Week 8 Reading Response

What I most wanted from the piece Marni selected, "The Purpose-Driven Wife," was for there to be more of it! I wanted to hear from audience members or women who have read Peace's books and hear their thoughts (if they're husbands allow them to have any). It ceases to amaze me that with all of the patriarchal walls still put in front of women, some put limitations (and blinders and dunce caps) on themselves AND preach the practice to other women! I really like how in this piece the narrator kept an objective voice yet still was able to show how absurd and FRIGHTENING this movement is. Also, I love that this woman's name is Martha "Peace"!! I think the piece provides enough context, but I could handle more. Has Peace ever encountered dissent from other women of the church? What beliefs do other Baptist women believe/lecture about a woman's role and rights? Are all Baptists this backward and masochistic? Maybe? I'm putting this article in my file marked "Proof that the South should be its own country."

I was at first disenchanted by the title of the piece Toni selected, "Truth and Consequences at Pregnancy High," believing that I had read this same story many times before. However, I think it tells a specific story that is topical and important. It is interesting to me that these teens saw early parenthood as an inevitable part of life in the place they live. The responsibility Grace takes for her daughter, even when the act of having a child was originally deemed selfish and irresponsible by her mother, shows that while becoming a mother at a young age was life-altering, it was not necessarily life-ending. The article does a good job of revealing the particularities of being a teenage mother: Lilah dances to hip hop videos, hangs out with the babies of other teen mothers at McDonalds, utters expressions mimicking the language of teens. The article paints a very thorough picture of time and place and how different environmental factors make traditionally non-normative situations normal and functional for the people there. What could have been a harsh critique or a pessimistic prophecy was actually an article that, by revealing the true character of the individuals, was hopeful and optimistic.