Donna Freitas

Donna Freitas (pronounced FRAY-tus)[1] (born 1972) is a scholar, teacher, writer, and author of fiction and non-fiction for both adults and teenagers. Born in Rhode Island,[2] the most Catholic state in the United States,[3] Freitas's Catholic religion and spirituality inform much of her writing. Her writing also addresses sexuality, consent, and college campus culture.[1][2]

Donna Freitas
Alma materGeorgetown University, Catholic University of America
Occupation(s)Writer, scholar
Notable workSex & the Soul

Consent on Campus: A Manifesto

Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention
Websitehttps://www.donnafreitas.com/

Early life and education

Freitas was a gymnast for 7 years, but at age fifteen she retired because of injuries.[4] She received a B.A. in philosophy and Spanish from Georgetown University. She received her Ph.D. in religion from Catholic University of America.[2]

Career

Academic institution positions

Freitas taught at Boston University in the Department of Religion, St. Michael's College in Religion, and Hofstra University in the Honors College.[2][5] Freitas has lectured at over 200 college campuses about sexual assault.[6]

Freitas currently serves as a research affiliate at the University of Notre Dame's Center for the Study of Religion and Society.[7]

Writing

Sex & the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses (2008) addresses the connections between sexuality and spirituality/religion at seven United States universities and colleges, including non-religious public, secular private, Catholic private, and evangelical private institutions. Her research included an online survey, with more than 2,500 responses, as well as interviews.[8][9] One hundred and eleven students were interviewed: 48 men and 63 women. Freitas concluded that the largest conflicts between sexuality and spirituality were between evangelical and non-evangelical institutions, rather than religious and non-religious ones. Freitas argued that students enrolled in Catholic institutions responded in a similar way as those at non-religious institutions. Overall, students did not find that their sexuality and spirituality/religion informed each other very much. On the other hand, Freitas discovered that students in evangelical institutions made conscious efforts to reconcile their sexuality with their spirituality/religion perhaps because they more often self-identified as religious and spiritual.[9] Sex & the Soul is the first major study investigating young people's attempts at reconciling spirituality and sexuality. Freitas called for real-life solutions to these conflicts.[10]

Consent on Campus: A Manifesto (2018) explored the widespread problem of sexual assault and sexual violence on college campuses. Freitas argues that this problem is because of both the widespread failure of colleges and universities to educate students about sex and consent and "hookup culture." Freitas aimed to provide a more complete education about consent and proposed ways to have more constructive conversations. Freitas argued that consensual sex must be communicative.[11]

Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention (2019) explained the personal dimensions of Freitas's work with consent on college campuses. In the 1990s at the Catholic University of America, a professor and priest ("Father L") harassed Freitas. This book explored Freitas's experiences with the ways in which Father L's mentorship quickly changed into harassment and stalking and how her university's administration did little to help.[6]

Works

Fiction
  • The Possibilities of Sainthood (2008) ISBN 9780374360870
  • This Gorgeous Game (2010) ISBN 9780374314729
  • The Survival Kit (2011) ISBN 9780374399177
  • Gold Medal Summer (2012) ISBN 9780545327886
  • Gold Medal Winter (2014) ISBN 9780545643771
  • The Tenderness of Thieves (2015) ISBN 9780399171369
  • Unplugged (2016) ISBN 9780062118615
  • The Body Market (2017) ISBN 9780062118646
  • The Mind Virus (2017) ISBN 9780062118660
  • The Healer (2018) ISBN 9780062662118
  • The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano (2021) ISBN 9781984880598

Non-fiction
  • Becoming a Goddess of Inner Poise: Spirituality for the Bridget Jones in All of Us (2003) ISBN 9780787976286
  • Killing the Imposter God: Philip Pullman's Spiritual Imagination in His Dark Materials (2007) ISBN 9780787982379
  • Sex & the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses (2008) ISBN 9780190221287
  • The End of Sex: How Hookup Culture is Leaving a Generation Unhappy, Sexually Unfulfilled, and Confused About Intimacy (2013) ISBN 9780465002153
  • Consent on Campus: A Manifesto (2018) ISBN 9780190671150
  • Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention (2019) ISBN 9780316450522
  • The Happiness Effect: How Social Media is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost (2019) ISBN 9780190239855

References
  1. "Donna Freitas Dishes on Sex, Catholic Clergy Scandals, and Her Beautiful New Novel "This Gorgeous Game"". Flunking Sainthood. 2010-06-23. Retrieved 2019-09-25.
  2. "Donna Freitas | Authors | Macmillan". US Macmillan. Archived from the original on 2009-10-07. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  3. "RI remains most Catholic state in the country". WPRI.com. 2017-09-06. Retrieved 2019-11-25.
  4. "Donna Freitas Books, Author Biography, and Reading Level | Scholastic". scholastic.com. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  5. "Donna Freitas". DeFiore and Company. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2019-10-24.
  6. "Donna Freitas Is a Consent Expert, but Her Own Story Was Hard to Tell". Bitch Media. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
  7. Dame, Marketing Communications: Web // University of Notre. "People // Center for the Study of Religion and Society // University of Notre Dame". Center for the Study of Religion and Society. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  8. Leonard, Kageler (2008). "Reviewed Work: Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance and Religion on America's College Campuses by Donna Freitas". Review of Religious Research. 50 (4): 484–485. ISSN 0034-673X. JSTOR 25593762.
  9. Knight, Becky (2009-03-05). "A Review of: "Sex & the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses"". Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy. 35 (2): 158–159. doi:10.1080/00926230802695183. S2CID 143881745.
  10. Harris, Heidi (Summer 2009). "Meeting Donna Freitas: A Review of Sex and the Soul and an Interview". Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 42 (2): 127–136. doi:10.5406/dialjmormthou.42.2.0127. S2CID 172115560.
  11. Robinson, Shannon (2019-06-27). "Book review: Donna Freitas, Consent on Campus: A Manifesto". Theory and Research in Education. 17 (2): 229–231. doi:10.1177/1477878519860395. S2CID 198619199.
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