Virginia Ramey Mollenkott

Virginia Ramey Mollenkott (January 28, 1932 - September 25, 2020) was an American feminist writer. She was one of the leading academic figures of the 20th century evangelical feminist movement.

Early life Virginia May Ramey was born in Philadelphia's Temple University Hospital on January 28, 1932 to Frank and May (Lotz) Ramey. Her mother owned a grocery store and worked as a butcher, while her father was a chiropractor.

When Ramey was 11, the 21-year-old sister of one of her friends statutorily raped her. Ramey recounted that at the time, she felt loved and respected by the woman in a way that her own family had never provided. When Ramey's mother discovered a letter written from the woman to Ramey, the whole family debated about what they should do. They confronted the other family but also condemned Ramey, and decided to send her to a Southern Presbyterian boarding school. The family told the school that Ramey was a lesbian, leading to her ostracization. Ramey's favorite aunt later read her Romans 1 and told her that it condemned lesbians. Ramey was deeply religious and devastated by people's religious condemnations of her, eventually attempting suicide when she was 13. Her dissertation, "Milton and the Apocrypha", was on John Milton, and won the Andison Club Award for best NYU dissertation on English. During this time, she began to critically read the Bible as a work of literature as well as a religious text.

English literature Mollenkott began her career as a Milton scholar and teacher of English literature and writing. She recalls working on it while it was written from 1970 to 1978. She believed that she never would have received that invitation if she had been out as a lesbian.

Early evangelical feminism Mollenkott met Letha Dawson Scanzoni in 1973, where the two became close collaborators and decided to co-author a book on Christianity and ethical issues. In 1975, Mollenkott decided to come out as a lesbian to Scanzoni. She felt Scanzoni should know before co-authoring their book because the social climate of the time was very hostile to LGBTQ people. Some time later, Scanzoni finished the chapter of the book pertaining to homosexuality, and both authors decided to prepare that chapter to be published as a standalone book.

Mollenkott became heavily involved in an influential organization for biblical feminists, which formed as the Evangelical Women's Caucus (EWC) in 1974. Mollenkott was one of the speakers at the EWC's first conference in 1975. :37 A publisher in the audience asked Mollenkott to write a book on Christianity and gender equality. Mollenkott also became more involved with the EWC as it grew. She also was a member of the translation committee for An Inclusive Language Lectionary for the National Council of Churches from 1980 to 1988. The committee drafted a new, experimental lectionary for churches that wanted to use language that had less gender bias and was more inclusive.

In 1981, the National Council of Churches sent Mollenkott as their representative to a D.C. rally for the Equal Rights Amendment, where she spoke in support of the act. In the book, Mollenkott argues that the Bible is overlooked as a source of feminist inspiration and liberation. She examines stories of women in the text and interprets female imagery in ways that affirm the value of women. This critique prompted Mollenkott to write a response declaring that she actually believed in a universality between religions and universal salvation for humanity. She explained that she approaches religious thinking by using the "symbol systems" of the Christianity that she grew up with.

Mollenkott founded the "Sisterly Conversations" sessions at the Kirkridge Retreat, running them for over 20 years. John McNeill, a Jesuit psychologist, often co-led these retreats. These were one of several retreats for queer Christians that Mollenkott helped lead.

Awards In 1992 Mollenkott received the New Jersey Lesbian and Gay Achievement Award, and in 1999 received a Lifetime Achievement Award from SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment).

She has also won awards for her writing. Is the Homosexual My Neighbor: A Positive Christian Response won the Integrity Award in 1979. In 2002, her book Omnigender: A Trans-Religious Approach won the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual/Transgender Literature and the Ben Franklin Award.

Personal life Mollenkott identified as a lesbian in high school and was able to stay more closeted in college. Two closeted lesbian teachers of hers suggested that she marry a man in order to remain closeted. They suggested that she could grow attracted to men over time after she was married, and Mollenkott decided to marry on that hope, as well as a means to get away from her mother. Ramey and Tilton married in 2013 following the United States Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, which overturned a law that denied federal benefits to same-sex couples.

Editing Mollenkott edited a book of spiritual poems, Adam Among the Television Trees (1971) and a volume of inter-religious essays by Jewish, Christian, and Muslim women, Women of Faith in Dialogue (1987).