Culture Changers with Allison Hare

·E288

"Hitting Me Was Holy": Tia Levings on Escaping Christian Fundamentalism & What's Hiding in Our Politics - rerelease

March 5
1h 2m

Episode Description

CNN is re-airing their special on the rise of Christian nationalism — and I'm re-releasing this conversation with Tia Levings because it is more relevant now than when it first aired. Tia will be featured in the CNN special, and her book A Well-Trained Wife went viral on YouTube after this episode first dropped (with "wife spanking" landing in the top four search terms — yes, really).

If you prefer to watch on YouTube, here you go: https://youtu.be/aU6CcgskrUE

Tia Levings is the New York Times bestselling author of A Well-Trained Wife, a memoir of her escape from Christian patriarchy. Her work has been featured in Teen Vogue, Salon, Huffington Post, Newsweek, and the Amazon docu-series Shiny Happy People.

In this conversation, we go deep on:

  • What "quiverfull" ideology really is — and how it connects to the tradwife movement today
  • Christian domestic discipline (aka non-consensual BDSM in church clothes)
  • The "fundy baby voice" — what it is, who's using it, and why it matters politically
  • Why joy is now an act of rebellion against high-control systems
  • How to resist without burning out — and why rest counts as resistance
  • What Tia thinks is actually keeping us safer right now (it might surprise you)

Timestamps:

  • 0:00 – Re-intro + why this episode is back
  • 1:00 – Original intro from the Re-Invention Room
  • 3:25 – Tia's story begins: mainstream Christianity to fundamentalism
  • 7:31 – What "quiverfull" really means
  • 10:16 – "Hitting me was no longer taboo. It was holy."
  • 13:20 – The pressure to be a "good girl" & wanting to be chosen
  • 18:36 – The skinny, weak, take-up-no-space agenda
  • 23:50 – The sadness that crawls up your legs like ivy
  • 29:18 – The "fundy baby voice" explained
  • 33:31 – Karoline Leavitt, Katie Britt & women in patriarchy
  • 35:10 – Hypersexualization and modesty culture
  • 40:09 – Where do we go from here? Tia's take on the current moment
  • 48:29 – Does Tia feel spiritually supported?
  • 52:15 – How to discern intuition from programming
  • 54:00 – Advice for people who are overwhelmed by the news
  • 57:07 – Why Tia calls them Mikey, Dougie & Petey
  • 58:07 – How to find Tia & her books

Tia Levings' links:

Tia's book: A Well Trained Wife: https://amzn.to/4uffTVN

Pre-order Tia's new book: I Belong To Me: https://amzn.to/46D7jWH

Tia Levings Writer: Instagram | Substack  

Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.

Be sure to rate, review, and follow this podcast on your player and also, connect with me IRL for more goodness and life-changing stuff.

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