Queer/Religion
There is a body of references in Pāli Buddhist texts that discuss a case that is brought to the Buddha by his followers that claim that both monks and nuns can experience a change of sex. This theme is not uncommon in Mahāyāna literature, as evidenced by the familiar debate between Śariputra and the Goddess … Read more
In her memoir, intersex activist Thea Hillman describes an encounter in a bathroom. The scene takes place at a conference, where Hillman works together with another activist to support a disabled woman’s access to the restroom. She describes their inelegant struggle to undress this relative stranger. Afterwards, Hillman addresses them both: “You and I have … Read more
Rather than learning to respect the very different perspectives and experiences that each transgender subgroup brings to the table, the transgender community has instead become a sort of gender free-for-all, where identities are regularly co-opted by others within the community. These days, many transsexuals assume that they have the right to appropriate the language of, … Read more
When Adriaan van Klinken invited me a few years ago to contribute to a Dutch edited volume with queer readings of the Bible, one thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to engage in Biblical cruising, that is, trying to find any gays—or lesbians, or bisexuals, or transgender people—in the Bible. Such … Read more
Article note. On November 2, 2013, an international LGBTQ delegation attending the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) traveled to Seoul to participate in a daylong gathering. Over twenty delegates—mostly from North America and Western Europe but also a few delegates from South Africa, Indonesia, and Uganda—joined South Korean clergy, lay, and … Read more
“I’m a spiritual slut,” said Sister Krissy Fiction, the Nun Who Got Nailed, to me matter-of-factly one day. Like the Sisters themselves, this comment was composed of simultaneous humor and earnestness. She explained further: “I’m fluent in Christianity and fluent in neopaganism, and can kind of ask where the bathroom is in Buddhism.” Sister Krissy … Read more
In recent years, many African countries have witnessed public controversies and political debates over homosexuality and gay or LGBT rights. These have often received widespread international attention, with Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act−signed into law by President Museveni in February 2014 (but later annulled by the Constitutional Court)−as the most well-known example. Many commentators have explained these … Read more
In recent years, there have been important developments in academic literature relating to “queer” identity in contemporary India, both in identifying “queer” subjectivities and in developing “queer” theoretical approaches in relation to the study of religion, gender, and sexuality, particularly regarding MSM identities. Such articulations on “queer” identities and approaches continue to shape the study … Read more
Now more than ever before we hear Muslim voices in opposition to the “mainstream,” particularly on issues of gender and sexuality. These challenging and queer voices forcefully push us to consider how this mainstream came to be and what it actually tells us about Muslim societies. These voices further challenge notions of “orthodoxy” and “authority” … Read more
Article acknowledgements. “Queer” and “religion” are arguably uneasy bedfellows. Both can be—and are being—used as categories for the projection of identitarian yearning and belonging, often constructed as mutually exclusive types of belonging. Both categories are problematic; both are contested. In this paper I investigate queer (and) religion using different discursive threads such as Human Rights; … Read more
