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Everyone gave me high fives as I swaggered down our elementary school hall. It was all a gargantuan act. My arm throbbed with every heartbeat and I wanted to sprint to the nurse and get some ice. I got myself into a contest at recess with the brilliant goal of taking the most punches before crying, “Uncle!” Apparently, I was […]
Read moreMichel Foucault in The History of Sexuality Volume 1: An Introduction explains power and ultimately demonstrates that sexuality is a construct created by discourse. To begin to understand Foucault’s argument, we must start by learning why he believed that our widely held theory on sexuality was erroneous. The repressive hypothesis is a prevalent theory that analyzes how our current notions […]
Read morePatriarchy is a widespread system of male domination that has caused great oppression in our world and in the Christian church for the ages. Mary Daly brilliantly states in her monumentally significant work Beyond God the Father: “If God is male then male is God”.[1] This statement, for Daly, is about the dominant position of the system of patriarchy. This […]
Read moreThe obscure story of King Eglon and the Israelite deliverer, Ehud, found in Judges 3 can be read through a variety of hermeneutical lenses. The narrative begins, “The Israelites lived among the Canannites, the Hittites, the Ammorites, The Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites” and were sold into slavery because they “did what was evil in the sight of YHWH”. […]
Read moreOn a blissful, summer day I found etched into history a profound statement for the ages. In his second inaugural address during the midst of the Civil War Abraham Lincoln courageously proclaimed: “Both read the same Bible, and pray to the same God; and each invokes his aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare […]
Read moreI wailed as tears cascaded down my cheeks! It just couldn’t be true. I sat on his lap a week ago and stroked his big, fluffy beard. I saw the empty plate where I left cookies. My whole childhood world was rocked! If the Santa example does not hold any significance for you, take a second and think of how […]
Read moreBigotry and violence aimed at “queer” people can be traced to fear and hatred felt by many who consider heterosexuality the only normative behavior. For the purposes of this essay “queer” is anyone who lives outside of a heteronormative construct and includes the LGBTIQ community. The heteronormative construct is a framework whereby everyone is measured against the plumb line of […]
Read moreNarrowing the multiple definitions of feminism and feminist theory into one cohesive, understandable definition is a daunting task. Asking the question, “What is feminist theory,” produces the following answer: “In simple terms, feminist theory is a theory on women’s rights and gender equality. It involves the study of women’s roles in society which include their rights, privileges, interests, and concerns. […]
Read moreHistorically, humans living outside of the heteronormative construct are silent and tyrannized. These marginalized “Other” suffer under the oppression of structures of tradition, culture, religion, politics, economics and education. They function within an androcentric-heteronormative construct. The term queer “refers to anything outside the norm,” according to Laurel C. Schneider.[i] Within this oppression a queer community rises up and with it […]
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