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.

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.

Queer Youth Speaking Up: Reteaching Gender and Sexuality

Check out this video I came across yesterday. It's been the repost of the day on Facebook by queers and trans folk across the interwebs. Young people in Seattle from the Put This On The Map project put together this fantastic short video. I think it's vitally important that we allow young people to speak for themselves and define their own queerness and their own spaces; as opposed to just telling them, "It Gets Better" — which these young people also critique in this video.

My favorite line: "We need to move past safe spaces ...how about liberating spaces?"

Exodus International Targets Young People for 2011

Despite the substantial scientific, and even theological, evidence that debunks the myth that homosexuality, bisexuality, and gender variance are not embodied ‘disorders’, ex-gay organizations, like Exodus International, have refused to close their doors and rescind their claims that LGBTQ folk are morally flawed and in need of fixing.

Instead, for 2011 Exodus International has refocused their mission and their strategic vision planning has developed into the following manifesto for the upcoming year: Simplify, Amplify, and Intensify.

In an open letter to their supporters, Alan Chambers elaborates on these concepts as they move forward to refocus their mission (simplify), refocus their target audiences (amplify), and refocus the cultural impact their message carries in the world (intensify).

As expected, I have many contentions with Chambers’ message. I find his argument within these categories to be theologically problematic. However, despite my best efforts to disagree with Chambers and Exodus, their organization continues to exist and their message continues to reach the lives of many individuals every day.

Queer Youth and Religious Debates Over Sexuality

Last month, Harvard Divinity School hosted, "Queer Youth and Religious Debates Over Sexuality," a panel that discussed, as the titled suggests, queer youth in the United States and their relationship to religion and the church. The panel consisted of leading voices on the subject, including Dr. Mark Jordan, a prolific author on the role of homosexuality in American religion.

The video of the event is finally available on the HDS website, but I thought I would repost the video here to facilitate further discussion on the subject of youth, religion, theology, and sexuality.

Video after the jump.

Where's Our Queer Fairy Tale?

Glee, as it does every week, has everyone talking. This past episode definitely had queer folk across the country smiling, yet crying. Feeling joy, while also feeling anguish and anger even. Last night's episode of Glee had Kurt spying on a nearby all-boy private school. While Kurt pretends to go undercover, he meets another gay teenager, and viewers finally see Kurt engaged in the beginnings of a queer romance. The all-boy Glee club performed Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" and it is definitely the buzz of Tweets and Facebook statuses (video after the jump).

This performance left me smiling, and thinking that this is the beginning our queer fairy tale -- finally available for young queer people struggling to understand their same-sex attractions and/or gender variance. The queering of Katy Perry's song brings me back to the times in my life when I felt attractions and crushes towards other men, but 1) didn't have a language to talk about said feelings; and 2) didn't think it was acceptable to feel that way.