A Response from E-FSR

Abstract

A Response from E-FSR Michal Raucher (bio), Sharon Jacob (bio), and Jennifer Maidrand (bio) The electronic branch of Feminist Studies in Religion (e-FSR) has taken several steps to transform FSR from a white, Christian space to a space that is created by and belongs to all of us. Our goal is to create a space where our board members and blog authors can thrive and receive mentoring in a supportive and open environment. The change that has made everything possible is that we have significantly expanded our board. Although our board has always been diverse, we wanted to include even more voices in the leadership team. Since 2020, we have added nine new board members, growing the size of our board from ten to sixteen. We intentionally invited more womanist scholars. We also invited more people of color, scholars of Islam and Judaism, and activists working in the field. Knowing the history of FSR, we envisioned a board that would not just include women of color but also create an environment that would allow scholars of color to feel empowered and mentored and to succeed. The expansion of our board also means that we have more than one expert in a particular field. This allows us to tackle the issue of tokenism and create a space where relationships are fostered and nurtured. Quite often in organizations that are predominantly white, only one or two people of color are included. Similarly, in religious studies spaces that are marked as Christian, one or two scholars of Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism might give an illusion of diversity. To avoid this, we aim to continue growing our board. This will also relieve some pressure and prevent feelings of isolation and burnout that a person of color or a scholar of a non-Christian tradition might feel in being the only person on a predominantly white, Christian board. At e-FSR, the expansion of the board was a step taken to not merely include diversity but to create a space where diversity [End Page 81] with regard to race, sexuality, gender, and scholarship would create something new for FSR. This expansion has sometimes led to conflict, but it has been the kind of conflict that Traci West refers to in her response to Judith Plaskow. We are respectful and honest with one another. We are also sometimes uncomfortable. Discussions that we’ve had over approaches to mentoring, reviewing blogs, writing blogs, welcoming new board members, and social media usage are the kinds of conflicts that, as West writes, “fuel more disruption of our tolerance for the continual reiteration of those familiar, lived patterns” of white, Christian supremacy ($$). Although this work is not easy, we are able to return again and again because we make space for regeneration and support. [End Page 82] Michal Raucher Michal Raucher is assistant professor of Jewish studies at Rutgers University. Her research lies at the intersection of the anthropology of women in Judaism, reproductive ethics, and religious authority. Raucher’s first book, an ethnography of Israeli ultra-Orthodox Jewish women’s reproductive ethics, titled Conceiving Agency: Reproductive Authority among Haredi Women was published in 2020. Raucher is currently conducting ethnographic research on the ordination of women in Orthodox Judaism in Israel and America. michal. raucher@rutgers.edu Sharon Jacob Sharon Jacob is associate professor of New Testament at Pacific School of Religion. Jacob earned her master of divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary and master of sacred theology from Yale University. She earned her PhD from Drew University. Her research interests include gender and sexuality studies, feminist theory, race and whiteness theory, and postcolonial theory. Her publications include a monograph entitled Reading Mary alongside Indian Surrogate Mothers: Violent Love, Oppressive Liberation, and Infancy Narratives (2014). Jacob is also a regular contributor to the Electronic Feminist Studies of Religion where she has written several blogs on various topics. sjacob@psr.edu Jennifer Maidrand Jennifer Maidrand is a PhD candidate at Drew University in the Bible and Cultures program. Her research interests include the Hebrew Bible, ecological hermeneutics and theology, womanist and feminist hermeneutics, and geopolitics of Israel/Palestine. Maidrand serves as the web director and blog submissions editor for...