Women’s contributions to history and in particular to religious history are almost invisible compared to the recording of masculine exploits. What made Dan Brown’s, The Da Vinci Code so scandalous was that he relied upon a theory which posited that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were lo

Recently, I wrote a review of John Updike’s Bech at Bay, a book  I didn’t want to read but did.  Now I’ll turn to two books I have yet to read but hope to do so. The first is The Hunting of Hillary, by Pulitzer prize-winning biographer Michael D’Antonio. The second is Pelosi

Recently, I opened my Facebook page to find a picture one gentleman had posted of  Ivanka Trump. It showed her as a teenager, her hair a dark brown, and her nose longer than seen in recent photographs. He was suggesting her current face wasn’t her natural one. The jibe saddened me.

The matter was small, yet I was annoyed by it. Even a little despairing.  After fifty years of fighting for women’s equality, what did I have to show for it? Or others of my sex who had faced jail time and forced feedings to champion women’s rights? That afternoon, as I visited m

On Monday, March 5, Katie Porter, Democratic congresswoman from California, disagreed with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The Speaker had earlier commented that because a candidate was a woman it was no reason to vote for her.  Porter disagreed and so do I.  All things being equal, wo

As news outlets reported the final count in the South Caroline primary, I wrote on my Facebook page, “not a single woman,” suggesting neither Elizabeth Warren or Amy Klobuchar *would survive after Super Tuesday.  Certainly, they picked up no delegates in South Carolina, putting a

Here’s another patriarchal hangover that is affecting the 2020 election. According to several studies, likeability is optional to voters if the candidate is male, but is a requirement for a female. Also true is that people view forceful women as lecturing but give a thumbs up to a m

When I entered college at 18, I joined the rest of my female classmates in the gym. There, we were asked to strip off our tops, given medial gowns and told to lie down on an available cot. We received no further explanation.   Not long after we’d settle, a number of young men in wh

Iraqi women are demonstrating for more freedom in their country. Some of them wear burkas. Others march bareheaded, reflecting their increased sense of liberation.  Each manner of dress raises a question: is their choice conviction or fashion? Don’t underestimate the power of the l

I’m beginning to wonder how far I can roll my eyes to the back of my head before they fall out. After watching the ABC Democratic Presidential debate I begin to despair.  As a whole, I thought it was the best of the series and that the exchange between the candidates shed more ligh