What Does Your Religion Say About YOU?
At my Senior Ball, a dinner/dance for the almost-graduates at my high school (unlike the prom, not held at a car dealership) I won a Most Likely Award. You know: Most Likely To Succeed, Most Likely To End Up Managing A BK, etc. I got Most Likely To Write For Teen Magazine. Besides the fact that I don’t think Teen exists anymore, writing for it wasn’t an option because I wanted to write me the novels. But I did love writing quizzes, which earned me the award in the first place.
Ah, quizzes. We’re talking pre-lame-o facebook quizzes that were apparently designed by an untrained ape. These quizzes were for real: Is He, In Fact, That Into You? What Does Your Personal Style Say About You? Not that the quizzes I wrote were remotely like that. Mine were more along the lines of: Are You An Insomniac? Do You Have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder?
I guess that’s why, when I saw this article yesterday, this popped into my mind: What Does Your Religion Say About You?
I have mixed feelings about the article, which appeared in School Library Journal and is, if not a Big Deal, a Big Enough Deal. I mean, national recognition for my book is always a good thing, whether it comes via being banned or by being mentioned in an article about YA books dealing with the Mormon culture.
But here’s the rub: while my book, and some others on the list, indeed DO deal with Mormon culture, others on the list do not. Which is disheartening. Because since when is it the job of journalism to perpetuate untrue stereotypes.
Here’s a little quiz:
1) In your excitement for a BFF’s book launch, you know just how to celebrate. Your vision? To turn this:
Into this:
(Okay, so this wasn’t exactly the vision, but it was the best I could do. To see the fully executed project, plus more about the launch day, check out Sara’s video blog here).
Does your belief that cookies are not only a good idea but a crucial one make you a Mormon?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Depends
d) I’d never make cookies–those things’ll kill ya.
ANSWER: a.
As far as I know, Mormons are the only people ever to make cookies. And make cookies we do, for any celebration large or small, any gathering large or small, and any reason large or small. It’s our thing. Don’t take that away from us!
2) After the launch party for second BFF James Dashner’s novel:
your rockin’ friend Brodi takes a picture of you and James chummin’ it up.
You love the pic, but can’t help noticing the immodesty of your shirt–the neckline is a little wide for a shirt designed with modesty as its expressed purpose (www.shadeclothing.com). Does even caring about this make you a Mormon?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Depends
d) Die, skank. Die.
ANSWER: a.
Mormons are all paranoid about immodesty. Every single one of them. Wide necklines are unacceptable, as is showing your ankle or elbow.
3) At an author event, you run into Carol Lynch Williams.
You call Carol your mother, and she calls you her daughter, even though she neither birthed you nor has ever been legally married to your father. Does this make you a Mormon?
a) Yes
b) No
c) Depends
d) What do you mean, she didn’t give birth to you, MDawg? You totally have her eyes!
ANSWER: Well, apparently if you are the SLJ reporter who wrote this piece, you’ll answer A, because being polygamist is part of being Mormon, as evidenced in the television show Big Love and the two YA books mentioned in the article, Sister Wife and The Chosen One.
Alas, none of these are about Mormons. Big Love is based on a splinter group that broke off from the Mormon church generations ago. While The Chosen One is written by an LDS author, it is about a fictional religious cult and has nothing to do with HER religion. Sister Wife has no Mormon ties whatsoever, as far as I know.
What does my religion say about me? Plenty. It says I sit through three hours of church every Sunday. It says that as a non-camper I go to Girls Camp because I love the girls in my congregation and want to share my love–for them, for Jesus Christ, and for His gospel. It says I don’t drink mocha java despite my love of chocolate.
But two seconds of research will tell you it does NOT say I believe that men should abuse women and children, it is okay to break the law, and polygamy is hunky-dory.
As a side note, please, please, please be impressed by the number of correct photos and images in this post, along with myriad links. I’m doing this for you, people!
October 9th, 2009 at 11:35 am
Great post Emily!! The SLJ article is just about all that I twittered about yesterday (check my timeline & Roger Horn who was also very much NOT impressed). I hate articles like that because they are just so messed up. But loved seeing your book on the list!!!
And shoot. Is my collarbone showing? Off to check.
October 9th, 2009 at 11:36 am
And I totally know that I just called Roger Sutton Roger Horn. Sigh . . . I need a big fat delete button.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Does the fact that I was also offended by the article mean I’m of the Mormon faith?
Absolutely not. I found the generalization offensive considering SLJ chose not to research the LDS religion (at least a little bit) to know what they’re writing about.
And I was offended for you, Emily, and all my other Mormon friends.
October 9th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Okay, third comment. I swear I need to think things through first. Loved seeing your book on the list in terms that it was on a national list, like you said. Not loving it in terms of what in the world does it have to do with polygamy?!
October 9th, 2009 at 1:08 pm
I read the article the other day when Brodi posted it and had the same thoughts. Like the journalist was really trying to get a story but didnt have anyone checking their facts. Ugh. I hate that (being an old newspaper folk myself–ok ok it was highschool paper but still.)
I loved todays quiz!
October 9th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
What a creative response that so summarizes my own feelings on the slj article. I didn’t know how to post on it, so thank you for this post, friend!
October 9th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
I just love you, Emily. And, despite the fact that you sold my book to someone else at the BYU writing conference, I purchased it at The Purple Cow.
Just so you know, I really liked it, and so did my daughter.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Perfect response. The article made me cringe for the librarian’s lack of research. Really, we are very good at researching. Usually.
Excuse me while I find something to cover my exposed elbows.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
I am so glad you posted on this, Em. And crap, I go around showing my ankles and wrists and collar bone . . . and dare I say, knees, all the time. Dang it, no man is going to want me for his fifth sister wife now!
October 9th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
No one has mentioned yet how impressed they are (and should be!) with your photos and so on, so I will! Thanks for the photos, and the links, and the funny, satirical quiz! I love satire.
October 12th, 2009 at 7:23 am
You know, I think any artist who belongs to a particular religion or who is a person of faith is likely to be misrepresented by the media. There’s a strange pattern of that.
Okay, so, on ANOTHER topic, this brings up a question that I’m curious about but never had anyone to ask: I know Mormons don’t drink tea or coffee because of the caffeine, right? But chocolate has caffeine. So are Mormons supposed to eat chocolate?
Thanks for answering my deeply important question!
October 12th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I would just like to state for the record that it’s very impressive how many pics and links this article provides, and that said article is fun and pippy, and said pippy is a word that I’m not sure is a word and if it is, I don’t know what it means.
I love you Emily! I’m so honored to be one of your BFFs.
Sincerely,
James
October 14th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Natasha, no worries about needing the delete button. I misread it as “Roger AT Horn” instead of Roger Horn, anyway. So basically we are just good with the mind reading.
Shari, I apologized about 100x already for the book fiasco, but I’ll say it again: Sorry! So glad you found a copy, and ESPECIALLY that you (and your daughter) liked the book.
Nikki and James, thanks for acknowledging my computer greatness (okay, my computer competence).
October 15th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Emily, you are absolutely brilliant. I am authorfail because I totally missed this. Now I’m debating if I have the energy today to get sufficiently upset. I think my mind is just too blown right now to even write a comment.
I DO, however, have the energy to drive to my local bakery and buy sugar cookies, though. Thanks for that pic.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Great post, Emily! Thanks for sharing!