MXMFW 6: Lilith

Explicit content warning

08/30/21 • 64 min

In this episode, Bridget speaks uninterrupted about midrashic figure Lilith for a truly shocking amount of time. Eventually Theo and Maggie weigh in on whether Lilith is a scary demon who will eat your babies, a girlboss to end all girlbosses, or something else entirely. If you've ever wondered "was Adam's first wife a lesbian demon?" or "is Theo just thinking about Jennifer's Body every time someone brings up she-demons?" then you're going to want to give this episode a listen.
CW: Discussion of sexual violence/abuse, and miscarriage
Episode Transcript Available Here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Tq0Tswoq4sW6vn0OVaCOuSmRMnyDPDCe/view?usp=sharing
Sources Cited:
James Joyce's Ulysses
Isaiah 34:14
"The Coming of Lilith" by Judith Plaskow
The Wikipedia Page for Lilith Fair
Some tik tok one of us sent into the group chat and then fact-checked

Previous Episode

MXMFW 5: Purity Culture Part 2

Last week we learned about the history of purity culture, and this week Theo, Maggie, and Bridget dive in and discuss how Purity Culture effects people today. They discuss how Purity Culture leads to internalized sexual shame, how it promotes rape, rape culture, and child abuse, and they also discuss how unsuccessful abstinence-only sex education really is.

CW/TW: This episode contains discussions of sexual abuse, rape, rape culture, child abuse, misogyny, sexual shame, and racism

**Thank you to Tiktoker Rachel Cain (@iblamebill) for the metaphor about the vertical vs. horizontal view of sin

**Peggy Reeves Sandy is the researcher mentioned who researched the characteristics of rape prone cultures

Episode Transcript Available here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/11vsX6TPwQwaG5PYfLibPOTgSV_e1IHS6/view?usp=sharing

Sources for this episode

“Rape-Prone Versus Rape-Free Campus Cultures” by Peggy Reeves Sandy

Rachel Cain, @iblamebill on TikTok

“I Have the Power in My Body to Make People Sin': The Trauma of Purity Culture and the Concept of 'Body Theodicy” by Katie Cross in Feminist Trauma Theologies: Body, Scripture & Church in Critical Perspective.

“Daddy’s Little Girls” by Breanne Fahs

“Producing High Priests and Princesses: The Father-Daughter Relationship in the Christian Sexual Purity Movement” by Elizabeth Gish

“‘ARE YOU A ‘TRASHABLE’ STYROFOAM CUP?’: Harm and Damage Rhetoric in the Contemporary American Sexual Purity Movement” by Elizabeth Gish

“Suffer the Children: National Crisis, Affective Collectivity, and the Sexualized Child” by Susan Knabe

Developing a measure of Purity culture: Sexual messages in evangelical Christian culture, an unpublished doctoral dissertation by Amanda Ortiz

“Broken Promises: Abstinence Pledging and Sexual and Reproductive Health” by Anthony Paik, Kenneth J Sanchagrin, and Karen Heimer

“What is the Prosperity Gospel” by Dr. Anderew Spencer

The Impact of Patriarchal Religions on the Creation of Oppressive Cultures of Female Purity and the Contribution to Rape Culture, and unpublished doctoral dissertation by Haley Stepp

The purity myth: How America's obsession with virginity is hurting young women by Jessica Valenti

Next Episode

MXMFW 7: Love Your Neighbor

We’re all about loving our neighbor here on My Ex and My Future Wife, but what does that mean exactly? What does the Bible say about it? How is it related to liberation theology and mutual aid? What random history lesson will Bridget teach us in this episode? Join us as we discuss all these questions--and more!--on this week’s episode of My Ex and My Future Wife!

Episode Transcript Available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iPvcAi1PqjAAZm6tIvY000p2ea-Ddj2G/view?usp=sharing

References

Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

“Mutual Aid vs Charity” on fiftygifts.com

“Liberation Theology” an essay by John M. Frame on thegospelcoalition.org

A Theology of Liberation by Gustavo Gutierrez

@elledowdministry on tiktok

@nerdypreist on tiktok

“Radical social change: Searching for a New Foundation” by Adjoa Florência Jones de Almedia inThe Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex

Women’s America: Refocusing the Past edited by Linda Kerber et. al.

Bridget’s random history knowledge

Theo’s Buddhist background

Maggie’s tears of joy

MUTUAL AID!

My Ex and My Future Wife - MXMFW 6: Lilith

Transcript

Theo (singing): In the beginning God made three lesbians who like to talk, and they loved each other, and they loved God, but they have a few questions, and they think you might have a few questions too about religion, gay stuff, and life, so come join me, my ex, and my future wife.

Bridget: Hello, welcome to My Ex and My Future Wife, I’m Bridget.

Theo: I’m Theo, I’m the ex

Maggie: And I’m Maggie and I’m the future wife

B: So, I apologize for how fucked up m