Response to Rapper T.I.'s Claim of Un-American Gays

In his recent interview with Vibe Magazine, rapper T.I. offered his insights and opinions on a number of topics, including his thoughts on the response of the gay community toward anti-gay slip-ups and slurs from rappers and other celebrities. We have seen responses to the comments of 50 Cent, Eminem, and the incident T.I. is responding to, Tracy Morgan—an incident for which he is still trying recover from the backlash.

To over simplify T.I.'s remarks, he essentially argues that gays are becoming oversensitive about homophobia and that responses to these incidents of anti-gay outbreaks are un-American. I am personally a fan of rap, hip-hop, and T.I. However, this cover interview with Vibe really begs the simple question: "Really, T.I.!?"

Walking with the Deathly Queer

More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish conquistadors arrived in what they perceived to be the “New World” (México), they encountered the indigenous peoples practicing a ritual that appeared, to them at least, to be creating a mockery out of death. They would keep skulls as trophies that symbolized not only death, but also rebirth. It was a ritual the indigenous people had practiced at for thousands of years. A ritual the Spaniards would try to unsuccessfully to eradicate. A ritual known today as Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

November 2 is celebrated as el Día de los Muertos in México and various parts of the United States. It is a day that is very close to my heart as I reflect on the lives and legacies of my own deceased loved ones.

We remember our dead, not as gone and lost forever, but a commemorate a day when they can cross into our plane of existence and be in fellowship and memorial with us. Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake. And that is what we celebrate today. What a way of queering the dead—and the living.

Loving Promiscuously: A Queer Theology of Doing It

The Anarchist Reverend, in conjunction with the Sanctuary Collective Empowerment Project, has called upon bloggers and writers to share in a synchroblog on queer theology. Thinking about how I wanted to begin to creatively reflect on such a task of writing a queer theology, I was immediately taken back to when I was planning a queer chapel service at Harvard Divinity School.

My queer friends and I gathered to plan a chapel service that would be hosted by the LGBTQ student group. As we thought about how we would order the service, what message, songs, and 'scripture' we wanted to share during this time of worship and fellowship, we were left with one question: What is queer worship?

After moments of sitting in silence while we all tried to think of some sophisticated and thoughtful way of responding, we all, almost unison, all blurted out: SEX! This response couldn’t be more appropriate and it’s the theme I wish to reflect on in this queer theology synchroblog.

Announcing New Book: Outspoken

Over the years I have blogged and written about the importance of storytelling. I’ve described storytelling as social protest. I continue to make the argument that stories serve as a critical witness to empower people to forge a path toward social change.

It’s been almost five years since I began using my own stories of coming out at a Christian college, surviving a gay exorcism, and discovering a way to reconcile my faith with my sexuality; all in hopes of instilling a sense of hope and encouragement in the lives of other LGBTQs.

Less than a year ago, I began to think: I should tell a story about storytelling.

Introducing a New Chapter in My Life!

Over the past few years I've been giving thought to how I want to advance the art and power of storytelling. Not just the work that comes from telling my own story and experiences, but finding a way to support the stories we all tell. The things we all write about. And the subjects we're all concerned with.

The past couple of years I've been working on major book projects. One is complete and others are forthcoming. Through the process of writing my own work and finding ways for my essays and larger projects to get published, I realize there are not too many opportunities for emerging writers to get their ideas and work out there in published form. And frankly, that's unacceptable. These voices of young emerging writers offer a refreshing and critical outlook on society that's invaluable for our movement and culture at large. That being so, I've envisioned for a while creating a way for young writers to have the opportunity to get their work published. Well, my dreams have come into fruition!

This month I launched Ruca Press, an independent publisher of serious works of non-fiction and fiction that engage the intersectionality of race, gender, sexuality, religion, and society—with an emphasis projects from young adults, LGBT/Queers, and people of color.

The "Ex-Gay Friend" in Our Lives

Last week a New York Times article shared the personal story of a gay friend turned "ex-gay." As a young man, Michael Glatze seemed very happy and at peace with who he was as a gay-identified individual. Until after some life changing events, he no longer felt that homosexuality was a natural disposition, nor an acceptable identity.

As I read through the article I could see myself in Michael's story. As an ex-gay survivor I once felt and believed the same things he explains as to why he chose to go ex-gay.

Sadly, our stories are not unique and isolated experiences. However, the reasons why Michael chose to go ex-gay and my own reasons do differ quite a bit. But again, even his reasons for going ex-gay is not unique. While religion and theology may play a role in convincing some that homosexuality is a sin and in need of repair, there is usually more at work in the decision to put oneself through reparative therapy.

Encouraging Bible Verses for LGBTs and Other Writings

In the past weeks, I've been doing some writing away from my blog, so I thought it'd be useful to at least share the links to said writings. First, I've been thinking about my coming out experience lately, and how I felt confused and very vulnerable as a Christian trying to understand my same-sex attractions. Through this reflection on my long and difficult journey out of the closet, I wrote an article on encouraging Bible verses for LGBTQ folk working their way out of the closet.

Recently I've also written a poem reflecting on religion and power as a queer person. This is the very first time I've ever publicly shared one of my poems. As I work more within the genre of creative writing (poetry, short stories, etc.) I thought sharing this piece would be a step in the right direction.

A lastly, I wrote an article on some of the changes ahead for LGBTQ life at Harvard through my own perceptions as a queer Harvard student.

Affirming the Gays at Christian Colleges

On Monday, the New York Times published an article on the rising presence of pro-LGBT or queer-affirming groups on Christian college campuses. The article recalls the efforts of the Soulforce Equality Ride, a grassroots campaign that brings young adults to Christian colleges and universities across the country to engage in open and honest conversations about faith and sexuality, and how the presence of the Riders has really stirred up student involvement in talking about homosexuality on their campuses. However, as expected, these groups of students are met with resistance at their colleges.

As a past Equality Rider (2007) and a former student at an Evangelical university—that came out as openly gay while I was still a student—I find this conversation in the NY Times to be long overdue, yet still very relevant today. Through my own experiences as an out gay student at Christian college and an activist that has engaged in hundreds, if not thousands, of conversations with Christian college students about this very subject, I offer my thoughts and reflections on the subject presented in the article.

Pensar: Rethinking Ourselves as Neighbors

As I continue to think about the time I spent at the U.S./México border this past January, I am also searching for new ways to articulate how my experiences and conversations about immigration and the border have affected my way of thinking about these issues that, to some (including myself), are very sensitive and serious matters to be addressed.

I now move into the next part of my blogging series about my border trip: pensar. I've been struggling to write this section because I've been expecting myself to have fully processed the stories I heard and the things I saw and took in during my trip. Then I remembered, we will never be done thinking about borders, movement, migration—the conversations, if anything, have just begun and are far from ending.

Fighting Our Battles

I am asked all the time how I keep up the work I do with with responding to and dealing with constant forms of religious abuse, bullying, homophobia, etc. The truth of the matter is, there isn't really one answer. The way I respond to the surge of emails I get with Leviticus verses changes all the time. The type of conversations I have with my adversaries differ person-to-person, situation-to-situation.

I've spoken at a number of schools and churches to offering training workshops on responding to our adversaries. And in those trainings we explore a variety of ways we can counter arguments and work towards actions that induce change. But as I continue my work, I have to keep rethinking the way I approach social justice work. Thus I offer a meditation on how we fight our battles, from where my mind is right now. How do we go forth and "keep fighting the good fight" — as my cellmates told me while I was in jail in Waco, Texas.

Ver: At the Border of Divided Communites, Lives, and Experiences

A few weeks ago I blogged about an upcoming trip to the US/Mexico border. Alas, I have returned from my visit to Tucson, AZ and Nogales, Sonora (México), with a lot on my mind and a lot to still process. The topic of immigration and the borderlands conjures up many emotions for a lot of us, and my experiences of hearing stories in the region has definitely challenged and reaffirmed many of the feelings I went into the trip having. In short, the trip was a very transformative experience. I had some tough and emotional experiences while in México and in the border region; but the experience was also rewarding and inspiring.

Our trip was hosted by an organization called BorderLinks. The BorderLinks' educational philosophy to these type of trips that they hope will incite delegations to forge a path towards dialogue and social change is simple: ver, pensar, y actuar. See, Think, and Act. Which is the way I will present my experiences of visiting the border. In this post, I will focus on what I saw, what I heard, and the type of experiences I took in. In two following posts, I will address my thoughts and what I'm still thinking about; and what I hope to do with the stories I heard and that really hit me hard with a plethora of emotions and feelings.

Finding Freedom and Coming Out of a Christian College

In 2007 I had the unique, but rewarding, opportunity to be a Rider on the Soulforce Equality Ride. We visited various Christian colleges and university across the country that have policies and/or environments that discriminate against LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff. Part of my interest in the Ride came from my own personal connection with Christian colleges. Prior to my involvement with Soulforce I was a student at Azusa Pacific University, one of the largest evangelical Christian universities in the country. However, after coming out as openly gay to the entire university, I was forced to make a very difficult decision: to leave the university.

When I talk about my coming out experiences, I am often asked, "What was it like to be gay at a Christian college?" And as I think about my own story and the stories I encountered from queer students on the Equality Ride, I feel inclined to reply by just simply saying, "It sucked." But if I'm going to really think about what it was like to be a gay student at a Christian college, I need to elaborate just a bit more. Granted, I can only speak from my own experiences and the stories I've heard from other LGBTQ students.

Border Crosser: Into the Wilderness

In a little less than two weeks I will be joining a group from school to visit the US/Mexico border by way of the Arizona border. Our objective as a study group is to examine the border in a theological perspective (if the task can be done at all). We will be spend a week in the Tucson, Arizona (US) and Nogales, Sonora (MX) areas having conversations with local organizations, churches, and community members. I'm definitely looking forward to blogging about my experiences when I return from my trip.

As I prepare myself logistically for our trip, I'm also spending time preparing myself mentally and spiritually. When I think about borderlands and the idea of borderland theories, liminality, and all that academic jargon, I can't help but wonder if any of it is relevant. Can I expect to put a label on the experiences of border crossers? Why does that space need to be labeled?

2011: Time For Change

As I reflect on 2010, I am thankful for the many opportunities that were presented to me. I am thankful for the experiences I had. I graduated from the University of California, Riverside, moved clear across the country to Boston and here I am.

Moving to Boston has been a time of rebirth and new-birth for me in many ways. I find myself passionate about different things, writing about different things, talking about different things. My resolution for 2011 is to embrace the changes in my life. That begins with changing the look and feel of my websites. Both my blog and personal site have taken on new looks and new objectives.