Implications of Queer Theory for the Study of Religion and Gender: Entering the Third Decade
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Load more
Recommended publications
-
LGBTQ in Social Studies Curriculum
_____________________________________________________________________________ Educator Affect: LGBTQ in Social Studies Curriculum _____________________________________________________________________________ Corrie R. Block, Bellarmine University Abstract Space has been opened to question heteronormativity and to address the assumption that each student in k-12 schools identifies as heterosexual. Is anything happening in this space? What affective behaviors, attitudes and beliefs do teachers who teach LGBTQ+ topics demonstrate? Conversely, what affective behaviors, attitudes and beliefs prevent teachers from teaching LGBTQ+ topics? These questions guided this qualitative research study. Data were collected with document analysis, interviews and measures of affect. This study measures affect by exploring the attitudes of teachers who include or do not include LGBTQ+ within social studies courses. Particular focus was given to teachers who imple- ment course content that relates to LGBTQ+ civil rights within socio-historic contexts. For this study, educator affect means the emotions that influence whether to or not to include LGBTQ+ in middle and secondary school social studies curriculum. Keywords: LGBTQ+; heteronormativity; social studies curriculum; affective measurement Middle and high schools within the United States are largely heteronormative in nature—privi- leging heterosexual practices and assuming students identify as heterosexual (Cohen, 2005). School heteronormativity is maintained by excluding anything outside of heterosexuality. Heter- onormativity goes beyond dislikes or prejudices against those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisex- ual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, by thoroughly permeating the school culture (Berlant & Warner, 2000). Sexuality tends not to be acknowledged as an area of diversity within schools. Even though the National Council for the Social Studies states “diversity and inclusiveness,” are core values, J. B. Mayo, Jr. -
Analysing Prostitution Through Dissident Sexualities in Brazil
Contexto Internacional vol. 40(3) Sep/Dec 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-8529.2018400300006 Queering the Debate: Analysing Prostitution Through Dissident Pereira & Freitas Sexualities in Brazil Amanda Álvares Ferreira* Abstract: The aim of this article is to contrast prominent discourses on prostitution and human trafficking to the context of prostitution in Brazil and local feminist discourses on this matter, un- derstanding their contradictions and limitations. I look at Brazilian transgender prostitutes’ experi- ences to address an agency-related question that underlies feminist theorizations of prostitution: can prostitution be freely chosen? Is it necessarily exploitative? My argument is that discourses on sex work, departing from sex trafficking debates, are heavily engaged in a heteronormative logic that might be unable to approach the complexity and ambiguity of experiences of transgender prostitutes and, therefore, cannot theorize their possibilities of agency. To do so, I will conduct a critique of the naturalization of gender norms that hinders an understanding of experiences that exceed the binary ‘prostitute versus victim.’ I argue how both an abolitionist as well as a legalising solution to the is- sues involved in the sex market, when relying on the state as the guarantor of rights to sex workers, cannot account for the complexities of a context such as the Brazilian one, in which specific concep- tions of citizenship permit violence against sexually and racially marked groups to occur on such a large scale. Keywords: Gender; Prostitution; Sex Trafficking; Queer Theory; Feminism; Travestis. Introduction ‘Prostitution’ as an object of study can be approached through different perspectives that try to pin down exactly what are the social and political problems involved in it, and therefore how it can be dealt with by the State. -
Queer Studies Concentration Brochure
QUEER STUDIES CONCENTRATION Rachel Cooper Hall Second floor Campus Box 4260 Normal, IL 61790 Phone: (309) 438-2947 WGS.IllinoisState.edu This document is available in alternative formats upon request by contacting (309) 438-2947. An equal opportunity/affirmative action university encouraging diversity university marketing and communications 18-5631 printed on recycled paper REQUIREMENTS FOR THE QUEER STUDIES CONCENTRATION The queer studies concentration requires 12 credit hours of course work (four courses), which include three core courses and one elective. The concentration may be taken either within the WGS minor or as a stand-alone concentration independent of the minor. You may begin the concentration at any time, although we strongly recommend that students begin the sequence by first completing WGS 120 and complete WGS 292 before enrolling in WGS 392. The core courses are: • WGS 120: Gender, Sex, and Power • WGS 292: Introduction to LGBTQ Studies • WGS 392: Queer and Transgender Theory One additional elective may be chosen from the following list of approved courses: • ANT 270: Anthropology of Sex, Gender, and Sexuality • PHI 202: Sex, Values, and Human Nature • POL 337: Gay and Lesbian Political Theory WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES PROGRAM • PSY/SOC 123: Human Sexuality QUEER STUDIES CONCENTRATION • Seminars and topics courses with at least 50 percent queer/ sexuality content may be subwaivered into the sequence with The Women’s and Gender Studies’ (WGS) queer studies permission of the WGS advisor. concentration is an option for students wanting to enhance their understanding of lesbian, gay, bisexual, * The concentration will not appear on a student’s transcript. -
Critical Queer Pedagogy for Social Justice in Catholic Education
LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations Spring April 2014 A Place to Belong: Critical Queer Pedagogy for Social Justice in Catholic Education Roydavid Villanueva Quinto Loyola Marymount University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons, and the Religion Commons Recommended Citation Quinto, Roydavid Villanueva, "A Place to Belong: Critical Queer Pedagogy for Social Justice in Catholic Education" (2014). LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations. 202. https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/etd/202 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in LMU/LLS Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Loyola Marymount University and Loyola Law School. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LOYOLA MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY A Place to Belong: Critical Queer Pedagogy for Social Justice in Catholic Education by Roydavid Quinto A dissertation presented to the Faculty of the School of Education, Loyola Marymount University, in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education 2014 A Place to Belong: Critical Queer Pedagogy for Social Justice in Catholic Education Copyright © 2014 by Roydavid Quinto ABSTRACT A Place to Belong: Critical Queer Pedagogy for Social Justice in Catholic Education by Roydavid Quinto A growing number of gay and lesbian children attend Catholic schools throughout the United States; and an untold number of gay and lesbian children in Catholic schools are experiencing harassment, violence, and prejudice because of their sexual orientation or gender non-conformity. -
A Queer of Color Critique of Black Justice Discourse in Anti- Transgender Policy Rhetoric Antron D
University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class Volume 19 | Issue 1 Article 3 When the Spirit Says Dance: A Queer of Color Critique of Black Justice Discourse in Anti- Transgender Policy Rhetoric Antron D. Mahoney Heather Brydie Harris Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc Recommended Citation Antron D. Mahoney, & Heather B. Harris, When the Spirit Says Dance: A Queer of Color Critique of Black Justice Discourse in Anti- Transgender Policy Rhetoric, 19 U. Md. L.J. Race Relig. Gender & Class 7 (). Available at: https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/rrgc/vol19/iss1/3 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Academic Journals at DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Maryland Law Journal of Race, Religion, Gender and Class by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MAHONEY & HARRIS WHEN THE SPIRIT SAYS DANCE: A QUEER OF COLOR CRITIQUE OF BLACK JUSTICE DISCOURSE IN ANTI-TRANSGENDER POLICY RHETORIC ANTRON D. MAHONEY* HEATHER BRYDIE HARRIS** INTRODUCTION In a closed-door forum on July 11, 2017, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions invoked Martin Luther King, Jr. in a speech given to and in support of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), an anti- LGBT religious freedom group responsible for crafting many early anti- transgender bathroom bills.1 Employing King, Sessions parallels the ra- cial civil rights struggle of the past to the current “important work” of the ADF—by representing a divine moral right that he suggests be pro- tected by the state.2 Besides the personal criticism of Sessions’ civil rights record by Coretta Scott King when he was nominated for federal judgeship in 1986,3 Sessions’ deployment of King seems paradoxical on © 2019 Antron D. -
A Queer Method for Theology. Genilma Boehler1 Summary This
1 The pot of gold: a queer method for theology. Genilma Boehler1 Summary This article proposes an approach to theology through the queer method. Queer theory leads to a paradigm shift in which the Other (masculine), the Other (feminine), as subjects, assume a key role from the theoretical perspectives born out of post- structuralism and deconstructivism, not as an identifying mold, but by objectifying post- identity. The novelty for Latin American theology is in the possibility of re- conceptualizing the subject not with fixed, stable aspects, but with ample freedom. This also broadens the possibility for other aspects of conceptual renewal surrounding theological discourse, and of metaphors about God. Keywords: Queer method, Theology, Feminism, Post-identity, Subjects. Introduction In 2006 as I was preparing my doctoral research project2, I was confronted with an intriguing doubt: to choose a theology able to interact with the poetry of Adélia Prado,3 which in its literary production possessed various combined elements such as Biblical ones, theological ones, together with body, the erotic, sensuality, sexuality, and daily life. It was exactly at that juncture, when I was searching for theologies that would work with the hermeneutical key of sexuality, when I stumbled across lesbian feminist theologies (which I was already familiar with, just not on a deeper level), gay theologies and queer theology. These theologies provided me with a key to transgression such as suspicion to deconstruct concepts that are well established yet at the same time simplify the very same theological discourse. I was presented with an extremely attractive landscape, as I learned and deepened my understanding of my readings of queer theory. -
WGSS 392Q Introduction to Queer Theory Spring 2017
1 WGSS 392Q Introduction to Queer Theory Spring 2017 Tuesday & Thursday, 1:00-2:15 PM Class room: South College W101 Dr. J. Jeanine Ruhsam [email protected] Office Hours: T-TR. 10:00-11:15 AM Office: South College W421 Course Description Queer Theory critically examines the way power works to institutionalize and legitimate certain forms and expressions of sexuality and gender while stigmatizing others. Queer Theory followed the emergence and popularity of Gay and Lesbian (now, LGBT or Queer) Studies in the academy. Whereas LGBT Studies seeks to analyze LGBT people as stable identities, Queer Theory problematizes and challenges rigid identity categories, norms of sexuality and gender and the oppression and violence that such hegemonic norms justify. Often considered the "deconstruction" of LGBT studies, Queer Theory destabilizes sexual and gender identities allowing and encouraging multiple, unfettered interpretations of cultural phenomena. It predicates that all sexual behaviors and gender expressions, all concepts linking such to prescribed, associated identities, and their categorization into “normal” or “deviant” sexualities or gender, are constructed socially and generate modes of social meaning. Queer theory follows and expands upon feminist theory by refusing the belief that sexuality and gender identity are essentialist categories determined by biology that can thus be empirically judged by fixed standards of morality and “truth.” We will begin the course by developing a critical understanding of Queer Theory through reading foundational texts by Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Eve Sedgwick, Gayle Rubin and Leo Bersani. We will then examine the relationships between Queer Theory and other social and cultural theories that probe and critique power, privilege, and normativity, including critical race theory, transgender studies, feminist theory, and disability studies. -
Relations Between Queer Studies and Cultural Studies*
63 7 Relations between Queer Studies and Cultural Studies* David William Foster Arizona State University These notes expound on the imperative to interface emerging masculinist studies in Latin American scholarship with queer studies; indeed, I would argue that it is impossible—intellectually shortsighted—to attempt masculinity studies without such an interface. I discuss some examples of scholarship that I believe exemplify such a judicious interface. If queer studies emerge in tandem with feminism—and, indeed, enabled to a great extent by the successful challenge to masculinist (and, therefore, heterosexist) privilege undertaken by feminism—masculine studies emerge subsequently to complete the triangle of gender identity. Simone de Beauvoir could declare axiomatically “Woman is made, not born,” and thus it became necessary at some point to make a similar assertion about men. Thus, masculinity, as the ideology of being a man, can no longer be an unquestioned universal but, rather, must be examined as a process, a performance, and a historical contingency. In Latin American studies, the U.S. researcher Matthew C. Gutmann, in The Meanings of Macho, provided a founding text in his examination of Mexican machismo, * This essay is a section of a forthcoming survey of queer issues in Latin American cultural studies since 1980 that will appear in Spanish in a forthcoming issue of Revista Iberoamericana on lesbian and gay literature in Latin America. © 2006 Hispanic Issues Series ISSN 1931-8006 64 with several significant revisions of the record of received popular cultural knowledge, and Robert McKee Irwin focuses more specifically on culture, moving with considerable intellectual ability along a continuum between traditional forms of masculinity in Mexico and the homophobic constructions of homosexuality and effeminacy and a historical record of queer cultural manifestations that have functioned anti-phonically vis-à-vis a hegemonic culture of masculine virility. -
Women's Studies in the History of Religions
1 Women’s Studies in the History of Religions DAVID KINSLEY On the most archaic levels of culture, living as a human being is in itself a religious act, for alimentation, sexual life, and work have a sacramental value. In other words, to be— or rather, to become—a man means to be “religious.” —Mircea Eliade, A History of Religious Ideas o appreciate the radical impact women’s studies has had on the discipline Tof history of religions, it is necessary first to describe briefly how the his- tory of religions understands its task. The history of religions, which claims to be the objective, scientific study of religion, sets as its task nothing less than the study, in historical and cross- cultural perspective, of all human religious phenomena. It includes in its pur- view, not only sophisticated, literate, philosophical, and theological materials, but also popular expressions of human religiosity such as festivals, life cycle rituals, myths, and practices that are found only in oral traditions. The history of religions seeks to avoid an approach to human religiosity that privileges cer- tain materials as “higher” and others as “lower.” It assumes that all expres- sions of human religiosity are worthy of study. In the words of Mircea Eliade: “For the historian of religions, every manifestation of the sacred is important: every rite, every myth, every belief or divine figure reflects the experience of the sacred and hence implies the notions of being, of meaning, and of truth.”1 History of religions does not seek to evaluate one religion (or religious expression) vis-à-vis another with a view to declaring one superior to the other. -
Religion, Homosexuality, and Collisions of Liberty and Equality in American Public Law
A Jurisprudence of "Coming Out": Religion, Homosexuality, and Collisions of Liberty and Equality in American Public Law William N. Eskridge, Jr.! Conflicts among religious and ethnic groups have scored American cultural and political history. Some of these conflicts have involved campaigns of suppression against deviant religious and minority ethnic groups by the mainstream. Although the law has most often been deployed as an instrument of suppression, there is now a public law consensus to preserve and protect the autonomy of religious and ethnic subcultures, as well as the ability of their members to self-identify without penalty. One thesis of this Essay is that this vaunted public law consensus should be extended to sexual orientation minorities as well. Like religion, sexual orientation marks both personal identity and social divisions.' In this century, in fact, sexual orientation has steadily been replacing religion as the identity characteristic that is both physically invisible and morally polarizing. In 1900, one's group identity was largely defined by one's ethnicity, social class, sex, and religion. The norm was Anglo-Saxon, middle-class, male, and Protestant. The Jew, Roman Catholic, or Jehovah's Witness was considered deviant and was subject to social, economic, and political discrimination. In 2000, one's group identity will be largely defined by one's race, income, sex, and sexual orientation. The norm will be white, middle-income, male, and heterosexual. The lesbian, gay man, or transgendered person will be considered deviant and will be subject to social, economic, and political discrimination. t Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law Center. An earlier draft of this Essay was presented at workshops held at the Georgetown University Law Center. -
Queer Theology: Reclaiming Christianity for the LGBT Community Kelly Kraus
e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work Volume 2 Article 4 Number 3 Vol 2, No 3 (2011) September 2014 Queer Theology: Reclaiming Christianity for the LGBT Community Kelly Kraus Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/e-Research Part of the Christianity Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, and the Practical Theology Commons Recommended Citation Kraus, Kelly (2014) "Queer Theology: Reclaiming Christianity for the LGBT Community," e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work: Vol. 2: No. 3, Article 4. Available at: http://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/e-Research/vol2/iss3/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Chapman University Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work by an authorized administrator of Chapman University Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Kraus: Queer Theology: Reclaiming Christianity for the LGBT Community Queer Theology e-Research: A Journal of Undergraduate Work, Vol 2, No 3 (2011) HOME ABOUT USER HOME SEARCH CURRENT ARCHIVES Home > Vol 2, No 3 (2011) > Kraus Queer Theology: Reclaiming Christianity for the LGBT Community Kelly Kraus Key words, terms, concepts, names: queer, Christian theology, Bible, liberation theology, queer theology, sexuality, sinners, Jesus, Robert Goss The root of homophobia in the United States is the condemnation of homosexuality in the Church. By and large, Americans form their moral conscience based on the teachings of the church and so since the church condemns homosexuality, Americans blindly accept this teaching. This condemnation has done immense harm to the LGBT community and it is time for the LGBT community to reclaim Christianity. -
Do Atheism and Feminism Go Hand-In-Hand?: a Qualitative Investigation of Atheist Men’S Perspectives About Gender Equality
Do Atheism and Feminism Go Hand-in-Hand?: A Qualitative Investigation of Atheist Men’s Perspectives about Gender Equality Rebecca D. Stinson1 The University of Iowa Kathleen M. Goodman Miami University Charles Bermingham The University of Iowa Saba R. Ali The University of Iowa ABSTRACT: Drawing upon semi-structured interviews with 10 self-identified atheist men in the American Midwest, this qualitative study explored their perspectives regarding atheism, gender, and feminism. The data was analyzed using consensual qualitative research methodology (Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997). Results indicated these men had a proclivity for freethought—a commitment to questioning things and prioritizing reason over all else. They believed gender differences were primarily due to cultural and social influence in society. Gender inequality was highlighted as a problem within the U.S. and throughout the world, however this belief did not necessarily lead to being feminist-identified. There appeared to be a pathway linking their intellectual orientation, atheism, and belief in gender equality. KEYWORDS: ATHEISTS, MEN, GENDER EQUITY, FEMINISM 1 Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to: Rebecca D. Stinson, The University of Iowa, Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations, 361 Lindquist Center North, Iowa City, IA 52242, email: [email protected]. Secularism and Nonreligion, 2, 39-60 (2013). © Rebecca D. Stinson. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. Published at: www.secularismandnonreligion.org. DO ATHEISM AND FEMINISM GO HAND-IN-HAND? STINSON Introduction Atheists are individuals who do not believe in a god2 or gods. It is difficult to calculate the number of atheists in the United States because of the various terms atheists use to identify themselves (e.g., humanist, skeptic, non-believer; see Zuckerman, 2009), and because atheists may hesitate to self-identify as atheists due to the negative consequences associated with the label (Arcaro, 2010).