Seariac, of course, gained notoriety and even a bit of press coverage thanks to her work circulating a petition to get "Liberal" professors tossed out of BYU (or at least "censured" in some way). She is--without question--one of the most exciting new elements in Mopologetics. Completely apart from her perhaps misguided political activism, she's also aligned herself very strongly with old-school, FARMS-style apologetics, even going to far as saying that she wants to be an apologist. So, of course, there was a relationship with FAIRMormon, and her "exclusive" interview with John Gee, who openly condescended to her on the program.
But it's been awkward from the start. The Mopologists have a terrible track record in terms of gender diversity. Wasn't that the whole point behind the award that they later withdrew--the "Interpreter" essay prize, meant to lure female scholars "into the mix"? And yet, now here's Hanna Seariac, upbeat and energetic and willing to join "The Crew"? What will she make of their crotchety ways of doing things? What will she think of Dr. Midgley's demented fantasies about undergraduates having sex in the BYU library bathroom? What I'm trying to say is: Can there truly be a place for Seariac in Mopologetics?
Frankly, I think she was a better fit with FAIR Mormon, but the appearance of her article in the latest "dropping" from Interpreter is significant--possibly a watershed moment. I mean, there is a lot at stake here for the Mopologists. They just published this obviously baloney article on "inclusiveness," and as if attempting to dole out a "one-two punch," now they've got this article by a female author? An "up-and-comer," no less? Think about what's at stake for them here. If they blow this with her, then they are losing on two fronts. First, they have basically lost the youth. If Rappleye and Smoot are all you've got, what does that bode for the future? Secondly, their track record vis-a-vis things like Feminism and gender equity are pretty abysmal. Just check out Tom's quarterly recap of the "Interpreter's" finances: you'll see plain as day the huge discrepancies in terms of gender and "Interpreter." So, she's the one who's going to help prove to everyone that they're not the sort of stodgy dinosaurs that some critics have accused them of being. (Like the "new" MI.)
So, you have to wonder what's going on. Is there some kind of seismic shift happening behind the scenes? Like, some kind of backlash against Trump-aligning Conservatives? Jumping on board with "Liberal" ideology? Well, okay: perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit here. Seariac, after all, *was* embracing some pretty radical ideas. Silencing one's critics and having them lose their jobs and be publicly humiliated is right in line with the sort of things that the Mopologists want.
Whatever the case may be, Seariac's article is fascinating. Here we have a piece in "Interpreter" that argues for supporting polygamy. It's easy enough to see why the men overseeing the editorial process would have nodded approvingly at this. (Wyatt, you dog!) But what's Seariac's "Faustian bargain" here? Tough to say, but this could be one clue:
I suppose a question one might ask here is what role the Priesthood might have played in the whole thing. Still, looking at this from the Mopologists' perspective, it's not hard to see why they jumped on board with this sort of thing. Later, though, things get even weirder:Seariac wrote:McBaine frames the discussion of plural marriage by describing how people outside of the Latter-day Saint community disliked plural marriage and saw it as a contradiction to women’s rights. I understand why McBaine would choose to frame this discussion as such, but I diverge from her here in methodology. Naturally, one would have to point out the ways those on the outside saw plural marriage, but I think a more effective framing could be to show the parallels between women’s reasoning for entering marriage and women’s reasoning for wanting suffrage. Both come down to agency.
Whoa! The Mopologists are tolerating this sort of thing in their flagship publication? I'm sure that those who remember the September 6 can remember that some of those folks were allegedly excommunicated for writing about Heavenly Mother! And yet here is Seariac, openly writing about how Heavenly Mother is a powerful feminist theological concept? What's going on here? I can only imagine the insults and profanity that were hurled via Zoom around the editorial table as this article was "hashed out." Did Ralph "The Doink" Hancock rupture a vein reading this thing?Seariac wrote:Here McBaine provides the first serious discussion of elements of feminism impacting the suffrage movement, but does not flesh them out. As this unique Latter-day Saint doctrine was taught but perhaps not completely understood, it feels important to the rest of the book. Heavenly Mother provides a concrete foundation for understanding Latter-day Saint feminism and proves itself as one of the necessary elements to have interwoven throughout the narrative rather than in one solitary place. While not much is known about Heavenly Mother, the existence of a co-deity with Heavenly Father clearly illustrates a reason Latter-day Saint women in particular, who focus so much on agency, would see themselves as deserving of autonomy.
Or, it may just be that Seariac is very, very clever. She strikes me as someone who is simultaneously interested in attention, and being liked: something that the President of the Interpreter Foundation doubtless understands. Well, the attention part, anyways--and that's where I think the similarities break down. A very pressing question here is: Will Seariac be satisfied by the attention from the Mopologists, which will doubtless be short-lived, particularly given what she's writing about? I remember a former editorial assistant "going rogue" on Interpreter and spilling the beans on ex-Mo reddit or some place about how peer review at "Interpreter" was a sham. Now, though, the stakes have been raised considerably, because if Seariac "turns" on them, they could be in for a really rough time.
A fascinating development, in any case. Kudos to Seariac for this step forward in her ambitions.
I am quite serious in what I am saying however.