I am a 52-year-old, liberal-voting Mormon woman. I am about as fully immersed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a woman can get. I am also a working woman and a graduate student at the University of Iowa. I have lived in the West, on the east coast, and in the Midwest.
But I am not a Mormon feminist, nor do the Mormon feminists speak for me. I find their tactics divisive. Their agenda is self-serving at best, and narcissistic at worst. Unfortunately, the media loves them. While I am tired of the feminist murmuring, I am equally, if not more, frustrated at the media's imbalanced reporting of the "plight" of the modern Mormon woman. For every outspoken or closeted Mormon feminist there are two or even three Mormon women who quietly go about their lives serving God according to the dictates of their own consciences.
Any woman worth her testimony fully understands that the God she worships loves her and recognizes her greatness every bit as much as He loves the priesthood holders of his Church, be they a deacon or an apostle or anywhere in between.
When the media feels drawn to the sad song of the Mormon feminist, can they also reach out to the other Mormon women who will be able to provide a much-needed perspective?
Lynne Cropper
Pleasant Valley, Iowa