In this gripping episode, we delve into the heart of the battle for intellectual freedom with Angie Hayden, the visionary founder of Read Freely Alabama, and Elizabeth Williams, a passionate member of FemmSouth and organizer for Read Freely Alabama's Baldwin County chapter. Join us as Angie sheds light on the harrowing frontlines in Alabama, where the public library in Prattville stands as ground zero. Amidst the fallout from clashes with right-wing groups, Angie reveals the shocking dismissal of four dedicated library workers and the replacement of key positions with members of Clean Up Alaba ..read more

In this episode, Lindsay, Mette, and Leigh meet with two guests from the Alabama Campaign for Adolescent Sexual Health (ACASH) to hear how the the overturn of Roe continues to shape Sex Education policy in Alabama. Christina Clark Okarmus, the Executive Director of ACASH, and ShaKaya Darrington, member of the Youth Advocacy Group, explain how sex education is a critical component to Reproductive Justice as children and teens deserve age appropriate, medically accurate, comprehensive education about their bodies, how to recognize sexual abuse, how to prevent unwanted sexual advances, how to neg ..read more

Episode 3.3 “Faith Leaders Speak Up for Choice” with Rev. Ginny Phillips Allen and Rev. Renee Adcock. In this session, you will hear our conversations with two local faith leaders talking about abortion rights in lower Alabama. If you attended a protest following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in either Mobile or Fairhope, you likely saw Rev. Ginny Phillips Allen in her clerical collar standing on the streets and even being asked to speak on the steps of the Courthouse in downtown Mobile. She shares her journey from growing up as the daughter of conservative Baptist minister to taking a progressi ..read more

In this second segment we talk with Rev. Latishia James, an ordained minister in The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries, and the Co-Director of Spiritual Alliance of Communities for Reproductive Dignity (also known as SACReD) where they advance reproductive justice for marginalized communities through congregations and spiritual communities grounded in a progressive moral framework. Latishia is a Black queer femme, womanist, writer, and facilitator of healing spaces for BIPOC women, femmes, and LGBTQIA folks. Latishia opens this episode by sharing her calling to reproductive justice through se ..read more

Join Leigh as she interviews Matt Myrick, singer, songwriter, and father of two small children, to get his take on the story of the Skeleton Woman in Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ Women Who Run With the Wolves. Skeleton woman is the archetype of the life/death/life cycle, which, according to Clarissa, is the natural cycle of death and rebirth that determines the transformative cycles of all physical and psychological life. When skeleton woman enters into a relationship, she is the gift for both partners of deeper inner knowing and growth. Leigh and Matt discuss the patriarchal structure through whic ..read more

Motherhood is always a hot topic at our book club discussions, whether we are talking about our own mothers or the challenges of motherhood. In this new episode, Leigh & Amaya tackle motherhood and discuss Kathryn Black’s book, Mothering Without a Map: The Search for The Good Mother Within. This book explores the author's own story, testimonies from other mothers and research from top thinkers in the fields of child development, psychoanalysis, psychology, anthropology, and science, to answer the question: How can women who have been "undermothered" transcend the patterns of their childhoo ..read more

In this episode, we go out into the community to see how Christian Feminism is being discussed and practiced in the local area. Leigh interviews Judith Comer, an ordained Episcopal Minister, and Jessica Deese, a mother of four children who is active in her local church community and school. In this episode, we discuss the value of Feminist Theology from seminary to the pulpit. Although Feminism and Christianity have often been cast as incompatible, and they certainly have a history of opposition, Christian women (among many others) have been challenging androcentric language (language that is ..read more

In this episode, Leigh and Shannon discuss restoring the equality of the Divine Feminine in Christianity by centering on biblical women and feminine expressions of the Divine in scripture. We look at Christian supremacy and its legacy of oppression. We learn the historical roots of feminism in Christianity, investigate where feminism has already shaped the Church, and identify where feminist theology has failed to reach local congregations. We ask whether women can continue to advocate for change within the institution by using language and liturgy that is centered on a discipleship of equals ..read more

Leigh and Amaya dive into Sarah Blaffer Hrdy's book, "Mother Nature: Maternal Instincts and How They Shape the Human Species." They discuss the female's active role in reproduction across species, they look at allomothers and communal support for motherhood, and they consider reproductive rights, female sexuality, and female choice in alignment with nature. For more information, visit us at FemmSouth.com or follow us on Instagram & Facebook ..read more

For the second part of our episode on Trans Feminism, Sarah and Leigh interview transgender friends in the community to talk about coming out in the south. We hear transwomen’s perspectives on living with gender dysphoria, what coming out to their families has been like, how the church has influenced their transitioning, and what they think about passing within the socially constructed gender spectrum. We hear from a mother who is having to advocate for her child in the face of unsupportive family members and trying to build her own support system with close friends. These interviews reveal ju ..read more