Hurting Kids explores religion’s impact on Americans’ beliefs about justice and on teenagers who get in trouble with the law. Why do many of us assume that punishment is an appropriate moral response to crime? How have diverging Christian narratives about divine punishment and God’s mercy supported different responses to juvenile wrongdoing? What do these competing notions of justice imply for youth “offenders” today, nearly all of whom have been violated by the unjust and traumatic circumstances of their lives? Weaving together research on the juvenile justice system, theological analysis, self-examination of white privilege, and the stories and perspectives of incarcerated youth, Hurting Kids asks us to understand and care about the complicated humanity of a population of teenagers who are often deemed not only “delinquent” but dispensable. Sharing snippets of her conversations with incarcerated youth, Lelwica demonstrates that whatever harm these kids have inflicted on others is rooted in the painful experiences they have survived—experiences that are shaped by systemic injustices that benefit people with privilege. Ultimately, Hurting Kids challenges common assumptions about “guilt” and “innocence,” while advocating for a kind of justice for youth that promotes equity, compassion, accountability, and healing for all.
What happens when your body doesn't look how it's supposed to look, or feel how it's supposed to feel, or do what it's supposed to do? Who or what defines the ideals behind these expectations? How can we challenge them and live more peacefully in our bodies? Shameful Bodies: Religion and the Culture of Physical Improvement explores these questions by examining how traditional religious narratives and modern philosophical assumptions come together in the construction and pursuit of a better body in contemporary western societies. Drawing on examples from popular culture such as self-help books, magazines, and advertisements, Michelle Mary Lelwica shows how these narratives and assumptions encourage us to go to war against our bodies-to fight fat, triumph over disability, conquer chronic pain and illness, and defy aging. Through an ethic of conquest and conformity, the culture of physical improvement trains us not only to believe that all bodily processes are under our control, but to feel ashamed about those parts of our flesh that refuse to comply with the cultural ideal. Lelwica argues that such shame is not a natural response to being fat, physically impaired, chronically sick, or old. Rather, body shame is a religiously and culturally conditioned reaction to a commercially-fabricated fantasy of physical perfection. While Shameful Bodies critiques the religious and cultural norms and narratives that perpetuate external and internalized judgment and aggression toward “shameful” bodies, it also engages the resources of religions, especially feminist theologies and Buddhist thought/practice, to construct a more affirming approach to health and healing-an approach that affirms the diversity, fragility, interdependence, and impermanence of embodied life.
Hurting Kids explores religion's impact on Americans' beliefs about justice and on teenagers who get in trouble with the law. Why do many of us assume that punishment is an appropriate moral response to crime? How have diverging Christian narratives about divine punishment and God's mercy supported different responses to juvenile wrongdoing? What do these competing notions of justice imply for youth "offenders" today, nearly all of whom have been violated by the unjust and traumatic circumstances of their lives? Weaving together research on the juvenile justice system, theological analysis, self-examination of white privilege, and the stories and perspectives of incarcerated youth, Hurting Kids asks us to understand and care about the complicated humanity of a population of teenagers who are often deemed not only "delinquent" but dispensable. Sharing snippets of her conversations with incarcerated youth, Lelwica demonstrates that whatever harm these kids have inflicted on others is rooted in the painful experiences they have survived--experiences that are shaped by systemic injustices that benefit people with privilege. Ultimately, Hurting Kids challenges common assumptions about "guilt" and "innocence," while advocating for a kind of justice for youth that promotes equity, compassion, accountability, and healing for all.
With so many women approaching their diets, body image, and pursuit of a slender figure with slavish devotion, The Religion of Thinness is a timely addition to the discussion of our cultural obsession with weight loss. At the heart of this obsession is the belief that in order to be happy, one must be slim, and the attendant myths, rituals, images, and moral codes can leave some women with severe emotional damage. Idealized images in the media inspire devotees of this “religion” to experience guilt for behaviors that are biologically normal and necessary, and Lelwica offers two ways to combat this dangerous cultural message. Advising readers to look hard at the societal cues that cause them to obsess about their weight, and to remain mindful about their actions and needs, this book will not only help stop the cycle of guilt and shame associated with food, it will help readers to grow and accept their bodies as they are.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1 Bodies of Evidence, Bodies of Knowledge: Contemporary Approaches, Historical Perspectives, New Directions. 2 The Good, the True, and teh Beautiful Female Body: Popular Icons of Womanhood and the Savation Myth of Female Slenderness. 3 Losing Their Way to Salvation: Papular Rituals of Womanhood and the Saving Promises of Culture Lite. 4 Universes of Meaning, Worlds of Pain: The Struggles of Anorexic and Bulimic Girls and Women. A Different Kind of Salvation: Cultivating Alternative Senses, Practices, and Visions. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index.
Hurting Kids explores religion's impact on Americans' beliefs about justice and on teenagers who get in trouble with the law. Why do many of us assume that punishment is an appropriate moral response to crime? How have diverging Christian narratives about divine punishment and God's mercy supported different responses to juvenile wrongdoing? What do these competing notions of justice imply for youth "offenders" today, nearly all of whom have been violated by the unjust and traumatic circumstances of their lives? Weaving together research on the juvenile justice system, theological analysis, self-examination of white privilege, and the stories and perspectives of incarcerated youth, Hurting Kids asks us to understand and care about the complicated humanity of a population of teenagers who are often deemed not only "delinquent" but dispensable. Sharing snippets of her conversations with incarcerated youth, Lelwica demonstrates that whatever harm these kids have inflicted on others is rooted in the painful experiences they have survived--experiences that are shaped by systemic injustices that benefit people with privilege. Ultimately, Hurting Kids challenges common assumptions about "guilt" and "innocence," while advocating for a kind of justice for youth that promotes equity, compassion, accountability, and healing for all.
TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1 Bodies of Evidence, Bodies of Knowledge: Contemporary Approaches, Historical Perspectives, New Directions. 2 The Good, the True, and teh Beautiful Female Body: Popular Icons of Womanhood and the Savation Myth of Female Slenderness. 3 Losing Their Way to Salvation: Papular Rituals of Womanhood and the Saving Promises of Culture Lite. 4 Universes of Meaning, Worlds of Pain: The Struggles of Anorexic and Bulimic Girls and Women. A Different Kind of Salvation: Cultivating Alternative Senses, Practices, and Visions. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index.
What happens when your body doesn't look how it's supposed to look, or feel how it's supposed to feel, or do what it's supposed to do? Who or what defines the ideals behind these expectations? How can we challenge them and live more peacefully in our bodies? Shameful Bodies: Religion and the Culture of Physical Improvement explores these questions by examining how traditional religious narratives and modern philosophical assumptions come together in the construction and pursuit of a better body in contemporary western societies. Drawing on examples from popular culture such as self-help books, magazines, and advertisements, Michelle Mary Lelwica shows how these narratives and assumptions encourage us to go to war against our bodies-to fight fat, triumph over disability, conquer chronic pain and illness, and defy aging. Through an ethic of conquest and conformity, the culture of physical improvement trains us not only to believe that all bodily processes are under our control, but to feel ashamed about those parts of our flesh that refuse to comply with the cultural ideal. Lelwica argues that such shame is not a natural response to being fat, physically impaired, chronically sick, or old. Rather, body shame is a religiously and culturally conditioned reaction to a commercially-fabricated fantasy of physical perfection. While Shameful Bodies critiques the religious and cultural norms and narratives that perpetuate external and internalized judgment and aggression toward “shameful” bodies, it also engages the resources of religions, especially feminist theologies and Buddhist thought/practice, to construct a more affirming approach to health and healing-an approach that affirms the diversity, fragility, interdependence, and impermanence of embodied life.
With so many women approaching their diets, body image, and pursuit of a slender figure with slavish devotion, The Religion of Thinness is a timely addition to the discussion of our cultural obsession with weight loss. At the heart of this obsession is the belief that in order to be happy, one must be slim, and the attendant myths, rituals, images, and moral codes can leave some women with severe emotional damage. Idealized images in the media inspire devotees of this “religion” to experience guilt for behaviors that are biologically normal and necessary, and Lelwica offers two ways to combat this dangerous cultural message. Advising readers to look hard at the societal cues that cause them to obsess about their weight, and to remain mindful about their actions and needs, this book will not only help stop the cycle of guilt and shame associated with food, it will help readers to grow and accept their bodies as they are.
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