Hi Erick,

Having visited C3, I stand behind what I said. I am calling out a source of toxicity that affects young women in the Christian community today, and ultimately has led to many young people (men and women alike) to retreat from religion.

The issue is that there are expectations on young women — purity, marriage, motherhood, etc — that are constraining and negative. Premarital sex and homosexuality are considered sins, science and medicine are undermined, and Christians cherry-pick from the old and new testaments to defend their stances. The fact is, conservative Christianity and the Religious Right threatens science, medicine, and equality in America today.

By enforcing old-fashioned and repressive expectations on young women and wrapping it up in an attractive, idealistic lie about being a godly, pure woman (Good Christian Woman), the church is effectively undermining generations of feminists pushing for gender equality and negatively influencing young women. As a bisexual and a young woman in science, I am one of many who have suffered from the ideals of this community.

This isn’t just my story — I have known, currently know, and am being reached out to by so many women who can relate and have been through the same thing (if not something similar).

Thanks for your response,

Sarah