Author Archives: Jessawhy

About Jessawhy

Jessawhy is a wife, mother, community volunteer, and amateur decorator/baker/therapist/dancer.

Sophia Gathering- Planning a Mormon Feminist Retreat

Yesterday we finished the 4th annual Sophia Gathering in Muritta, Ca (photo to come!).  It started as an Exponent bloggers retreat and has grown to include Mormon feminist women from across the country.  Each year, I’ve planned and executed the … Continue reading

Posted in women | 11 Comments

Enlisting Allies

Sometimes as a Mormon feminist I get a bad reputation for being critical, negative, harsh, overbearing, and seeing everything as a nail on which to bang my man-hating hammer (Well that last one is an exaggeration, but only slightly). It’s … Continue reading

Posted in women | 98 Comments

Give Me A Break

It’s Spring Break and I’m spending time with my family in San Diego, a place I absolutely LOVE. Like many people, especially Jana, I find peace in the ocean. I could sit on the beach and watch the waves for … Continue reading

Posted in Relationships, women | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

New Year’s Resolution- Work on Marriage

While driving from Phoenix to Salt Lake City a few weeks ago, I asked my husband out of the blue, “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate our marriage?”  Now, this wasn’t a loaded question, we’ve … Continue reading

Posted in women | 35 Comments

My Body Glorifies God

“You’re built for speed,” my husband said the other day, when we were joking about my small figure. And while I laughed with him and thought it was endearing, it’s a sore spot for me as a woman who is … Continue reading

Posted in body image, confidence, feminism, modesty | 20 Comments

The Feminist Line in the Sand

It’s a shame that I post on Mondays because many of my posts are written Sunday night about what happened at church. I’m so predictable. So here I go again. Today’s sacrament meeting talks were about repentance and forgiveness and were … Continue reading

Posted in women | 55 Comments

New Beginnings

Guest Post by Laurie, as part of the Doves & Serpents and The Exponent Blog Swap.   There is a yoga studio in my area advertising a class called “Fun-damentals”.  Under the description, it reads, “This class is for Beginning … Continue reading

Posted in women | 15 Comments

Defining Moments

Right now I’m in the Vienna airport on a layover. I’m coming from a weekend in Macedonia doing volunteer work for the World Federation of Hemophilia. It’s been a great experience. Since this is my first trip to Europe, I’m … Continue reading

Posted in women | 7 Comments

Opportunity Cost and Careers

It’s been nearly 10 years since I got my bachelor’s degree in Political Science from BYU.  And while I was 3 months pregnant with my oldest son at graduation, I’m not sure that I reazlied that I would be career-less … Continue reading

Posted in Changes, Mormon women, women, work | 87 Comments

Guest Post: Self Esteem

Guest Post by Two of Three “My dog ate my homework”.  “I only date ninjas.”  “I do all my own stunts.”  Cute t-shirts with funny quotes abound at the elementary school where I work.  I saw one in the halls … Continue reading

Posted in confidence, women | 17 Comments