Sexvangelicals

A series called "How to Practice Social Justice This Election Season Without Being a Jackass" wouldn't be complete without an episode in which we talk about the scene of many crimes of jackassdom: social media. After all, the ways that we communicate in virtual platforms are quite different from in real life interactions. We can edit the things that we say. We lack the nonverbal context of understanding what happened before the interaction. We don't see how other people respond, which makes it easier to disconnect and dehumanize. In this episode, Julia and Jeremiah talk about: Hiding behind avatars The physiology of online interactions Shame and virtue signaling Gotcha moments Short form vs. long-form content, and other social media to-do's. Check out Episode #81: How to Practice Social Justice This Election Season Without Being a Jackass: The Role of Social Media on Apple Podcasts. And please give us a five star review and let us know what you enjoyed about the episode! Show notes and transcript are on the SV website!

Healthy systems, be they families, organizations, or countries, require healthy leadership. In our work as therapists, coaches, and cultural critics, we pay attention to the following question: How does one communicate to the larger system that they are a healthy leader? This week, we talk with Matthew Remski (@matthew_remski), co-host of the Conspirituality podcast (@conspiritualitypod) about two strategies that folks use to develop influence. Charisma. Vibes. Of course, these are notoriously difficult entities to quantify. And as we talk about with Matthew, there are significant consequences to a system when it assesses success primarily through one's charisma and vibes. A system that places high value on charisma and the construction of vibes is one that is prone to practice jackassdom. The projection of an emotional experience at the expense of healthy discussion about policies, positions, and context encourages moralism, virtue signaling, and blaming. Matthew talks with us about: Experience versus expertise The yoga industry and charisma Manufactured charisma The -isms and moral superiority The dangers of self-flagellation and perfectionism as agents of change Check out Episode #80: How to Do Social Justice This Election Season Without Being a Jackass: When Charisma and Vibes Interfere With Healthy Communication, with Matthew Remski of the Conspirituality Podcast whereve you get your podcasts.

November's presidential election represents a comparison between two forms of government. One, a democracy, driven by the principle that many people have voices, and ideally a government that works for a large sum of people. Two, an autocracy, driven by the principle that few people have voices. Autocracies, such as the 2024 Republican Party, often communicate via jackassdom, including blame, repression, and fear-mongering. In this episode, Julia and Jeremiah talk about common communication ploys from autocracy, and ways that progressives and other pro-democracy voters can avoid responding in ways that reinforce jackassdom. We talk about: Strategies of Autocracy What is populism? Political Theatre, a Distraction Populism & Anti-Intellectualism Moralism v. Moral Critique How Social Media Limits Empathy Check out Episode #79: How to Do Social Justice This Election Season Without Being a Jackass: Understanding Populism on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes and transcript are on the Sexvangelicals website.

We are less than two months away from the 2024 Election. This Election season is a bit different, because rather than voting for separate political parties, we're voting for two systems: democracy and autocracy (specifically, a Christian Nationalist theocracy). Autocratic governments tend to rely on disinformation, propaganda, repression of voter rights, and fear-mongering in order to develop their power. The 2024 Republican Party is no different. A lot has been written about how the public can ethically respond, and quite frankly, there aren't a lot of great answers for the next 6 months, other than voting en masse. We know responses that make it worse. Name-calling and blaming, while potentially cathartic, only entrench the polarization. Communicating around social identity ("White people do ____." Women think ____.") reinforces the stereotypes that progressivism attempts to reject. From now until Election Day, we will be releasing a series called "How to Do Social Justice Without Being a Jackass." We'll talk with our guests about how to hold our anger and fear without responding in dehumanizing ways. In our introduction episode, we talk about: What does Jackass-dom mean? Deconstruction as a Political Process Responding to Hate A Relational Health Approach Behavior v. Values Moral Superiority We'll also close with some specific Relationship 101 tips. Check out How to Do Social Justice This Election Season Without Being a Jackass: An Intro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

It's the first week of school for many students and families. The excitement of a new school year comes with new relationships, new beginnings, and setting goals. For many folks, especially those who grew up in conservative religious environments, setting goals can carry an enormous amount of anxiety with it. This week, Julia and Jeremiah explore what it might look like to engage with the back-to-school season without the pressure of setting goals. We discuss: The pressure to be excited The anxiety of heaven being the ultimate goal The loss of play Setting new definitions on success Setting boundaries with the urgency desire Check out Episode #77: Summer Series: Taking a Break From...Setting Goals on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes and transcript are on the SV website

Social media has the capacity to bring out the worst in us as communicators. Julia and Jeremiah talk about strategies for communicating as effectively as possible on social media, which can include taking a break from it altogether. We explore: Real life examples of how to not conduct yourself on social media Virtue signaling and shame How to resolve conflict on social media effectively. The dangers of short form content. Building community, both virtually and in real life Check out Episode #76: Summer Series: Taking a Break from...Social Media on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. Show notes and transcript are on the SV website.

Our work as relationship therapists invites couples to consider the variety of ways that their relationship could look, based on the values, traits, and preferences of the people in that relationship. Plenty of couples choose monogamy because it best aligns with these characteristics. However, performative monogamy refers to cultural aspects that reinforce explicit and implicit expectations of sexual exclusivity. On that note, we're talking this week about the performativity of weddings. Evangelical weddings take this a step further as the marriage and wedding ceremony represent the socially sanctioned way for two people to become sexual persons. We're joined by our marketing and communications director, Maddie, for this episode. The three of us talk about: Weddings as a status symbol The quirks of Evangelical wedding KitchenAid Mixers and other ways that society rewards those who get married Giving away the bride and patriarchy The cringey practices of weddings, like morning after breakfasts and garters. Surviving weddings Check out Episode #75: Summer Series...Taking a Break from the Performativity of Weddings on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Show notes and transcript are on the Sexvangelicals website.

Exploring sexual sabbaticals, pressures in Evangelical contexts, decrease of sexual activity among gen-Z, ebbs and flows of sexuality in relationships. Critique of Tim Keller's views on sex, navigating sexual expectations in marriage, importance of taking a break from sex, pleasure in relationships, complexity of breaks, and finding pleasure during stressful times.

Happy first official week of summer! We recognize that for many folks, summer requires a reorganization of scheduling and routines for parents, who have three months in which they cannot rely on schools to partner with them in rearing their children. While some parents see these three months as exciting, others face these months with growing trepidation. This week, we're talking about how to create structures that can hopefully make parenting a little less overwhelming for the next few months. Julia and Jeremiah talk about: Setting Realistic Expectations The Expectations of Parenting in Evangelical Communities Fear-Based and Performative Parenting Policing Parenting Letting Your Kids Be Bored How to Collaborate and Share the Responsibility with Your Co-Parent and Your Community Check out Episode #73: Summer Series: Taking a Break from the Expectations of Parenting on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast