Concerned Citizen

            

Artist Statement:

            Walking around BYU campus, it’s hard to escape the millions of messages LDS women are exposed to. Young LDS women at BYU are supposed to be top students, they’re supposed to have a great social life, an active and important calling in their church, an involved group of friends. They’re supposed to be physically and spiritually fit, beautiful because of their righteousness. But as girls desperately try to achieve all of these things at once, menacing murmurs are heard: “I’m not thin enough,” “I’m not smart enough,” “I’m not good enough for a boyfriend.”
            Both of us were already aware of the negative self-talk that poisons the views of a woman’s self-worth, but were completely surprised at how magnified this is at BYU—especially when this group should be more aware of their value than any other group of young women. While Goldbard focuses on the positive effects of Storyland, the stories these young women tell themselves are skewed and hurtful, and the culture that is a result of it hampers their ability to progress. Perhaps the checklist of things women are “supposed” to be corresponds more specifically with Datastan, where people are expected to mathematically fit into a single mold.
            Such an idea is set on its head when one considers the words of Dieter F. Uchtodorf:

“We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold—that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God, who created every man different from his brother, every son different from his father.”

            Which brings us to this lovely opinion, found in an essay entitled “All and Sundry” on AspiringMormonWomen.org.

“I’ve seen enough of God’s creations to know that He values diversity and variety. Mountains and plains. Deserts and oceans. The giraffe and the platypus. Universes and molecules. Our God is a very open-minded God.”

            This essay was written by Hadley Duncan Howard. As a mother living in Provo, UT, Hadley does not fit too many of the stereotypes laid out for LDS females. She has had a very successful career, and has not hesitated to work and actively pursue career and education, even while having children. She contributes as a concerned citizen by often writing articles on AspiringMormonWomen.org as a way to help her community and society see a different side of the Mormon woman mold. Merritt, who went on a Study Abroad when Hadley (as one of the professor's wives) was "camp counselor," was impressed with the way Hadley acknowledged that it takes all kinds, and that a woman, with the help of the Lord, must find her own path.
            Hadley has spread these ideas because, as she says in the video, she has something to say. Though she has been criticized before for her parenting style, and expects to be criticized for some of the things she has written, she feels these are messages that need to be shared—something that will end up providing women with more intrinsic worth.
            Hadley is a great example of this. While she is “non-traditional” in the sense that she has had a career, she is still an excellent homemaker. We decided to film her there, as her home shows much of her personality. Just like Agnes Varda in The Gleaners and I reveals herself most beautifully in her home (filled with artistic mold and souvenirs from her travels), Hadley’s home carries artifacts of her life. The walls of her home are lined with books and her children’s artwork is on the table. We tried to let our camera movement and overall style be unobtrusive and organic. Because the best part about this is what we experienced—sitting down and enjoying friendship, as real, adequate, and wonderfully diverse daughters of God.