Welcome!

This site details the results of a research project done through the Women's and Gender Studies department at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The goal of the project was to look at the impact of religious clothing on body image and sexuality in LDS women. I had an outpouring of interest in the results from those that participated in the project and others within the LDS community. This site is a place where the results can be discussed and made available to anyone interested. I only ask that I am credited if you reference this data in your own writing or social posts. I am currently writing an analysis that will be submitted for journal publication, so this site will be updated frequently as I go through the data. Updates will be posted on the project's Instagram account: @lds_women_and_garments.

How it started...

In the fall of 2022, I read an article titled To Veil or Not to Veil: A Case Study of Identity Negotiation among Muslim Women in Austin, Texas by Jen'nan Ghazal Read and John P. Bartkowski. This study reveals the diverse ways Muslim women negotiate identity and veiling in the United States. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 24 Muslim women all of whom considered themselves devout, 12 of whom choose to veil and 12 of whom do not. While reading the study, I consistently identified similarities with the LDS community regarding garments and became interested in cross-cultural study on religious clothing and messaging about women's bodies.

At this same time, protests broke out in Iran with the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of police when she was detained for not wearing hijab in the way prescribed by lawmakers. The conversation about women's experience with religious clothing is just as relevant now as it ever was, and LDS women need to be part of that conversation.

What's on the site...

Here is a list of things that I will be posting about on this site. You will find these topics covered in individual posts in The Results tab. Please contact me if there are specific aspects of the research or data points that you'd like more information on.

The research design and parameters
How the sample population was recruited
Results of the anonymous survey
Statistics broken down by demographic groups (i.e. traditional vs progressive members or Boomers vs Millennial members)
Information from the in-depth interviews that were conducted
Information from LGBTQ+ individuals and Women of Color
Notes about how I addressed my personal bias
Existing literature about religious clothing and LDS women that was used to guide this project
Analysis or thoughts about comments that were submitted with the survey
Information on body image and its relationship with religious practice