Unlearning Mormon Misogyny | Ep. 1417

Mormon Misogyny Doesn't End at the Exit Door

Leaving the LDS Church is supposed to be the hard part. You shed the doctrine, the dress code, the Sunday obligations, and the layered theology that told you, quietly and persistently, that your value was conditional. But a recent episode of the Mormon Stories Podcast, Episode 1417, hosted by Hannah and featuring panelists Sarah, Maggie, Alicia, and Babylon, raises a more uncomfortable question: what if the misogyny survived the faith transition?

That question sits at the center of what the episode calls "unlearning Mormon misogyny," and it deserves a serious answer.

The Church Didn't Invent Patriarchy, But It Did Encode It

The LDS Church operates on a priesthood structure that formally excludes women from ecclesiastical authority. That is not a contested point. Women cannot hold the Melchizedek Priesthood, cannot preside over a congregation, and historically have been subject to temple ceremonies that included covenants of obedience to their husbands rather than directly to God (the wording was quietly revised in 2019).

The panelists in Episode 1417 describe how this structure didn't just shape church meetings. It shaped how they understood their own bodies, their worth, and their right to set limits on the behavior of others. One panelist described a bishop's interview where, as a teenager, she was told she was pretty. The comment was meant kindly. It landed like a verdict: your appearance is your currency.