A review by rachelhelps
Women at Church: Magnifying LDS Women's Local Impact by Neylan McBaine

4.0

Sometimes if you bring up gender issues in the LDS church people can get defensive. This book is a bridge between them and people who feel the pain of gender disparity within the church. I felt like if I needed to explain why Mormon feminism is important to another member of the church, I could hand them this book. Mormons in leadership positions would benefit from reading this book, as it would help them feel more compassion and sensitivity to issues that some people (including me) feel passionate about. Things like making the cub scout and achievement day activities more similar (or just having equal budgets), giving women the opportunity to occasionally mentor/teach young men (often young men have no religious, women leaders other than their mother, whereas young women have their own women leaders and the bishopric), and helping women feel heard when they are in leadership positions.

Many of the ideas feel sort of weaksauce from a feminist perspective... like having the young women bake bread for the sacrament. It's completely within gender-prescribed behavior and the women are still in the background for their service. But at the same time it's a touching compromise and an idea I'd love to see in action. Reading this book helped me feel hope for women's representation in the forefront of the church (not just in the background on a pedestal). It also validated my dissatisfaction with various gender issues in the church in a good way that makes me want to enact change in my own ward and neighborhood.