Bailey.
June 8, 2012 8:30 AM
In Sacha Baron Cohen’s (Borat and Bruno) new movie The Dictator, his film-wife tells him she’s pregnant in one scene. His response: “Are you having a boy or an abortion?” This line is only funny if you like shock comedy. It...
April 27, 2012 8:38 AM
There once was a small kingdom where a good sort of folk dwelled. They believed in honest work, loving-kindness, and mutual sharing, and tried to get along peaceably with each other—though sometimes that was hard. The center of the kingdom...
April 24, 2012 10:46 AM
Last week Her.meneutics writer Sharon Hodde Miller critiqued aspects of evangelical author Dan Brennan’s take on friendship between men and women, noting that his approach failed to grapple with the reality of sin. Below is Brennan’s response. —The Editors A...
April 18, 2012 8:39 AM
Before I got married I was single for 28 years, and I learned a lot during that time. One lesson? That it can be horribly lonely as a single person in the church, especially given the popular teachings about marital...
April 12, 2012 8:44 AM
I remember three things about the afternoon my parents dragged a 13-year-old me to a famous and local golf tournament: 1.) being bored out of my mind, 2.) having to keep very quiet and 3.) learning what exclusive meant in...
April 3, 2012 8:32 AM
Ask Margaret Feinberg what she thinks of being one of the leading evangelical female voices in a mostly male arena, and she bypasses the issue of gender. “I don’t really think about it. I walk into a room and see...
March 21, 2012 8:40 AM
I watched Butterfield 8 with my husband last weekend. Elizabeth Taylor won an Oscar for her role as the sexually abused and sexually addicted call girl that falls in love. Her story is precisely what I've heard on the road...
March 19, 2012 8:54 AM
I have failed most all the women in my life. Don’t worry, this isn’t one of those essays. By most of the world’s accounting, I’ve treated women well. I’ve been a loyal friend and fiercely devoted husband to one woman...
March 8, 2012 10:04 AM
Are you a slut? Have you ever been one? Have you ever been made to feel like one? Have you ever made someone else feel like one? Have you ever called someone a slut, even if only in your mind?...
March 7, 2012 8:41 AM
This morning I was a scientist studying lions and a magic doctor healing giraffes. I was a three-year-old girl holding a baby jaguar; I was a pony running through a candy forest. I was friends with a lion, a little...
February 27, 2012 10:59 AM
For almost six months, Coach Selby and I have lived with mild tension about our sons’ music lessons. The oldest boy began violin two years ago, and while he won’t be playing Carnegie any time soon, he’s good. The twins...
February 24, 2012 8:43 AM
A world away, a men’s rights movement is afoot. Welcome to the matriarchal society of Meghalaya, India, where, in a vast reversal of traditions the world over, property names and wealth are passed along from mother to daughter instead of...
February 9, 2012 9:43 AM
We’ve been hearing a lot about masculine Christianity lately. By now we’re used to hearing Mark Driscoll campaign for more masculine church leaders and expressions of Christianity; late last year, Reformed pastor Douglas Wilson invited Driscoll to his church to...
January 13, 2012 10:05 AM
It’s generally accepted (though not always acknowledged) that women are poorly portrayed in media. Filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom is particularly aware of this; when she first started pursuing an acting career at 28, an agent told her to lie about...
January 12, 2012 9:05 AM
In a recent opinion piece for the Washington Post, Emily Matchar, who writes regularly on the phenomenon frequently called the ‘new domesticity,’ wonders whether the resurgence of interest in canning, knitting, and generally DIY-spirited homekeeping is not, in fact, regressive--a...
November 30, 2011 10:10 AM
“Men are more visual than women.” It’s a refrain we’ve all heard to explain the differences between men's and women's sexuality. If you want proof of the contrary, look no further than Pinterest. What is Pinterest? TechCrunch describes it as...
November 22, 2011 10:00 AM
Laura, thank you for your remarks. You took me aback with your confession! I'm glad to be in conversation with you. There are many points worth careful consideration in your thoughtful post. Now, this self-professed “Dad Dad” will respond. First,...
November 21, 2011 9:48 AM
Editor's Note: Owen Strachan, professor of theology and church history at Boyce College in Louisville, recently wrote a post critiquing a Tide commercial on "Dad Moms" as one more indication that our culture denigrates true masculinity. His post elicited strong...
November 18, 2011 10:48 AM
Do women have to act like men when they enter the professions? The person who has most helped me to ponder this question is Edith Stein: an intellectual and a woman of deep faith who worked in philosophy and education....
November 9, 2011 10:09 AM
When sexual harassment allegations against Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain began to leak out, my reaction was skeptical. I’ve been observing the political process long enough to know that many people consider sexual accusations—real or imaginary—a fantastic way to bring...
August 23, 2011 10:49 AM
Yesterday on the blog, we heard from theologian William Webb, an egalitarian who says the Bible's "redemptive movement" shows that because of Christ, women are more, not less, free to exercise gifts in church ministry and beyond. Today we hear...
August 22, 2011 11:41 AM
Submissive wife and president of the United States — an oxymoron, if you ask many journalists analyzing the faith of 2012 hopeful Michele Bachmann. In a recent GOP debate, responding to the question of whether she as president would submit...
August 9, 2011 9:35 AM
For centuries, women have been the oft-silent underpinnings of church ministry. Mostly volunteers, these female church members made up a behind-the-scenes force that not only greased the gears of the local church but also functioned as the gears themselves. Even...
June 29, 2011 9:15 AM
Across most cultures and throughout time, parents have wanted boys more than they have wanted girls. Recently developed technologies are allowing parents to reject their girl children before they are even born. In India and China, the world’s two most...
June 28, 2011 8:57 AM
According to the first single from Beyonce’s highly anticipated album 4, girls indeed run the world. Thanks to her musical contribution to First Lady Michelle Obama’s "Let’s Move" campaign, her recent Billboard Millennium Award, and surprise farewell performance to honor...
March 28, 2011 11:35 AM
When comedian Bill Maher called Sarah Palin a “dumb t--t” on his HBO show last week, few people were holding their breath waiting for the National Organization for Women to come to her defense. But as a matter of fact,...
March 1, 2011 9:00 AM
At the end of March, I will bid farewell to my twenties and celebrate my 30th birthday in style. My husband has planned an amazing trip to Disney World, which means I will enjoy this milestone the same way I...
February 22, 2011 10:00 AM
When my friend posted a link to the story of Joel Northrup — the 16-year-old Iowa wrestler who defaulted rather than wrestle a girl, Cassy Herkelman, in a state tournament last week — I was floored when my athletic, competitive...
February 9, 2011 10:35 PM
Editor's Note: When we asked frequent Her.meneutics blogger Caryn Rivadeneira to review Secure Daughters, Confident Sons: How Parents Guide Their Children into Authentic Masculinity and Femininity (Multnomah), we knew it would get her — and readers — on a...
February 1, 2011 12:15 PM
I have never once second-guessed my gender, my sexuality, or my femininity. But a new book has tempted me to. Even though I recently spent eight years either growing babies in my womb or feeding them from my breasts, according...
November 30, 2010 11:06 AM
Perhaps you’ve seen some of the controversy around the December cover of Wired magazine. The cover is a close-up image of a pair of Caucasian breasts, referencing the cover story about a new bio-technology that allows women to grow more...
November 5, 2010 11:25 AM
The difficulty some of us have remembering others’ names is explained, at least in part, by the fact that when being introduced to someone new, the name we are listening for is our own. That kind of listening was going...
November 4, 2010 10:50 AM
Athletic competition builds character in our boys. We do not need that kind of character in our girls. ~ Connecticut judge, 1971 Last month the Women's Sports Foundation held its annual Salute to Women in Sports at the Waldorf-Astoria in...
June 14, 2010 11:25 AM
A few years ago, a colleague of mine asserted that pride was the original sin shared by everyone. I thought for a moment, and had to admit that I did not resonate with his assessment. Pride assumed that one had...
April 23, 2010 10:10 AM
What seemed like a simple statement about family togetherness has become a lightning rod in the world of Division I women’s college basketball. Robin Pingeton, the new women’s basketball coach at the University of Missouri, said in her first press...
March 25, 2010 11:06 AM
Should men and women room together at college? Last week the Los Angeles Times reported that close to 50 campuses across the U.S. permit those of the opposite sex to room together in what's being called "gender-neutral housing." According to...
March 15, 2010 9:26 AM
Cultural commentator Al Mohler recently covered an unusual study that compared passenger behavior on the Titanic, in 1912, and the Lusitania, in 1915. The study, published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that men...
February 25, 2010 9:05 AM
True or false: Our educational system gives boys an academic advantage. Answer: A resounding yes, when Leave It To Beaver was the TV ratings champ. But Richard Whitmire, author of Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons From An Educational System...
January 28, 2010 9:55 AM
According to Catalyst, women hold just 15.2 percent of corporate officer positions at Fortune 500 companies, despite all the professional development and mentoring available to them. Could this in part be because many women are unintentionally undermining themselves in the...
October 27, 2009 11:50 AM
It’s been said before: Today woman have more than they have ever had but they are more unhappy than they have ever been. In a recent Time article, Nancy Gibbs, using the newest statistics, enumerates the significant progress women have...
October 27, 2009 11:42 AM
Get excited, because Her.meneutics brings two perspectives on Time magazine’s recent cover report, “The State of the American Woman.” Author Nancy Gibbs explores the questions, “Is the battle of the sexes really over, and if so, did anyone win?”...
September 25, 2009 9:07 AM
My toddler son is taking a class this fall about bugs. "Learn about insects and their important role in our environment and everyday lives through stories, crafts and games," the brochure boasts. "Great class for boys and girls!" As long...
September 11, 2009 2:38 PM
What might have been weeks of celebration have become ones of public scrutiny for Caster Semenya, the South African runner who won the women’s 800 meter final at the World Athletics Championship August 19. Due to Semanya’s 8-second gain over...