Launch of New Blog on Queer Chican@ Theology

Over the past few years I have been shifting my work to have a more theological focus, as my way of approaching how I engage LGBT and Queer activism. It was during my time at Harvard Divinity School that I began to tease out my interests and begin honing in on what I wanted to focus my energy and time toward. I have wrestled with developing a queer theology that moves beyond homonormative thinking, while affirming the multicultural make-up of queers. I've been trying to liberate myself from a liberation theology that does not foreground my queerness as something that deserves to be liberated from the structures in place that oppress me. And I have arrived at a space where I find it necessary to begin having those conversations.

With the rise of jotería studies, an emerging field engaging queerness and Chicana/o studies, I am interested in how using this new language in conversation with my background in theology will open doors to begin looking at how we talk about same-sex desire in Latin American and Chicana/o contexts. What I'm basically getting at is, I started a new blog! One that will be receiving more attention than this, as that's where I feel my heart is at right now.

JOT(E)LOGÍA is an experimental conversation about understanding same-sex desire and queerness on a postcolonial, theological level. In other words, how representations of the sexualized body function as religious and spiritual practice. I endeavor to use an intersectional, intertextual, and intersexual approach to looking into what this new area looks like, making use of texts, images, videos, art, etc. So please make you're way over there to bookmark it and join in on the conversation! I really do look forward to seeing what comes of this project.

While my energy will focused on moving into this next chapter of my writing and thinking, I am still committed to speaking out against the ex-gay movement and affirming safe-spaces within the church and religious institutions for LGBTQ individuals. I look forward to still traveling the country to share my story and the stories of others on how we have found a place of reconciliation within ourselves. For information on booking me to speak at your school, church, or event, please email booking@vincentcervantes.com for more information.

New Chapter: Endings and Beginnings

I know that it has been about six month since my last post and even before then I was not keeping up a regular posting schedule as I used to in the past. But I figured at this juncture in the my life an update was appropriately due.

To repeat all the expected cliches of someone ending a life-changing event and about to embark on a new one, I wanted to express that I do look forward to what is to come and that the past few years have been the some of the most formative and influential years in my life thus far, and that when I look back I will remember how much I grew as a person and how much my work I will continue will be forever changed.

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.

Headed to Harvard Divinity School

I am graduating (finally) this June from the University of California, Riverside with a B.A. in Religious Studies and I wanted to take the time to personally announce that this fall I will be joining the student body at Harvard Divinity School in Cambridge, MA.

I am very excited about this opportunity. The decisions that went into deciding which graduate school I wanted to attend were very difficult to make, and each school received special consideration.

I am looking forward to the challenges and successes ahead while I'm at student at Harvard. I will be blogging more about my experiences as a queer divinity school student in the near future.