Elyssa Salinas-Lazarski
It was May, 2017. I remember it vividly because it was one of the (first) times I questioned being in a PhD program. It was lonely, and I needed a different kind of community in that moment. It was then that I met Elyssa and others, at a gathering of graduate students in Atlanta. Elyssa seemed very grounded to me in a way that I was longing for. We became instant friends. In the last few years we’ve had countless conversations; from the role that care and honoring our bodies played in Death of God theologies, how to navigate being a WOC in academica, to Frida Kahlo and the ways women resisted patriarchy throughout history. Elyssa’s work is always rooted and embodied, and challenges us to remember that theoretical inquiries mean nothing without flesh. She reminds us that every part of who we are is sacred, and encourages us to love every bit of ourselves. It is an honor to know her.
Elyssa Salinas-Lazarski, Mother, Writer, Doctoral Student
Tell us who you are!
I am Elyssa, a mother, a writer, a doctoral student, a poet, a daughter, and a partner. I work on body and sex positive thinking and theology from a white Latina perspective.
What inspires you?
I am truly inspired by the women who are in my family. I am named after my grandmothers and I am inspired by their strength, one as a woman working in finance during the 1970s and 1980s, and the other as the mother of thirteen children. Both were women of faith and deep love.
What are one or two lessons you carry with you each day?
Take joy in the present because time does not stop.
Our bodies are made in the image of God.
Love is a verb.
What are you working on?
I am working on my dissertation proposal which focuses on the notion of chastity in the Lutheran tradition. I am fiercely focused on our bodies and sexual expression being gifts from God, so taking a hard look at chastity is a way to address that in a dissertation.
How do you connect spirituality/religion in your work?
Our bodies are not simply beautiful, they are the images of God in our world. For me, that means that our bodies should be seen without shame, especially the parts of our bodies connected to sexual expression.
If you had the chance, what would you tell your younger self?
I would say, please stop putting so much pressure on yourself.
You are enough.
You are enough.
You are enough.