Thread by @kkdumez

Richly textured coverage of @megannlively's story:
"Evangelical leader Russell Moore calls her a “pivotal” figure in bringing awareness of sexual abuse to the Southern Baptist Convention; best-selling author and Bible teacher Beth Moore calls Lively a “hero.” 1/

https://twitter.com/megannlively/status/1603073072352968709

"What are the demands of being a Christian survivor?
Is there room for Lively’s belief that the theology banning women from spiritual leadership has often been used to silence survivors? Room to confront conservative Christianity about what it means to treat women well? 2/

"Is there also room to be a strong, outspoken survivor whose ethos is also bubbly and playful? Can there be #MeToo without being, well, too #MeToo? 3/

Beth Allison Barr..said Lively may be trying to thread an impossible needle. Theology...is something woven through people’s lives from childhood...Barr said she believes that the theology that keeps women from leadership is shaped by attitudes viewing women as sexual temptations.

“These are lessons that don’t disappear overnight just because we changed the rules at church.” When cases of abuse arise in religious settings, “there’s still this attitude: ‘It’s not systemic; it’s individuals who have sinned,’ ” @bethallisonbarr said. 5/

“I suspect that has to do with the idea that women’s voices matter less.”--@bethallisonbarr 6/

"Lively also notices that the billboard they see when they go to the beach that used to say “I Love You. — God,” now says “#MenToo.” 7/

"In a tweet naming herself as the unidentified sexual assault survivor in the Post article, she incl a photo of her family looking away from the camera, on a beach. That image, she believed — of a blonde woman with a husband & 2 kids, all White, a stereotypical ideal Chr family8/

— would be more likely to trigger emotion and action in her community of conservative evangelicals than an image of a non-White family or single mom.
“I knew if these men in Texas saw this ‘perfect’ family in their mind — I purposely did that,” she said. “It’s sad it worked.” 9/

"Rachael Denhollander...said she is also very deliberate about how she presents herself in the church. Low ponytail. Pastel colors, not power colors. Shirt sleeves to the elbow. Neckline to the collarbone. 10/

“All the steps we go through to be calm, submissive, meek women,” Denhollander said. Waiting for the pastor to put his hand over my head,[to say]: ‘She has my permission to speak.’ There are all these calculations. I shouldn’t have to do that,&it’s not more godly to be that way.”