Gay Men and Religion Unit
Based on very fruitful presentations and conversations at the November '25 General Meeting, the Gay Men and Religion Program Unit welcomes paper and panel proposals on:
- Gayness and Indigenous sexualities
- Religious reception of, adaptation of, and resistance to dominant gay paradigms of North America and Western Europe from outside those geographical regions (and from minoritized perspectives within those regions)
- Gay elders, gay youth (e.g., community in the wake of the AIDS epidemic, gay religious practice across generations, intergenerational sex between men)
- Gay/queer saints—processes of commemoration, veneration, etc.
- Gay privilege and gay complicity in an age of anti-trans terror (and possibilities for gay-trans solidarity)
- Religion and sex in the age of PrEP
Papers may explore the historical and/or contextual possibilities of the above topics and ways in which age, race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, and other factors influence, form, and/or challenge understandings of gay experiences in the past, present, and future.
The Gay Men and Religion Unit: Provides scholarly reflection and writing on the intersections of gay male experience, including sexual experiences, with religious traditions and spiritual practices. Fosters ongoing contributions by (or about) gay men—or men who have sex with men—to religious scholarship in all its forms; we are especially interested in gay men’s experiences across a range of religious traditions and in a wide variety of geographical contexts. Critically challenges homophobic scholarship and religious teaching, on the one hand, and aspects of the LGBTQI equality movement that promote assimilation and normalization of hegemonic patriarchy and heterosexism, on the other. Engages a variety of theoretical and political discourses, which fosters vigorous dialogue between essentialist and constructionist notions of gay male identity; this includes recognizing the insights and limitations of any theoretical and methodological approach to the study of religion and sexuality.
| Chair | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Pettinger | mfpettinger@gmail.com | - | View |