Women's Bodies as Battlefield

Christian theology has been complicit in justifying the war on women, but it also has resources to help finally declare peace in the war on women. War itself has come to resemble the war on women, and thus strategies to end the war on women, supported by new Christian theological interpretations, will also help end today's endless wars.

“Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite sets out to address the ways in which Western models of war and peace affect the global War on Women. … the book is certainly an accessible read for people from a variety of social locations and interest levels … . This book is entirely rooted in culture, lived experience, historical understanding, and, above all, it offers a hopeful roadmap for praxis that will lead to a life-giving future for all.” (Katie Deaver, Christian Feminism Today, eewc.com, March, 2016)

"Reverend Thistlethwaite makes an important contribution to the current debate on the wars we are waging and how they effect violence against women. Her treatment of Christian notions of "just war" makes this book essential reading for those who are motivated by Jesus' words: 'Blessed are the peacemakers.'"- Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States, co-founder of The Carter Center

"In this very important new book, Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite argues that war and violence against women have some of the same social, cultural, and religious roots. Women's Bodies as Battlefield is a very significant critical intervention in the public discourses on the war on women a must-read for anyone engaged in such conversations. I highly recommend the book." - Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Krister Stendahl Professor, The Divinity School, Harvard University, USA

'With the comprehensive scholarly analysis and complex feminist insight that we have come to expect from Thistlethwaite's work, she reveals the intricate and inextricable relationship of wars fought between nations and the wars fought on women's bodies. To read this book is to be compelled to act against the 'reality of violence in women's lives,' by witnessing against international, national, and domestic wars, for women's bodies are the link between all of them.' - Kelly Brown Douglas, Professor of Religion, Goucher College, USA

'The idea of 'just war' has more often been an excuse than a standard for a real public policy debate about the United States waging war. Thistlethwaite lays the groundwork for a serious critique that includes a gender analysis. It's high time we had this conversation.' - Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune, Founder and Senior Analyst, Faith Trust Institute, USA

'Through her luminous idea of "critical physicality," Thistlethwaite rescues the concept of the body from false dualities and misleading theories, and restores to real women's bodies the integrity of their complicated corporeal existence. This brilliant work will force us to reflect on what it means to be a woman on the battlefield of her own body, and how the violence done to real women's real bodies compromises our communities and our very humanity.' - Michael Eric Dyson, University Professor of Sociology, Georgetown University, USA

'For every ethical person who cares about the global scourge of violence, this comprehensive guide to the religious roots and cultural and social dimensions of the war on women is a must-read.' - Rita Nakashima Brock, PhD, co-author of Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War

'Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite suggests that 'theology begins where the pain is.' She makes critical connections between the war on women and our society's continued lust for violence.' - Rev. Michael Neuroth, Minister, United Church of Chris, USA, and Policy Advocate for International Issues, Justice and Witness Ministries Office, United Church of Christ, USA

Susan Brooks Thistlethwaite is a Professor of Theology and former President of Chicago Theological Seminary. An ordained minister of the United Church of Christ for over 30 years, she has authored and edited numerous works including Dreaming of Eden: American Religion and Politics in a Wired World, Sex, Race and God: Christian Feminism in Black and White, Lift Every Voice: Constructing Christian Theologies from the Underside (co-editor) and Interfaith Just Peacemaking: Alternatives to War (co-editor). Dr. Thistlethwaite is a frequent media commentator on religion and public events. She is a Fellow of the Center for American Progress Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative, and serves as a trustee of Faith in Public Life, and the Interfaith Youth Core.