This study examines the relationship of women's bodies to their speech in English virgin martyr legends of the tenth to fifteenth centuries. It identifies and traces a long tradition connecting women's virginal bodies to powerful, fruitful speech that begins with late classical writers. This tradition gives rise to the eloquent virgin martyrs of Aelfric's Lives of Saints, the Katherine Group, and Chaucer's Second Nun's Tale, and is one the fifteenth century mystic and contemplative Margery Kempe draws upon to authorize her unconventional performance of sanctity in her Book. Far from portraying them as a source of sin or pollution, English virgin martyr legends portray women's bodies as enabling their speech by serving as a dwelling place for God's Word, providing access to his revelation, and becoming the text the virgin martyr interprets for her audience in a lesson in spiritual reading practices.

This study explores help seeking patterns of Black women in Black churches. The intent of the study, is to examine use of a historically vital component of the Black community and to ascertain its role in the support system of a population. The theory of shared functions is used to look at the utilization of different support systems, and to understand the role of the church as a bureaucratic institution with primary characteristics and functions. The data was collected over a six month period, at six Black churches in the Essex County area of New Jersey. The information is derived from a questionnaire administered to 196 women. In the analysis of the data, participants are grouped by socioeconomic status and size of church they attend. The hypotheses are: (1) The lower the socioeconomic status of the church member, the more likely the minister will be selected for help. (2) members of smaller churches are more likely to select the minister as a vehicle for help, than those in larger churches. (3) The minister is more likely to be selected for help with concerns classified as non-uniform. (4) The more active a woman is in church life, the more likely she is to choose the minister as a help source. The findings confirm, women classified as low income and those active in church life, utilize their pastor more than other women in the study. The findings do not confirm, hypothesis 2 and 3, but show that women from large churches utilize the minister more than women in smaller churches and that the minister is selected as a help source in a range of concerns. The data highlights, that women see the minister as the primary source for help and that for many, the pastor is as important, as the relative or professional counselor in seeking assistance. The implications of this study suggest the profession of social work, seek avenues of collaboration with local ministers to offer support and information on the concerns members bring. The findings also suggest the profession find ways to accurately access client's church involvement and support from the religious community.

<p> <i>Furnishing Gender</i> is a collection of furniture and objects of the home that have been deliberately altered to explore and expose pervasive aspects of toxic masculinity. The work within examines aspects of rape culture, queer culture, and hetero-normal constructs that link our realities to the lies of masculinity and gender difference. It is my intent that the viewer become uncomfortable and my hope that they not shy away from this discomfort, but accept the exhibition&rsquo;s challenge to be vulnerable, genuine, and to engage in conversations that confront the conventions of traditional gender roles and biases.</p><p>

<p> This narrative inquiry explores stories of forgiveness among adult women who forgave their mothers after difficult relationships and are now doing well in their lives. The author addresses a lack of in-depth qualitative research exploring this topic and contributes to an understanding of forgiveness as a potential factor in an individual&rsquo;s ability to do well. In this study, forgiveness is understood as a personal choice, regardless of whether there has been a restoration of the relationship. Two participants gave an initial interview, which was followed up by two validation interviews. The author analyzed the interview data using a holistic-content and categorical-content analysis method to produce two individual narratives and one common themes narrative. Seven common themes were co-constructed: (a) revisiting mom&rsquo;s past and finding empathy doing so; (b) revisiting one&rsquo;s own past and finding empathy doing so; (c) standing up for one&rsquo;s self and finding self-empowerment; (d) a fracture in the relationship and separation; (e) reflecting and owning responsibility; (f) acceptance, forgiveness, and empathy moving forward; and, (g) finding gratitude and love. The findings add to the literature on lived experience of difficult childhoods and journeys toward forgiveness. Key findings are about empathy for self and others and may suggest that the literature on forgiveness has room to expand into this area of consideration. The findings may also be relevant as a consideration related to enduring anger or trauma.</p><p>

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