Symposium Day 2 Open Thread
It’s day #2 of the Sunstone Symposium. Here are my thoughts on a few of the sessions. Feel free to chime in and share your thoughts and impressions…..
Dialogue Survey session (#112).
As the survey affirmed, most current Dialogue subscribers are those who were subscribers 20 years ago. As was pointed out in the Q&A after session, the audience seemed to reflect Dialogue subscribership—lots of grey hair. There were a few suggestions offered to reach out to the younger generation. Perhaps a future session could/should address the gentrification of Dialogue.
Mormon Feminist Bloggers (#131)
I’m probably not the best judge of this session, as I was on the panel presentation. But in my obviously-biased opinion, this session had more energy than most at Sunstone. Each of the speakers were young, dynamic and full of optimism about blogging Mormon feminism. The audience was filled with young mothers and babies—quite different from the usual Sunstone crowd. Let me sum up with a brief quote from my talk:
“The Bloggernacle is a safe space for active church members, for feminists, for women, for those on the fringe and those in the fold. And, in my opinion, this is where the power of the Bloggernacle lies. These networks are powerful. They are protective…If there is any hope for feminists to effect personal and institutional change within Mormonism, I predict that it will start from an upswelling of people, both men and women, who are participating in the Bloggernacle. [Note: I am using the term Bloggernacle inclusively, to refer to all LDS-themed blogs and not with the narrow definitions suggested by some recent bloggers]
The Tattoo Taboo (#133)
I didn’t attend this session myself, but I kept hearing those who did talk about how fun and interesting it was. Those of you who attended it, please let us know how it went!
Meet & Greet Lunch
Lots of friends, both new and old, joining at the Olio restaurant for lunch (another Meet & Greet is scheduled for tomorrow—I highly recommend that everyone join in the fun!). Had a spirited conversation with Scot Denhalter, Gideon Burton, Sandra Lee, and others about Mormon podcasts and blogs.
“Afraid of the Dark? Toward Healthy Communication with Teenagers about Sex (#173)
I highly recommend that anyone with teenagers, anyone who ever plans to have teenagers, or anyone who was a teenager to download the recording of this session!
Some issues discussed in this provocative panel discussion:
-How does one prepare oneself to discuss the “dark/evil” topic of sexuality with their children?
-Where do we draw the line between appropriate guilt and shame, and do Mormons have difficulty discriminating between the two? E.g., sometimes those who experience sex feel damned, and have crippling amounts of self-loathing and shame.
-Regarding compulsive masturbation and pornography: “if we treat people w/sexual addictions w/shame, we’re treating the problem with its cause.”
-Each of the panelists discussed some very specific ways to teach sexuality to their children, and challenged typical ways of approaching the topic with fear. Good stuff!
August 11th, 2006 at 6:08 pm
Thanks, Jana! I *really* hope you post your full comments on this blog, our blog, or your blog (so many good blogs to choose from!!). I was sending you and Lisa good thoughts this week and strongly applaud your sentiment. I have a good friend who left the church twenty years ago, largely because of patriarchy. When I told her about the ExII blog, she thought it was “dangerous” and was quick to predict top-down repercussions. As I have explained more about the dynamic (and the topics of conversation) at this blog, FMH, and across the bloggernacle, her dismissal has become genuine respect and even hope for increased conversation — the kind she couldn’t find two decades ago.
August 11th, 2006 at 6:42 pm
I second the motion - post your comments, Jana. (Here, at ExII, wherever.) The snippet you’ve put up here is really interesting.
August 11th, 2006 at 7:52 pm
I was able to catch the second half of the Feminist Blogging panel, and I agree that it had energy and a good deal of interest. The question and answer period was vibrant and enthusiastic, and Lisa, Jana and John were all engaged and entertaining. I found it interesting to hear the voices and see the personalities behind the pixels and words.
Not only was this session attended by more younger people than normal, I am noticing more younger panelists/presenters and attendees across the board. If such a trend continues it’s a good sign for the future of Sunstone and this community.
August 12th, 2006 at 4:06 pm
After the Mormon Feminist Blogging panel I met several LDS bloggers. Now I’m not sure that I remember everyone that I met, but I’d really like to keep tabs on all the bloggers who attended so I can keep in touch. Would you mind adding a comment to this thread with your screen name and your URL?
Thanks!!
August 12th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
I, too, attended the session and was energized by it. I loved meeting some of you in person–Lisa, Jana, John, HeatherP, JaneAnne, and others. Jana made the comment that over the internet “we can discuss issues that Mormon women can’t speak about in real life.” Which is one of the reasons I’m enjoying blogging so much.
One thing Lisa said bothered me, though. She seemed to feel that she had already “vomited out” all her thoughts and didn’t need to stay so involved any more. (maybe I’m interpreting her wrong?) I hope blogging won’t be a transient thing where women drop in, fulfill their needs, and drop out. I saw many of the older women feminists at Sunstone that have been writing and working on LDS womens issues for years and are tired out because of lack of change. They need some younger voices to come up and be strong. I’m sort of pessimistic that we can effect any real change but we still need to be there for each other.
August 12th, 2006 at 11:30 pm
I attended the tattoo taboo session, and to tell you the truth I was pretty disapointed. I thought the panelists had the opportunity to delve deep into issues but just didn’t. Mostly just talked about how judgmental mormons/utahn’s are and how nonconformist they were for having (or wanting tattoos).
August 14th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Here are a couple of links to other blogs that are discussing the Symposium:
http://zelophehadsdaughters.com/2006/08/11/sunstone-feminist-blogging-session/
http://www.bycommonconsent.com/2006/08/sunstone-2006/#comment-62064
August 14th, 2006 at 12:28 pm
And one more:
http://www.motleyvision.org/?p=266#more-266
August 14th, 2006 at 12:30 pm
Rick:
I heard that the tattoo session was really cool–that it delved into some important issues about culture, body image, etc. I can see how it could pretty quickly turn in to a Utah/Mo-basking session. I was hoping that it was better than that.
Did anyone else go and get something different out of it?
August 14th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
The interesting thing about the tatoo session was that there were at least 5 news sources there, and they made up more than half the audience.
The thing that disappointed me about the tatoo session was that all of the panelists had pretty much the same opinion (tatoos are OK no matter what the GAs say) so there was no one around to really challenge their conceptions. It was more like a testimony meeting. I think it would have been really interesting if there were an articulate proponent of the tatoo taboo. Also it seemed that few of them (except for one) had much stake in the Church. It didn’t bug them to go against the pronouncements, so there was no tension.
However, I think it set a good precedent for younger people to start their foray into Sunstone stuff and I applaud Paul Swenson for putting the panel together.
August 14th, 2006 at 12:54 pm
Interesting - I didn’t get to see the tattoo session, but will listen to it on mp3.
I’ve thought about getting tattoos before, but my biggest problem is that I am so eclectic. If I chose a design today there would be a good chance that I wouldn’t like it in 5 years - let alone 25.
If I had served in the military I could definitely see the appeal of a unit tattoo. Likewise if I were from a culture that had culturally significant tattoos. But as my culture is mormon and my selfless service was simply a mission, I just don’t think a tattoo of a peach and the stylized text of “Georgia Macon Mission” is all that manly.
August 14th, 2006 at 6:26 pm
Jana,
I really did feel like it fell short of the mark, and like Stephen said, there were very few people there. But I will say taht Stephen C. had some very interesting questions for the panelists and that the high point of discussion came from his questions.
I also applaud P. Swenson for getting groups of students to participate. Especially because my first experience with sunstone was three years ago on a student panel put together by Paul (and the topic was atrociously boring….but it still helped me get involved in something that means a TON to me).
Rory…I’ve got the same problem.
February 5th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Regarding non-conformist dress/grooming.
I think the church is right to discourage tatoos and piercing. I think even female ear-piercing should be done away with. Reason - it disfigures the body as created by God.
I disagree with the church’s current policy on facial hair. I think men should be allowed, perhaps even encouraged to grow facial hair. Reason: Facial hair celebrates the body as created by God. It affirms and celebrates male/female differences.
I think church members should be encouraged to dress nicely for church, but the “white-shirt” rule should be done away with. Reason: White clothing in the temple serves a revealed ritual purpose. Elsewhere it is pharasaical to insist on it, as though I were more righteous because I wear a white shirt.
Regarding hair length, I think the church should leave it alone. Not every church member is a part of corporate America. Preferred hair length historically has varied from culture to culture and era to era for men and women. I do not think there is a “correct” hair length for men and women.
Still, women should avoid looking like men and men like women. Gender differences should be celebrated not neutralized.