Thoughts on women...

The breaking news of Russell Brand's rape and abuse allegations come as absolutely no surprise it seems. From his pre-reveal video to the subsequent litany of contents from those in the industry, everyone knew. People knew that he seduced vulnerable young women and boasted publicly about his sexual 'conquests' stating that his celebrity power made 'getting' women easier. The allegations go back for years and it turns out his vile behaviour towards women was an 'open secret'. Make no mistake he was an apex sexual predator with no respect for women, seeing them only as vessels for his pleasure and people knew about it. The industry knew and now they are backing away from him not because they've just 'found him out', but because they've been found out for allowing him to continue. RB was enabled to continue his behaviour because it was normalised and brushed under the carpet constantly. Men like Harvey Weinstein, Jonah Hill, Bill Cosby, Woody Al...

When the Barbie movie first came out I'll be the first to admit I was a bit ambivalent. I wasn't a big Barbie fan as a child and I do think that in many ways historically the concept of Barbie has served to perpetuate the idea that women have to meet societal beauty standards. But people started to ask me if I'd seen it (which seemed odd to me) and then I started to see memes on social media about the film and my interest was piqued. It helped that Greta Gerwig is already a legend so when yet another friend asked about it, I decided to go. Armed with a Meercat 2 for 1 Wednesday ticket and a tub of popcorn, we took ourselves off to the cinema. By the time I watched the film that day I had already read a number of articles and opinion pieces about it. Phrases like feminist propaganda, anti-men and super-woke were as prolific as joyful, empowering and enlightening. There seemed to be camps within the camps if you know what I mean. Both conservatives and progressives seemed to ...

1 Timothy 2:11-15 11 A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. 12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. 15 But she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety. First things first. I'm no theologian but I'm grateful to the many amazing voices and brains who've dedicated time, faith and energy to the Word. Second thing... This passage is HARD so the second thing is actually the most important thing. When reading passages like this, which on the surface really seem to subjugate women, we have to remember the premise which underwrites everything we know. God is good. That's it, full stop, no "God is good... but...", Psalm 107:1 says "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, his love endures fore...

I wrote for Woman Alive recently about wedding traditions, including taking the husbands name and wearing a wedding ring. Are they biblical? Do we have a Christian obligation to do so? I consider them here. https://www.womanalive.co.uk/opinion/which-wedding-traditions-are-biblical-should-you-take-your-husbands-name-or-even-wear-a-ring/15955.article

Keen as ever to have a firmer grip on what my beliefs are, it is always worth looping around every now and then and thinking and reconsidering a stance. I do the same in my midwifery role too and challenging deeply held beliefs is an important way of staying fresh and focused. And in the same way that midwifery is a continually emerging field of research, the same is true for this topic area in Christianity. The more we learn and scrutinise our practices and the way we understand the world, the better we are able to be and the better our care towards others. In the immortal words of Maya Angelou, "When you know better, you do better".  As a woman who has been brought up in the complementarian sphere, my journey into the egalitarian camp has been a somewhat tumultuous one. At points it has almost felt too hard to stay in this new 'camp'. Surrounded as I am by good people who hold the complementarian set of beliefs with such conviction, it is impossible not to confronte...