Dancing after the Whirlwind: Feminist Reflections on Sex, Denial, and Spiritual Healing

Dancing after the Whirlwind explores how the denial of a sexual self affects a woman's spiritual identity and her understanding of her place in the world. L. J. Tessier traces the deep roots of this denial and separation of sexuality and spirituality in both Western and Eastern religions. She examines the experiences of three groups of women whose sexual desires, memories, and experiences are routinely denied by society: lesbians, survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and HIV-positive women. Drawing on their powerful examples, Tessier offers us strategies for reclaiming the whirlwind of erotic power and seeing it for what it is-the sacred force through which we most deeply touch one another as human beings.