She was eight years old when she walked, almost ran, down the aisle of a little Baptist Church in Pasadena, Texas. For well over an hour, she listened to a sweaty man in a wrinkled, brown suit yelling and waving his arms. Like a small-town carnival barker, he tantalized the crowd with a story of epic proportions, complete with scenes of terror and promised escape…for those who would listen.
This project examines the connection between Christian fundamentalism’s strict model of womanhood and Complex-PTSD, which misshapes personal identity, atrophies agency and stunts the imagination.
For some women, language around gender is a non-issue. But for others. the terms “lady” and “girl” are loaded and emotionally explosive.
Bad theology creates weak and fragile women, who can’t step into their full purpose and potential.
