A few friends and I led a panel discussion on Religion and Radical Politics, described as "a chance to explore the political aspects in religious traditions which offer relevant critiques and points for hope in our world." Unfortunately, we weren't able to gather the religious diversity I had initially envisioned, but it was a great panel nonetheless. We all prepared more than we were able to share, but we briefly touched upon subjects such as debt and economics, gender, sexuality, and the current role of churches in organizing.
Though incomplete and vague, below are my notes for my discussion on "Sexuality and Class." My goal in this 10 minutes presentation was to show that the Gospel texts, though by no means "pro-gay", offers a vision of sexuality which is inseparable from political and economic realities. In many ways, in this presentation I am trying to work out my own frustrations with the dominant "gay rights" movement seems disconnect from class struggle and economic inequalities. As such, its demands (e.g. marriage equality, adoption, participation in the military) seem little more than bourgeois concerns and the movement elitist. Until its able to recognize and incorporate economic struggles (near and far), I have difficulty supporting much of the mainstream gay rights movement. My presentation was an attempt to show that the Gospel texts recognize both sexuality and economics as inseparable and offers avenues for the transformation of both in the new Christian community and beyond. My notes are below:
Sexuality
and Class: Presentation for MOBConf
My goal is not claim that the Bible is
a gay-friendly text or to try to defend its unsettling references to
homosexuality. I want to argue that marriage, reproduction, and
family are essential parts of heterosexism or “heteronormativity.”
And as such, heteronormativity is an instrument for defining and
controlling gender and sexuality as well as politics (i.e.
determining who is in or out, familiar
or foreigner, friend or stranger) and economics (who will help me
gain wealth?, how can I make sure my wealth isn't taken by another?,
who can have my wealth after I pass away?). Even though the Gospel
texts have no explicit reference to gay or lesbian issues, it levels
harsh critiques against marriage, reproduction, and the family unit
and thereby removes any foundation for heteronormativity in the new
community whose life together embody signs of the Kingdom to come.
Liberated from heteronormativity, new possibilities for gender and
for sexual identity are able to emerge. Simultaneously and in the same
moment, new political and economic possibilities also unfold.
Focusing on the Gospel text, we find
many declarations about the family—some overt and some not so
explicit. Regarding the family unit, one can find:
"Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you,
there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother
or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the
good news, who
will not receive a hundredfold now in this age—houses, brothers and
sisters, mothers and children, and fields, with persecutions—and in
the age to come eternal life." (Mark 10:29-30)
Or
"'Whoever
comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children,
brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my
disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my
disciple." (Luke
14:26-27)
Which can be interpreted it to mean
that you must hate mother, father, wife and children in so far as
they are those relationships to you (along with the privileges they
engender), but you must love them as members of the new, egalitarian
community oriented to justice.
The last passage included children,
which leads us to the issue of reproduction. Passages addressing and
critiquing reproduction state,
"While
he was saying this, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to
him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed
you!’ But he said, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of
God and obey it!'" (Luke 11:27-28)
Or
"But
to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to
become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of
the flesh or of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13)
Or Jesus'
declaration that those who enter the new community must be born from
above, that is, in contrast to their biological birth and any
privileges which might accompany it (John 3:1-8).
Even regarding
marriage, Jesus takes a critical and cautious posture which is made
evident in his own singlehood and when he affirms that,
considering the demands of marriage, for some it is better not to
marry (Matthew 19:5-12). All of this, and many other passages, are
not inconsequential nor just happenstance. It is not that the
Gospels hate marriage, but it is seen as dangerous for the
sustainability of a new, diverse community embodying mutuality. In
this egalitarian community dedicated to justice, all other social
identities and roles lose their privilege and have no merit. And so,
the Gospel text is explicitly critical of any valuation of marriage,
reproduction, and the family unit—essential aspects of
heteronormativity.
Okay,
so the Gospel texts are critical of heteronormativity... so what?
What does this have to do with sexuality? And what does this have to
do with organizing from below? This is very important if we
recognize that heteronormativity is a matrix for regulating not only
gender and sexuality, but also politics and economics. The family is
both the product and the conduit for socio-political realities. In
particular, sexuality is regulated in the structure of the
family—sexuality is restricted to between a man and a woman
(ensuring that the other person is one's own property) and has
reproduction as its goal (producing other economic agent to provide
support to the parents in old age and to responsibly inherit the
wealth of the couple after their demise). When understood in light
of heteronormativity, we can see how sexuality is intimately
entangled in politics and economics. In the traditional family unit,
sexuality is essential to determining boundaries—who is in or
out—as well as keep wealth and resources within closed,
reproducing circles. And this mechanism for keeping economics in
closed, familial circles is essential to creating and perpetuating
class division—those with wealth are able to keep it in their
closed circles and those in poverty continue to inherit poverty. And
despite the illusions of social mobility, the family structure is an
economic force that serves to keep out the unwanted and keep in
capital. An recent article in the Guardian titled “Yourdaddy's rich … inherited wealth may date back to dawn ofagriculture” by Maev Kennedy (May 28, 2012) confirms that the economic and political dynamic of the family has ancient roots. Returning to the biblical text, we see
this very problem happen in the Acts 5:1-11 account where the first
husband and wife mentioned in the new community are the very ones who
try to hoard money for themselves—violating the practice of sharing
with those in need and communal possessions.
What does this
have to do with sexuality? I find that much of the current, dominant discussions
about sexuality are narrow, still subscribing to heteronormative
ideals and, I propose, that's why "gay rights movements" have difficulty making any
connection to class and economic issues. However, sexuality is more than what
reproductive organ one enjoys. Marriage equality has become little
more than seeking to participate in heteronormativity and its
benefits to the exclusion of many who are of low-income. This, among
many other issues, makes much of LGBT movements full of elitist
aspirations. Those with unstable or non-tradtional families, those
with very little wealth or social capital, those who are jobless, and
those who have to rely on social services for support are often times
excluded from the “gay rights” vision represented by white,
muscular men who apparently are wealthy enough to go on cruises and
wear Diesel.
But in its
consistent critique of heteronormativity, the Gospels offer us
amazing groundwork regarding sexuality, economic inequality, and
becoming a community that works for justice. If we recognize a
common root of LGBTQ oppression and economic inequality in
heteronormativity, we'll be able 1) to forge queer movements that
will be inseparable from economic justice and 2) to organize and work
in solidarity with those who are low-income or marginalized because
our social ties and economics will take on a new shape. Suddenly,
our new family are those who seek justice, our siblings are those
commitment to mutuality, our children are those who continue the work
of the community after us. Rather than dividing along our bio-legal
family lines, mobilizing and organizing from below demands that we
are willing to enter new families. And once we undo the hold of the
heteronormative ideal and dedicate ourselves to the community of
radical justice, we'll find that sexual liberation and economic
liberation coincide.
