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Towards a Critical Bisexual Theology

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Towards a Critical Bisexual Theology UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER Faculty of Arts Department of Religious Studies Towards A Critical Bisexual Theology by Karin Elizabeth Smith Submitted for a degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2010 UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER ABSTRACT FACULTY OF ARTS, DEPARTMENT OF THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES Doctor of Philosophy TOWARDS A CRITICAL BISEXUAL THEOLOGY By Karin Elizabeth Smith My thesis is an investigation into the phenomenon of bisexuality and the problems, challenges and opportunities it presents towards traditional Christian theology. I examine the deconstructive challenge that bisexuality and queer theory presents to what Althaus-Reid calls ‘Totalitarian Theology’. My methodology is literature based, comes from a feminist liberationist perspective and my own personal experiences as a bisexual woman, adopting the analytical tools of philosophy, psychology and sociology. Through the utilization of this method, I hope to give a better understanding of this difficult and complex subject. During the course of my investigation, I have discovered that much of the research undertaken by theologians so far within the area of human sexuality has largely centred on the phenomenon of homosexuality and heterosexuality. Other than the work of Debra R. Kalodny and Queer Theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid, very little has been written about bisexuality. In contrast to their work mine is an autobiographical self - reflective account of the difficulties faced living in a culture based on monogamous heterosexuality. The points in which Althaus-Reid’s work and my own diverge is in both cultural style and context. My bi- interpretation goes beyond hers because I provide a critical analysis of heterosexuality. My work is therefore unique, as I am using bisexual identity in a sustained and self-critical way with a view toward the creation of a ‘critical bisexual theology’ in my particular culture. When informed by queer theory, this has the potential to highlight the performativity of gender and its underlying instability. Bisexuality provides a further disruption because it also challenges dualism and it has a disruptive influence on the hierarchical structure, which is inherent within traditional Christian theology. The analytical tools of gender theory, philosophy, psychology and sociology bring to light the implicit dualism of gender construction and the power structures underlying it, enabling me to show how bisexuality has the potential to disrupt binary divisions. My chosen area of investigation also allows me to discuss body politics, sexuality and empowerment for both women and men alike. I ask if bisexuality is normative and, if so, why has it been repressed by religion and theology? If it is seen as normative, there are implications for both homosexuals and heterosexuals. I examine the implications of bisexuality for normative dominance and submission models of patriarchal sexual constructions, looking at the dangers these models create for women as well as challenging the notions of exclusivity that have been part of the patriarchal sexual package. Given that I am challenging the patriarchal system and the property ethic that underpins it, I wish to ask what level of intimacy is appropriate between consenting adults who are in other relationships? This question arises from the notion that bisexuals may need to express both sides of their sexuality if they are to remain functioning and developing individuals. Suggesting that people can be liberated into a wider understanding of sexuality, I will evaluate pleasure as a starting point for the creation of theology. Sexual non - conformity and pleasure is vital if, women are to have sexual autonomy it could be argued then that pleasure acts as an ethical guideline. An ethic of pleasure based on a model of partnership advances that sexual relationships based on love, trust and mutual respect rather than rankings of fear and force removes the ethical dilemmas experienced by people like myself who identify as bisexual. Taking my lead from Althaus-Reid, who is critical of holding onto our images of mono-loving gods and relationships and questioning such images, I ask which bodies can image the divine. We then get a radical incarnational theology because bisexuality is not just a way of thinking but is manifest in body knowing. Utilising her imaging of God in such a way a bi-god explodes the view of God as mono or duo. This image of God/divine can then be found in relationships that empower. Table of Contents Authors declaration 1 Acknowledgements 2 Introduction and Method 3 Section One Bisexuality and Church Silence Homosexuality: A Challenge for Christian Theology: Towards a Creation of a Bisexual Political Identity 31 From Perversion to Pathology 38 The Invisible Sex: Bisexuality and Choice 41 Gay Lifestyle and the Challenges it Presents 45 Role Models and Negative Stereotypes 47 Biphobia: Dismantling the Binary Divide with a move toward Affirmative Role Models 48 Internalised Biphobia 51 Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Problematizing Bisexuality as an Identity, the Pathologisation of the Mono-Sexual Position 52 Summary 55 Section Two Heteropatriarchy from Queer Theory to Bisexual Theory Part 1. Radical Philosophy of Difference: Luce Irigaray 57 Morphology is Women’s Bodily Experience 64 Genital Activity and Penetrative Sex 67 Summary 70 Part 2. Social Construction of Women’s Sexuality: Domination and Submission a Remodelling of Sexuality and the Eroticisation of Women’s Oppression 72 Feminist’s Strategies for Abandonment 73 Liberal Humanism and Choice of Lifestyle 74 i Summary 80 Mary Daly and Abandonment 82 Towards Personal Conversions: Seeking for the Realities of Male Domination 88 Summary 97 Part 3. Pleasure – 0. Danger –1 99 Exploration of Differences 105 An Ethic of Pleasure 111 The Evolution of Pleasure: The Development of Language and the Biology of Love 114 The acceptance of Authoritarianism as Natural 117 The Dominator Mechanism of Co-option 120 Obsessing with Sex 123 All Human Creations can be Re-invented: The New Adams and Eves 124 Summary 125 Part 4. Gender Analysis and Queer Theory 126 Transexualism and Bisexuality: A Brief Discussion on the Confusion of Sex and Gender and the Role of Anatomy in Determining Sex, Gender, and Sexual Orientation 129 Being Lesbian is always a Kind of Miming 131 The Erasure of Lesbian and Gay Identities 133 Melancholoia 134 Problematizing the Locality and Meaning of both Subject and Gender 140 Coalitional Politics 144 The Commodification of Sexuality: A Return to Historical Materialism 148 Capitalism’s Urge for Newness 151 Engineered Desires 151 Post-Marxist Materialism 155 Queer Nation 160 Who Profits? 160 ii Class Analysis and Sexual Identity 161 Considerations 164 Section Three Indecent Theology Incarnational Indecent Theology 166 Exiled into the Land of Heterosexuality 171 A Critical Bisexual Desire 177 Theologian of Exiles and Bisexual ways of Thinking 182 Considerations 183 Summary and Conclusion 185 Bibliography 206 iii Declaration of Authorship I, Karin Elizabeth Smith declare that the thesis entitled Towards A Critical Bisexual Theology and the work presented in it are my own. I confirm that: this work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; I have acknowledged all main sources of help; where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; none of this work has been published before submission. Signed: Date: 1 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the help, support, encouragement and guidance of my P.H.D. supervisors, Professor Lisa Isherwood and Professor Elizabeth Stuart. Winchester University’s Research and Knowledge Exchange Co-ordinator, Chrissie Ferngrove and my fellow research students for providing inspiration, rigorous debate and exchange of ideas. My proof-reader and friend Cas and friends Kim and Mark Von Kanel who came to my rescue when I ran into technical difficulties with my PC and kindly loaned me theirs. My friend and colleague Doctor Agnes Rafferty who spurred me on when I felt like giving up. The rest of my friends and family for their interest and encouragement and finally my husband Tony, for his patience, understanding and unwavering support and encouragement throughout the course of my research. This thesis is dedicated to my Mum and Dad. 2 Introduction and Method Being Bisexual is a Head fuck It came as a surprise to me that through my research, my understandings of the complexity of my identity became apparent. I have had to come to terms both with society’s heteropariarchal restrictions placed upon people like myself, in the shape of external biphobia, and my own internalised biphobia, adding to this the fact that I am a woman, serves to compound the complexities involved even further. Due to the intimate nature of this research and my own lived experience being a source of reflection for my work, it has taken longer to complete than anticipated and has also led to quite considerable changes in my own views regarding the conceptual frameworks of bisexuality. It is this journey that is presented in this thesis. Being bisexual in a heteropatriarchal society means; we have the inability to choose; bisexuals are perceived as greedy, promiscuous, hedonistic, pathological, sexually and emotionally immature. These negative stereotypes placed upon us, if taken on board, can often lead to feelings of low self-worth. In order to survive, many of us are put in a position whereby deceitfulness and self-deception is the only remedy, we may feel compelled to hide behind convention opting to present ourselves to the world as heterosexual.
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