One of last week's prompts for See Jane Write's #bloglikecrazy was to share your favorite TED Talk. Some of the women participating in this challenge to blog daily in the month of November wanted to know: Who is TED?

I then realized that everyone isn't obsessed with TED Talks like I am. I have the TED app on my phone and my iPad. I show a TED Talk once a week to the students in my Women and the Media class (We call is TED Talk Tuesday) and I watch at least two more a week on my own. I LOVE TED Talks.

I'm working on a TED Talk playlist of sorts for my YouTube account. It will full of feminist goodness of course and the video below will be at the top of the list.

Take some time to watch Eve Ensler, creator of The Vagina Monologues, discuss how everyone (yes, even men) need to embrace their inner girl.

Sarah Bessey

I have a new girl crush, y'all.

Meet Sarah Bessey. She's the author of the new book Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women. The book is all about the process of reconciling one's Christian faith with feminist ideals -- something I've wrestled with for a decade since I started identifying as a feminist in my early 20s. 







I haven't had a chance to read the book yet, but you can be sure this is how I'll be spending most of my weekend. 

So how am I crushing so hard on this Jesus Feminist when I haven't even read her book? Well, it's all thanks to Bessey's interview with The Hairpin. In her interview she had this to say: 

For me, I was in my early 20s when I began to self-identify as a feminist. I loved having women pastors, seeing women on church boards, seeing women pursuing any life they wanted. So it became a natural thing for me to say I'm a feminist. But then, in the church, when I said it, people would be surprised, and ask these questions—“Do you not want to be a wife and a mom? Do you hate men?”—and they’d ask me what “kind” of feminist I was. I just sort of cheekily started saying that I was a Jesus feminist, a feminist because I love Jesus. It's from my faith that I treat people with equal value, not the other way around.

Amen! 

So if you're wondering how to be a Jesus Feminist or wondering how a woman can be both Christian and feminist, I believe Bessey has summed it up quite nicely and flipped the question: How you can a woman be Christian and not be a feminist? Jesus teaches us to treat people with equal value and that's what feminism, at its core, is all about. Period. 

And this notion of equality applies to marriage too. In the interview Bessey remarked:

With marriage, of course, everyone does it differently, and finds what works for them. But we believe in something called mutual submission, where we submit to each other, and Jesus is the head of our household. 

That statement by Bessey made me want to cry and do a praise dance and kiss my sweet husband who yesterday wrote an article for AL.com about our "nontraditional" marriage, a marriage in which my goals and dreams are just as important as his, a marriage in which I'm not considered a bad wife because I don't have dinner waiting for him as soon as he walks in from work.

So I'm thinking of doing something crazy. I'm thinking of coming out as a Jesus Feminist at church. If you read this blog regularly or know me IRL you're probably well aware that my feminism practically oozing from my pores. But my feminism isn't something I talk about much around my church community, especially since feminists had been criticized in sermons on more than one occasion.

But I have this idea: Next year I want to lead a church-based small group for women during which we will read and discuss Bessey's book. I'll need to read the book before deciding if this is something I really want to do, but leading a Christian feminist small group would be a dream come true!


Are you a Jesus Feminist?

image via

Because of #bloglikecrazy, I spend a lot of time in November thinking about my future as a blogger. Just as I did last year, I've been contemplating whether or not I should be a feminist blogger or a blogger who is also a feminist. And yes, there is a difference. At least there is to me.

When I think about being a bonafide feminist blogger I think about Jessica Valenti who helped define contemporary feminism and gave young feminists a platform and an online community by founding the site Feministing.com.

I think of The Crunk Feminist Collective and Kimberly Foster of ForHarriet.com and all they do to examine the intersection of gender and race.

I think of Jennifer Armstrong and Heather Wood Rudulph of SexyFeminist.com and how they're making feminism fun again.

And, of course, when I think of being a feminist writer I think of amazing magazines like Bitch, Bust, and Ms. Perhaps writing a feminist blog would help me one day see my byline among their pages.

So let's say I take the plunge and decide to be a feminist blogger. I could JUST DO IT right here, right now on this blog, but I'm not sure if WriteousBabe.com readers come here for feminist commentary or tips on writing and blogging. So I wonder if I should launch whole new blog with a cool new name.

You can help me decide by answering a simple question: Why do you read WriteousBabe.com? Do you come for feminist commentary, advice on writing and blogging, both, or updates on my life (for those of you reading this blog simply because we're pals)? Leave your response in the comments and/or vote using the poll at the top of the side bar. Thanks for your input!



What decisions are you trying to make regarding your blogging life?

Photo Credit: sboneham (Flickr/Creative Commons)

"Write down your NOs!"

That's the message that was delivered to me last night in a dream.

It was a strange dream. I was sick from stress and from eating food that was bad for me (which I always do when I'm stressed). I was really, really sick. As I was puking my guts out some guy (that I obviously knew in the dream, but that doesn't exist in real life) was holding back my hair and telling me, "You have to write down your NOs!"

When I woke up, I was confused. I had no idea what this meant. I still don't. But as I lay in bed this morning mulling this over I was reminded of something a woman said at a blogging conference I attended last month. She said: You have to say "No" to make room for the "Hell yes!"

The #bloglikecrazy challenge has help me realized that the "Hell yes" I no longer have room for is my own writing! I've really enjoyed blogging on a daily basis, but the only reason I've stuck with it is to encourage the other women participating. I'm not doing this because I enjoy it -- even though I do.

Over the past two and a half years as I've been building See Jane Write I've been neglecting writing for myself. I've been so busy encouraging other women to go after their writing goals, I haven't been going after mine. Sure, launching See Jane Write Magazine was a huge accomplishment, but I have no time to promote that project and there's so much more I want to do.

But I still don't know what it means to write down my NOs. And I'm certainly not going to ditch See Jane Write.

I have realized that, other than exercise, there is nothing in my life that I do for myself. And since I don't have children I'm not sure how in the world this happened!

My blog, See Jane Write and See Jane Write Magazine are all for the women writers I hope to encourage. My full-time job as a teacher, of course, is all about helping my students. Even my freelance gigs are no longer for me as I have to use the extra cash to help out family members in need.

But starting today I'm going to make my writing goals and writing for myself more of a priority and say "No" to anything that gets in the way of that.

This may come off as selfish, but if my life is so out of balance that I'm dreaming about stress-induced vomiting something's got to give.


Do you make your writing a priority in your life? Do you spend time writing for yourself? 

I believe in a God who is Love. 

I believe in women. 
I believe in feminism. 

I believe in sisterhood.


I believe in marrying your best friend; and I believe in the freedom to choose not to get married at all. 

I believe in blogging. 

I believe in books. 
I believe journalism will never die. 

I believe in Birmingham. 

I believe in lists. 

I believe in big dreams and big hair. 

I believe in the color pink. 

I believe in lip gloss, eye shadow, and Essie nail color. 

I believe in denim, blazers, and trendy flats. 

I believe in pencil skirts and dresses that flirt. 

I believe cute running gear makes a difference in your stride. 

I believe in Jillian Michaels. 

I believe I can be a feminist and be a feminine, fit, fashionable woman of faith. 

I believe that "blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her," (Luke 1:45 NIV).

What do you believe in?  

I love being a girl and nearly everything that comes with it. Yes, even that.

Don't be coy. You know what "that" is.

Yes, I love my period.

You may be wondering how someone could love something that can be so aggravating, embarrassing, inconvenient, and painful. Don't get me wrong: I hate being on my period, but I'm grateful for it nonetheless.

For me menstrual cramps and missed pool parties are outweighed by the bonds we girls create because of good ol' Flo.

Just think about the time you shared "My First Period" stories with your girls and laughed to the point of tears. Think about the co-worker you started having lunch with after the day you had to ask her for a tampon. And think back to the pal who taught you how to use tampons in the first place.

Below I've posted a commercial that is funniest advertisement for feminine hygiene products that I have ever seen. But we need to remember that for some women and girls, menstruation is no laughing matter.

In America talking about your period is taboo because some people say it's not "lady-like." But in some cultures being on your period carries a serious social stigma. Furthermore, in some countries, such as developing nations like Uganda, millions of girls miss 20 percent of the school year because they can't afford to buy sanitary products. Women miss days at work, losing income that could make the difference between whether or not their families go hungry.

So remember that the next time you have a woe-is-me attitude because it's that time of the month.

But to lighten the mood a bit, I present to you The Camp Gyno.

This weekend is going to suck.

I had been looking forward to this weekend because it's a long one; we teachers have Monday off. Then I took a look at my to-do list and realized I'd rather go to work.

Things I have to do this weekend:

• Finish grading 67 essays
• Grade 67 worksheets
• Write a rough draft of a presentation I'm giving at a social media conference
• Write stories for See Jane Write Magazine
• #bloglikecrazy (which not only includes writing my own posts but also reading and promoting the posts of others)
• Write a test on Edgar Allan Poe and American Romanticism
• Draft a study guide for that test
• Plan discussion for chapters 1-6 of The Scarlet Letter
• Walk/run 8 miles
• Clean my apartment
• Buy groceries
• Cook
• Visit two different doctors on two opposite sides of town for two not-so-pleasant medical exams on the same day

And at some point I should shower and eat, but I'm not sure if those things will happen.

Chances are I will be an awful person to live with this weekend, and not just because I probably won't bathe. When I am stressed I am an evil witch and my poor, poor husband is usually the victim of my mean girl routine.

But here's how I'm going to try to avoid being a jerk and save my marriage this weekend: the Pomodoro app.

The Pomodoro Technique, developed by Francesco Cirillo is simple, yet brilliant. You break down your work in 25-minute intervals, taking five-minute breaks after each one. After four work periods you take a longer break of about 20 minutes (enough time to grab a sandwich or a shower).

The technique is based on the idea that the frequent breaks will keep you sharp. And it works!

I first learned about this technique and the app (which is basically just a timer) back in August when my pal Williesha Morris mentioned it in a talk she gave at WordCamp Birmingham.

There's something about racing the clock that helps me focus and be super productive. And as short as those five-minute breaks are, they do actually keep me from burning out too soon.

And the timer turns the process of working through my to-list into a game.

I'm hoping all of this will keep me from having a such a nasty attitude about the fact that I will be spending my entire 3-day-weekend working and the fact that I'm not even going to have time to watch the Alabama v. LSU game. And I'm hoping it will keep my husband from wanting to file for divorce.


What's your favorite app?