Sheology

It was called the unloseable election for Labor, but on May 18, 2019 Australians instead served up a victory for the conservative Liberal party.  With PM Scott Morrison’s faith emerging as a talking point, and issues like religious freedom (hello Israel Folau) and abortion in the mix too, the role of Christianity in Australian politics became a pressing question again. In our season two debut, we speak to Christians about how they voted and chat to Father Rod Bower, the Anglican priest known for his progressive church signs. We also review the SBS documentary Christians Like Us and introduce a new segment, Rubie Is Fuming.

It’s probably unusual for three feminist millennial women to start a podcast about Christianity. It’s especially unusual if the conversation is like the one you have with friends about your exes over several drinks: occasionally admiring, frequently critical and unapologetically honest. We haven’t ended things with God yet (at least Rubie and Biz haven’t), but to quote Mean Girls, we just have a lot of feelings! Now that season one is done, we discuss the joy and responsibility of sharing other people’s stories and trying not to mangle our own.

Sallie Hammond has spent over 30 years helping families of all kinds be the best they can be. She loves to encourage young mums, particularly those doing it tough. Ebube Uba is part of the team behind Afro Sistahs, a fun digital series exploring the lives of women with African backgrounds. In our final episode of the season, we chat to these two fucking amazing women and discuss the qualities we see in ladies all around us that we feel are impressive enough to justify dropping the f-bomb. Fuck yeah!

A recent report found only 1 in 5 Australian women feel confident about their bodies, and those with low body esteem are cancelling jobs, plans with friends or other important stuff because of it. Why is it so hard to feel like the bosses of our own bodies? And how come women are especially unhappy with how we look? We discuss body positivity, the phenomenon of the hot Christian wife and the refreshing message of self-acceptance in the Netflix hit Dumplin’. A content warning for references to body dysmorphia and disordered eating.

We’ve already covered sex, politics and religion, but there's another taboo topic we want to lift the lid off: money and class. Heather Chaffey knows something about it, having worked in social housing and the community sector more broadly in western Sydney for 20 years. She doesn't feel she's an expert but is nonetheless passionate about the issue of place-based disadvantage and the way it intersects with factors like gender, race and criminalisation. For us this results in a grim but ultimately galvanising discussion of poverty. We also review the underrated NBC comedy Good Girls and its tale of three women who resort to crime to make ends meet.

Skye Leon is an Aboriginal woman who started out in youth work and is now studying filmmaking. She's a proud Australian who wants the date to change, a Christian who finds strength in faith communities, and a storyteller who has at least one rom com in her. We join Skye in exploring the complexities of living with this multifaceted identity, and as three white women we also grapple with our own privileges. Plus, we discuss how Doctor Who tackles racism in the S11 episode Rosa.

Sex is strictly for marriage, a broken hymen is like a torn banknote and don't forget to wear your purity ring! We talk about the messages we absorbed as young girls in Christian circles, and also what was missing, including more talk about porn and masturbation and a serious rethink of the practice of male headship. And because Christmas never dies, we also consider the gender dynamics in Baby It's Cold Outside. A content warning on this one for discussions of child porn and sexual abuse.

Do Christians actually need to go to church? Was Jesus a feminist? Are witches cooler than wizards? All questions we pretend to know the answers to in our first episode of Sheology! We discuss our upbringings, reimagine Proverbs 31 and look back at Practical Magic. Out now!