A Femininomenon
Liberty and Size Justice for All (Women)
Just in case you missed it last time: Every Sunday, I’ll post the Sunday Brunch (this newsletter) which is a bunch of thoughts from last week.
Family Slice: on Instagram we (my wife and me) noticed, that the content about our married life was very meaningful to people. So every week I’ll share a thought on our family life.
This Week’s Special: this section is something that happened in the news that was particularly of interest to me. It can be anything - from politics to some local news.
The Crust of the Matter: As a theologian, I have thoughts. As you get to know me, they are quite… interesting haha.
Bytes: I always dreamt of starting a YouTube channel just like MKBHD - obviously this didn’t happen but that doesn’t mean that I’m not super into tech anymore. If anything, I’m even more into tech now than ever since I finished with all my education. This section talks about my geeky tech things of the week. It could have to do with theology, a video game, or some sort of a gadget.
Pie To Go: What’s on my radar for this coming week.
Starting this August I’ll also release a paid newsletter where I will dig deep into some scripture as an intersectional theologian. The first series will be ‘Why the “clobber verses” are not clobber verses’. To get the free newsletter click the button below:
Family Slice: Rising to the Challenge
Three months ago, I decided to add weight lifting to my fitness routine. Now, I've always been more of a group class kind of gal – I've even completed over 200 Barre classes (and yes, that's pretty impressive!). But weights? They've always intimidated me.
My history with weightlifting has been inconsistent. I've started and stopped more times than I can count, and I'm guilty of being one of those gym membership ghosts. There was a brief stint when I ran Spartan races and even traded my UX design skills for personalized training at a performance gym. But I missed most sessions, and when I realized I physically couldn't deadlift, it really crushed my morale.
But something's changed, folks. After countless Barre, Ballet, and Yoga classes, I noticed my body wasn't as flexible as I'd hoped, particularly around the pelvic region. As a transgender woman, this wasn't entirely surprising, but I hadn't realized how much emotional baggage I was carrying in that area.
Enter the wonderful folks at River City Fit. They've been helping me with a trauma-informed approach. They understood my breathing issues, my pelvic floor challenges post-bottom surgery, and the psychological implications of strength training as a woman for the first time.
Now, let's add some context to this fitness journey. While I was born male and lived as a man for 40 years, three years of hormone therapy have completely transformed my muscle and fat distribution. I've lost a lot of upper body strength and find it harder to lose belly and hip fat. But here's the exciting part – in just three months, I've learned to love my pelvic region and I'm exceeding all my goals with weights. I've even gained a few inches around my butt (a major goal) and can hip thrust 155lbs. I'm also this close to doing a full motion pull-up. Check in next week – I might just have that goal fully baked!
Long story short? I think I'm rising into a gym girl. These past three months, I've been consistently hitting the gym and watching my strength increase. For the next three months, I want to focus on nutrition because I'm snacking too much and not getting enough protein. Anyone with an Apple Watch want to be my accountability buddy? Let's cheer each other on and watch our progress improve!
This Week’s Special: A Half-Baked Recipe for Womanhood
What do Imane Khelif, Lin Yu-ting, and Ilona Maher have in common? They're all women. Recently, some well-meaning folks have asked how I'm coping with the apparent surge of trans hate on social media. While I appreciate their concern, I think it’s not trans hate that was the problem last week but something else.
The truth is, there hasn't been a significant focus on transgender hate or even on trans athletes at the Olympics. We didn't hear much about Nikki Hiltz and their groundbreaking non binary representation, or about Hergie Bacyadan's journey in the women's league alongside Khelif and Yu-ting.
No, the real problem is how we talk about women, period.
It's in how we refer to presidential candidates - using last names for men but first names for women. It's in our rigid expectations of how women should look and behave. I personally enjoy shaving my legs and wearing makeup, but what about those who don't? Why do we feel the need to question the femininity of women who don't fit our narrow mold?
The recent controversies surrounding these athletes aren't about transgender issues - they're about our society's half-baked ideas of what a "real" woman should look like. We've created a recipe for womanhood that's impossibly strict and excludes many cisgender women, let alone transgender individuals.
I think we should expand our definition of femininity. Women come in all shapes, sizes, and presentations. Some have more muscle, some have deeper voices, some choose not to conform to traditional beauty standards - and all of them are valid.
By fixating on whether these athletes "look like women," we're perpetuating harmful stereotypes that affect all women, cisgender and transgender alike. It's not about trans rights or sports fairness - it's about our collective need to break free from these restrictive notions of femininity.
I’d say we start celebrating the diverse ways women can exist in the world, rather than trying to force everyone into the same cookie-cutter mold. After all, variety is the spice of life - and of a well-balanced society.
The Crust of the Matter: Debating Romans
If you don't know it yet - every Thursday I take a 2000 word deep dive into a specific theological topic. But the Thursday newsletter is a paid newsletter and I want to make sure that you can get the cliff notes version every Sunday. That being said, please subscribe to my paid newsletter, you'll be doing me a great service! And if you can't afford it and hunger for something more than the cliff notes, message me at miche@likequiche.com and I'll give you free access!
Last Thursday, we tackled Romans 1:26-27, perhaps the toughest cookie in the biblical batch when it comes to discussions about same-sex relationships. Unlike other passages, like the ones in 1 Timothy or 1 Corinthians, we can't simply explain this one away by digging into word meanings or historical context.
To truly understand these verses, we need to look at the bigger picture of Paul's letter to the Romans. It's structured like a carefully layered pastry, with each section building on the last. The main ingredient? "The righteous will live by faith."
Paul's argument is clever. He starts by criticizing those who worship created things instead of God, then moves on to discuss "dishonorable passions." Just when his audience might be feeling smug, he flips the script: "Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else" (Romans 2:1).
When we zoom in on the specific verses, we find that Paul's language is heavily influenced by Stoic philosophy, particularly ideas about what's "natural." This doesn't necessarily mean Paul was condemning homosexuality as we understand it today, but it does suggest he had strong opinions about gender roles and relationships.
So where does this leave us? In a place of ambiguity. We can't definitively claim Paul was homophobic or affirming of same-sex relationships. What we can say is that if we use this text to judge others, we're judging ourselves too. The recipe for understanding this passage calls for a hefty dose of humility and a willingness to sit with uncertainty.
Three main takeaways:
We can’t claim that we’re better than anyone else
If you judge others you judge yourself
Paul was influenced by Stoic philosophy that was highly heteronormative.
Bytes: Energy Efficiency - A Recipe for Change
I've been itching to share this one! As you might know, I have a sweet spot for data and its ability to help us understand system inefficiencies. It's like finding the perfect balance of ingredients in a complex recipe.
There's a book by Charles C. Mann called "The Wizard and the Prophet" that contrasts two approaches to environmentalism. One sees impending doom and sounds alarm bells, while the other views environmental challenges as opportunities for innovation. Politicians often default to the doom-and-gloom approach, but I'm personally not a fan of this strategy.
Let me explain by looking at a flowchart from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on US Energy consumption in 2022. The key ingredient to focus on is the "Rejected Energy" on the right. A whopping 67.3 quads out of our total 100.3 quads of energy input is lost or rejected. Instead of viewing energy generation solely through cost or environmental lenses, I propose we look at it from an efficiency perspective.
Traditional energy sources like Natural Gas and Coal require heating to generate electricity, and the second law of thermodynamics teaches us we lose energy in that process. Of the 37.7 quads of electricity generated, 13.3 quads make it to end-users (Residential, Commercial, and Industrial). If we focus on residential you can see that we also get direct energy provided without power generation and in that case, again, we lose about 2/3 of the energy. Here's the kicker - solar, wind, and hydro don't waste energy in the same way. They directly convert natural forces into electricity, resulting in minimal energy loss. It's like the difference between a leaky mixing bowl and an airtight one.
The same principle applies to transportation. Petroleum is highly inefficient, with modern gasoline engines typically converting only 20-35% of the energy in gasoline into motion. This means 65-80% of the energy is lost, primarily as heat. Would we accept headphones that only work 20-35% of the time? Electric vehicles, especially when powered by renewable sources, offer a much more efficient alternative (yes, I know, Lithium Ion batteries ruin nature and that’s why I’m a proponent of NA-Ion batteries, we already have this technology ya’ll).
I prefer this approach to the doomsday predictions because it focuses on solutions rather than fear. Instead of using divisive rhetoric, we should be looking at bipartisan efforts that benefit everyone. How can we use this data, modern technology, and the idea that our environment is a stakeholder to create positive change?
We need to acknowledge that developed nations benefited from polluting during the Industrial Revolution. Now, as we ask developing countries to reduce their carbon footprint, we must consider how to share energy responsibly and support economies that can't afford the transition alone.
I believe that the recipe for a sustainable future isn't about finger-pointing or fear-mongering. It's about recognizing inefficiencies, embracing innovative solutions, and working together to create a more equitable and efficient global energy system. That's a dish we can all savor.
Pie to Go
🏳️⚧️ Transmission Ministry Collective is hiring! So this week I’ll be setting up interviews and I’ll probably will be wading through a lot of applications. We offer some awesome benefits but I didn’t expect so many people to respond. If you’re reading this and you’re looking for a part-time job I encourage you to apply right here.
🚴🏽♀️ I bought a 1993 Schwinn High Plains a few months ago and was able to fix it with minimal costs. These old mountain bikes are perfect gravel bikes and commuters. I was told that Schwinn used to have Schwinn stores all throughout America - I don’t know why but buying an old bike from a first owner makes me feel even more American 🦅 - I’ll be trying to join some rides this week - if you’re in the neighborhood, hit me up!
🐣 this week my babies are going to Gramee and Grampee camp for 4 nights and 5 days. While I’m excited to have some time with Kim for some well earned date nights and dancing at our local lesbian bar, I will miss them a lot as well. How do you deal wanting some time for yourself and missing your babies at the same time?