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Transphobia “Not in my backyard!” Or, perhaps more appropriately, “Not in my bathroom!” Such refrains have become alarmingly common in recent years. As the national debate about the queer community has progressed in the United States, more and more groups within that community have come into the spotlight. While at first the debate centered on the right of gay and […]
Read more“It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve!” “Marriage has always been between one man and one woman!” Such are the arguments that often spew from the mouths of those who oppose the validity of non-heterosexual lifestyles. These statements, along with countless others, aim to show that heterosexuality is the only proper mode of human existence. While these people have […]
Read more“The sun never sets on the British Empire!” This cheerful motto, happily thrown about by British citizens and colonial officers through a large portion of nineteenth and twentieth centuries, almost gives one a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. I mean a literal warm feeling – the phrase conjures up images of sunny shores, imperial wealth, and maybe even happy natives. […]
Read moreThe word homophobia tends to trouble the hearts and minds of those who hear it. There is an innate fear of the word due to social locations and cultural differences. The crucial issue is that this troublesome word has become imbedded into the ethos and philosophy of society in America. More overly, homophobia has further influenced the dichotomy of segregation […]
Read moreEveryone 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 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 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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