So there’s this website/ministry/blog that Justine and I are a little in love with called The Good Women Project. I found the site through social media and immediately fell in love. It’s Christianity, love, sex, and relationships for twenty-first century women. I recommend it to everyone! So when they recommended a book, God and Boobs by Angie Wyatt, I immediately got myself a copy. Here is the synopsis from its Amazon page:
The idea that women can live sexy and strong is counter to church culture. Angie Schuller Wyatt, granddaughter of celebrated televangelist Dr. Robert H Schuller, exposes the reasons women are repressed and offers her secrets to living sexy and strong. Schuller Wyatt, having grown up in the world’s most famous church, tackles the tough questions including… Does loving God mean living with shame? And why does religion strive to suppress women’s sexuality? In this intimate book of personal and provocative stories, Schuller Wyatt will help you discover how to: have faith AND femininity; live sexy, strong and self-aware; feel sensual without shame; break free from religious constrains; enjoy the faith your mom never told you about; and find true love in today’s “sex sells” world.
When I saw the back of the book and read the introduction I instantly fell in love:
I love the purpose of this book. A little over a year ago I went on a personal mini-mission to figure out my femininity through my faith. I grew up in a church where women led worship often but never spoke from the pulpit, at least not that I can remember. I wanted to find a way to reconcile my faith with the verses about women in the bible that are so against everything I wanted my life to look like. I read a lot of books about women, most of them non-Christian actually, and began to really feel empowered about my unique womanhood and what it means for me.
When I read the back of the book I almost couldn’t believe my eyes: I wish I had found this book a few years ago! It would’ve solved my mission in one book instead of several. I started this book on my flight home from Illinois and I turned to my husband and said “This is going to be one of my favorite books.”
Her introduction was stellar. I loved what she said about being proud of your feminine body instead of hiding it. God designs us the way we are for a reason: it’s beautiful and not something that needs to be hidden. After all, aren’t we designed in His image? That’s a crazy statement!
As the book went on, and this is on the only reason I’m not giving it a perfect 5 stars, I felt like she lost her focus. The back of the book made me feel like I was going to read about a God-centered, personal sexual revolution but the middle felt disconnected. She talked a lot about spiritual journeys and exercises that have helped women discover God’s love. And not that they weren’t valuable, but the exercises weren’t even necessarily specific to women, they probably would be just as valuable to a man. I guess what I really wanted some brand new and fresh information about how scripture can be applied to my life as a woman, and where the church is missing its mark in appreciating women. But there wasn’t much scripture quoted and I found myself disappointed with the middle 100 pages after what was promised in the introduction. The content is great, just not what I expected based on the back of the book. That being said, I really enjoyed Wyatt’s perspective and hope that she continues to write books.
I still wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this book to anyone, and I’m so glad that this book was written. That’s why I’m still giving this book 4 stars. You can add the book to your Goodreads list here and buy it at Barnes and Noble here (Amazon link above).
What are your thoughts on feminism, Christian or non-Christian?
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