Bare Marriage

Send us Fan Mail What if many of the ideas we’ve been taught about “biblical womanhood” have a much stranger history than we realized? We sit down with historian & author Kristin Du Mez to unpack the fascinating—and sometimes surprising—story behind Christian womanhood, from Hannah Whittall Smith and Elisabeth Elliot to Christian fiction, publishing, blogging, and today’s influencer culture. What happens when we stop sanitizing the past, let go of formulas that promise happiness, and make room for a faith that can actually grapple with reality? Let’s find out together! BARE MARRIAGE ANNOUNCEMENTS Preorder Fawn, Sheila's New Book Our Spanish Site is live! CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. Find the church info page here! TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: Kristin Du Mez’s book, "Live, Laugh, Love" Kristin’s Website Kristin’s Substack Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt’s website Elissa’s book, “Look Like a Lady” The Whole Story Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net Episode 104: Jesus & John Wayne Katharine Bushnell Episode Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.

Send us Fan Mail What if some of the messages we've absorbed about “what it means to be a woman” have less to do with the Bible and more to do with centuries of art, culture, and storytelling? Today we have a fascinating conversation with art historian Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt about five powerful visual tropes—the Venus, Maiden, Vessel, Mother, and Monster—and the surprising, life-giving counter-stories that have been there all along. Together, we explore what happens when we stop seeing women as objects, prizes, symbols, perfect mothers, or threats, and start seeing them as whole people invited to witness, move, create, cultivate, and partner in God's kingdom. CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. Find the church info page here! TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt’s website Elissa’s book, “Look Like a Lady” Elissa’s Instagram Elissa’s Substack Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.

Send us Fan Mail What if the Bible has been giving us maternal pictures of God all along—and we've simply been overlooking them? Today we talk with Elizabeth Berget, author of “Love Like a Mother,” about God's compassion, childbirth, motherhood, grief, protection, exhaustion, and the surprising ways women's embodied experiences can illuminate the character of God. Together, we explore how seeing God as both Father and Mother can offer women a deeper sense of belonging, challenge unhealthy ideas about motherhood and spiritual performance, and invite the church into a fuller, more expansive theology. CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. Find the church info page here! TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: Elizabeth Berget’s Website Elizabeth’s book, “Love Like a Mother” Elizabeth’s Substack Elizabeth’s Instagram Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.

Send us Fan Mail What happens when “protecting women” actually leaves them with fewer choices, less financial security, and nowhere to go when a marriage becomes unsafe? Today we unpack the hidden risks behind certain conservative Christian teachings about gender, money, work, and submission before sitting down with Sally Hope to talk about abuse, faith, anger, healing, and her survivor resource "No Visible Scars." It’s a thoughtful - and occasionally fiery - conversation about what genuine protection looks like when the goal is not female dependence, but healthy partnership, autonomy, justice, and healing. CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. Find the church info page here! GET NO VISIBLE SCARS here TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: CortneyGetsFit TikTok Dynamics of Abusive Relationships Study Sally Hope’s Website Sally’s book “No Visible Scars” Sally’s Always Hopeful program Download the One-Sheet on The Empowered Wife Bare Marriage ToolKit Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.

Send us Fan Mail Bethany Jantzi and Dr. Merry Lin join us in taking a very close—and occasionally incredulous—look at Laura Doyle’s The Empowered Wife, unpacking its promises, “six intimacy skills,” and insistence that women can transform their marriages by changing themselves. They explore where self-care, respect, vulnerability, and intimacy can sound appealing while still becoming dangerous when they encourage women to self-silence, ignore serious problems, or take responsibility for a husband’s behavior. Ultimately, this is a conversation about discernment: what does genuine marital intimacy actually require, and how can we tell the difference between healthy accommodation and simply learning to disappear inside a relationship? It’s a longer one, but 100% worth the listen! CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. Find the church info page here! TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: One-Sheet on Laura Doyle’s “The Empowered Wife”: https://baremarriage.com/2026/08/the-problems-with-the-empowered-wife-by-laura-doyle-a-review-with-download/ Bethany Jantzi’s Website: freefromcontrol.ca Dr. Merry Lin’s Website: https://www.drmerry.com/ Pre-Order Sheila & Dr. Merry’s new book “Fawn” Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.

Send us Fan Mail What happens when “Christlike manhood” starts sounding suspiciously like Victorian gender roles, male entitlement, and a whole lot of covert nudging? This rage-read of Eric Ludy’s “Warrior Poet Manhood” article unpacks the deeper assumptions behind a theology that tells women to manage, encourage, and even manipulate men into becoming better husbands while men remain in charge. We explore gender stereotypes, power and emotional attunement, the “angel in the house,” and why the upside-down kingdom of Jesus offers a radically different picture of maturity, partnership, and servant leadership. CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. Find the church info page here! TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: Eric Ludy’s full article Zach Wagner’s book, “Men of Virtue” Emerson Eggerichs podcast episode Love & Respect 3-Part Docuseries Socioeconomic Status Study The Marriage You Want book & Study Guide Pre-Order Sheila’s new book “Fawn” Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.

Send us Fan Mail Buckle up for the final episode of our 3-part series on purity culture! In this episode we dig into what genuine accountability actually looks like when influential Christian leaders (namely Dannah Gresh) recognize the harm their teachings have caused. Through a thoughtful discussion of repentance, public responsibility, and the lasting impact of purity culture, we continue to ask why admitting specific mistakes remains so difficult—and why doing so matters for healing and preventing future harm. Also, is Dannah’s rewrite of “And the Bride Wore White” really any better? Tune in to find out! CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. Find the church info page here! TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: Bare Marriage Episode 290 on Authoritarianism The free book The Authoritarians (Includes the quizzes you can take to see where you score!) Bare Marriage Facebook Page She Deserves Better The Whole Story resource for parents Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.

Send us Fan Mail What does Jesus actually mean when he tells us to judge a tree by its fruit - and what happens when we apply that idea to marriage and Christian teaching? Today Joanna, our resident statistician, joins us as we dig into the biblical meaning of “good fruit,” unpack the research behind our marriage studies, and explore what trust, spiritual fruit, and decision-making have to do with one another. We also welcome Dr. Camden Morgante and discuss her amazing book “Recovering From Purity Culture”. Settle in for Part 2 of our 3-part series to kick off this new season - you don’t want to miss this one! CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: About Josh Butler’s book “Beautiful Union” Our podcasts referencing Josh Butler: Episode 260 Episode 301 M.J. Langham Thread link Dr. Camden Morgante’s book, “Recovering From Purity Culture” Dr. Camden’s Substack Harmful Outcomes of Purity Culture Facebook Quotes Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.

Send us Fan Mail And….we’re BACK with a fresh new season of the Bare Marriage podcast! We’re kicking things off with a lively deep dive into the debate over purity culture, asking what happens when influential Christian voices revise their past teachings, redefine the terms, and rewrite the history of what they once taught. We unpack the difference between biblical chastity and shame-based purity culture, take on straw man arguments and shifting definitions, and explore how messages about sex, marriage, authority, and obligation can shape the church in ways we may not always recognize. Real change requires more than just saying something was harmful - it requires honesty, accountability, and a willingness to pursue better fruit. This is Part 1 of a 3-part series, so let’s get to it and be sure to tune in next week! CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: Friday Round-Up link on Alisa Childers Our statement on Shaunti Feldhahn (with links to her statement) Roys Report article on Sheila calling out Focus on the Family The Whole Story Course Our book, “She Deserves Better” Dannah’s interview with Juli Slattery Dannah’s interview with Focus on the Family Zachary Wagner’s book, “Men of Virtue” Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.

Send us Fan Mail In this season finale we take a dive into social media, examining the messages behind viral clips from popular marriage and church influencers, and challenge fear-based teachings about marriage, parenting, gender, and authority. Through our thoughtful (and often hilarious) analyses and lively discussion, we hope this conversation encourages you to pursue healthier, Christ-centered relationships rooted in mutual respect, truth, and genuine spiritual freedom. CHECK OUT OUR OCTOBER SIMULCAST EVENT We're doing our sex talk and a one-day marriage conference! Check it out for more information. TO SUPPORT US: Join our Patreon for as little as $5 a month to support our work (and get access to the book club!) And check out our Merch, or any of our courses! Give to the Good Fruit Faith Initiative of the Bosko Foundation Join our email list! LINKS MENTIONED: Zachary Wagner’s Book “Men of Virtue” Podcast Episode 262: Problems with Marriage on the Rock by Jimmy Evans Episode 262 Blog Post Sheila’s Substack Alex Falcone's reel about divorce stats (he's the good one!) Support the show Join Sheila at Bare Marriage.com! Check out her books: The Great Sex Rescue She Deserves Better The Marriage You Want and the Study Guide The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex and The Good Guy's Guide to Great Sex And she has an Orgasm Course and a Libido course too! Check out all her courses, FREE resources, social media, books, and so much more at Sheila's LinkTree.