The top 6 books influencing my feminism.
1 – Discovering Biblical Equality: Complementarity without Hierarchy ed Pierce and Groothius. This is the THE source to find theologians serious grappling with all the “problematic” Biblical passages.
2 – The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. From the lover of Jean Paul Satre, also philosopher and existentialist I was delighted to find such sound thinking on womanhood. I did reserve the right to disagree with plenty, as well. :)
3 – Men and Women in the Church by Sarah Sumner. My favorite first find on how women distance themselves from other women when they find they’re “exceptional.”
4 – My Brother’s Keeper: What the Social Sciences Do and Don’t Tell us About Masculinity by Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen. Perhaps an unlikely book to find on this list, but pivotal for me seeing how feminism helps men, too.
5 - The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood by Sharon Hays. The book that set me on the path to change the way I would do mothering in public and private, to try to change the way mothers are perceived.
6 – Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions: Engaging the Mystery of Friendship between Men and Women by Dan Brennan. This was the cement, helping me see how much feminism could do to undo the impassable wall between men and women.

Movies on feminism, sexuality or faith you must see:

The Age of Innocence - why affairs begin in our mind
Enchanted April - love never fails
Hope Springs – sex therapy
Miss Representation – excellent documentary on women in media
The Gran Torino - you can teach an old dog new tricks
Taken - why virginity is still a reason some women are kept alive
His Girl Friday - perfect examples of sexy chauvinism
A Star is Born - why marrying up can bring you down
Doctor Zhivago - step into the shoes of the reasons for affairs
One Night With the King - watch to see how risky Esther was
Enchanted - funny yarn on fairy tale princesses in the real world
Babette’s Feast - my favorite movie on grace
Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett’s version) - excellent tension between sensuality and purity
An Ideal Husband - watch for perfectionism’s problems
Dogville – my favorite movie on the purpose of hell/punishment
Juno – the type of woman who would not abort her baby isn’t one we’d all be friends with
The Lives of Others - my favorite movie on the power of art to change us
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - why sex appeal can ruin a marriage
Butterfield 8 - what drove one call girl
Iron-Jawed Angels - the bold and dangerous risks of the young feminists who secured American women the vote
Last Holiday - why women all need to stop being quiet
Adam’s Rib - my favorite battle of the sexes movie
Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire - heavy, necessary
Sense and Sensibility - women are all not the same
Casino Royale - why men like James Bond exist
Casablanca - men are not only driven by sex
It Happened One Night - culturally, historically, aesthetically significant.
Dogfight - the way one woman’s love heals a man
Priceless - funny distinctions between sex and love
Dead Man Walking – how the death penalty can redeem
Driving Miss Daisy – oppression and its bonds
Wings of Desire - sensuality and sexuality
As Good as it Gets - honest loving and what we all look for
The Tree of Life - beautiful prayer of grief
Strictly Ballroom - my favorite fairy tale
Doubt - gossip, nuns, priests and power
Away We Go - another way to do marriage
Tangled - strongest female lead in a Disney film

 

Shows I like:

 

Sites I dip into:

More recommendations?