I expect to pass through life but once. If therefore, there be kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again. ~attributed to Etienne de Grellet~
Mostly, I think efforts on "Work-Life Balance" are stupid. Or, rather, deflective. They tend to be pitched to women (because men, in general, are doing less in terms of their "life"--less housework, less childrearing, less emotional labor, and less work at maintaining their appearance), and they are blamed for finding the arbitrary demand to work a... Continue Reading →
Donald Trump can be rightly blamed for ruining or attempting to ruin a lot of important things: trust in the Electoral College, public education, the environment, health care, free speech, women's lives. They are all far more important than my personal complaints, but, on this Presidents Day (a holiday that I once loved out of... Continue Reading →
In law school, you spend a lot of time defining the walls of an argument, then finding the windows. What is the limit of the law? Is there an exception to that limit? It's tremendously fun (I think--tortes was my favorite class--but it may also be one of the reasons lawyers have such a high divorce... Continue Reading →
Content alert: religiously-justified violence against and neglect of children Thanks to the Weber State University Sociology and Anthropology Department for inviting me to speak at a brown bag event recently, focusing on family life and children and youth in Westboro Baptist Church. The students were eager listeners who asked great questions. At the time of... Continue Reading →
The Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests (BCM) is one of the oldest American Anabaptist organizations serving queer believers and one that has been hugely important to some congregations I've been part of. It's a treat, then, to see God Hates: Westboro Baptist Church, American Nationalism, and the Religious Right get a short... Continue Reading →
Thanks to the many of you who shared your book, film, and article selections; assignments; discussion starters; and more in response to my request for materials about teaching in the time of Trump. Here are some highlights: A homeschooling friend concerned about science has shifted how she and her junior high student organize their day,... Continue Reading →
University Press of Kansas has been great to work throughout the process of bringing God Hates: Westboro Baptist Church, American Nationalism, and the Religious Right to publication. Today, they've featured me in a meet-the-author profile. Thanks to Derek Helms for a great conversation about how my undergraduate years in central Pennsylvania helped prepare me to work with right... Continue Reading →
You know that consistent effort is one of the keys to improving your writing quality and output, but it's hard. If you want some extra incentive and support in reaching your writing goals, join other Any Good Thing readers for our February Writing Challenge. It will run from February 5 to March 4, and... Continue Reading →
I've shared this in a few other places, but I've received requests for it again this week and so wanted to put it here in case folks wanted it again in the future. It's the Barrett-Fox-family-chore-chart, and it works really well, as long as you do it, which isn't so hard because the kids will remind... Continue Reading →
I'm so happy to have an essay appear alongside work by my KU friends Hannah Britton, DaMaris Hill, and Liam Lair--plus contributions by Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, bell hooks, Marilyn Frye, CJ Pascoe, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Gloria Anzaldúa, Gloria Steinem, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Gorilla Girl, Bikini Kill, Rosamarie Garland-Thomson, and dozens of other fantastic authors... Continue Reading →
Rebecca Barrett-Fox 