Rainbow Theology. Patrick S. Cheng

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СКАЧАТЬ meanings within the realm of queer theology, including transgression as well as the dissolution of binaries with respect to sexuality and gender.24

      As it may be fairly obvious by now, the subcategories that make up the terms “LGBTIQ” or “queer” are actually quite different from one another. That is, the terms “lesbian,” “gay,” and “bisexual” refer to sexual orientation (that is, the object of one’s attraction on a physical and emotional level). By contrast, “transgender” refers to gender identity and expression (that is, the gender(s) with which one identifies and/or expresses to the world). “Intersex” refers to biological sex (that is, one’s sexual organs, hormones, and chromosomes). What binds these various terms together, ultimately, is a sense of marginalization with respect to dominant societal norms with respect to sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and/or biological sex.25

      Third, the term “spirituality” is used broadly in this book to describe “those attitudes, beliefs and practices which animate people’s lives and help them to reach out toward super-sensible realities.”26 That is, spirituality refers to one’s engagement with an ultimate reality that is beyond the realm of senses. This can include organized religions—whether the Abrahamic faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, or Eastern philosophies such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism—or it can involve more personal or individual spiritual practices.

      It should be noted that these definitions are not intended to reinforce essentialist thinking about racial, sexual, and spiritual categories. That is, rather than pointing to something “essentialist” about a person (for example, a person’s inherent “Asianness” or “queerness”), the categories of race, sexuality, and spirituality are actually fluid and highly dependent upon social context such as “time, place, and situation.”27 Although racial, sexual, and spiritual traits may be grounded in physical characteristics or experiences, the significance of such characteristics is socially constructed and changes over time.28

       4. Scope and Limitations

      Having discussed definitional issues, I believe that it is also important to describe the scope and limitations of this book. First and foremost, although this book does cover a number of very broad issues such as race, sexuality, and spirituality, it is ultimately a work of Christian theology. That is, this book is ultimately grounded in my own identity as a follower of Jesus Christ, which has shaped my vocation as a systematic theologian, a seminary professor, and an ordained minister.

      That being said, I am deeply committed to bringing interfaith perspectives and sources into my work. Although I cannot speak on behalf of persons from non-Christian faith communities, I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area with my maternal grandparents who had spent much of their adult lives in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. They never converted to Christianity and maintained a hybridized view of religion as a blend of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. My brother, as I have written elsewhere, is a convert to Judaism.29 Accordingly, I am sensitive to interfaith issues, and I discuss them in greater detail in the second part of this book.

      Second, I write from my own social location as an openly-gay, cisgender (that is, non-transgender), Gen X, and able-bodied Chinese American man in academia. I realize that within the hierarchy of power within communities of color, I occupy a relatively privileged position with respect to my sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, age, ability, ethnicity, class, and occupation. Although I have tried my best to step outside of my own social location and include perspectives other than my own in this book, I will inevitably fall short in terms of my sources and examples. For that I ask for your patience and understanding, and I invite you to contact me with comments and additional perspectives that I may have overlooked.

      Third, the examples in this book will focus primarily on communities of color within the United States. One of the reasons for this focus is that most of the writings by LGBTIQ theologians of color have been produced within the United States. Another reason for this focus is that I have spent virtually all of my life living within the United States, and thus my own experiences are limited with respect to transnational issues. That being said, Part II of this book discusses the importance of cross-border issues for queer theologians of color. It also acknowledges that the United States vs. international divide is not so easy to draw, particularly in the case of queer Asian American and Latina/o theologians.

      Having addressed a number of theoretical issues, definitions, and limitations of this book, particularly relating to LGBTIQ people of color, we now turn to a survey of queer of color theologies. In the remaining four chapters of Part I of this book, we will explore queer Black, queer Asian American, queer Latina/o, and Two-Spirit Indigenous theologies and religious scholarship.30

       Study Questions

      1. What are your reasons for reading this book? What do you hope to learn from queer of color theologies?

      2. It might be argued that the concept of “queer of color” is not a valid conceptual category. Do you agree or disagree? What are some reasons in favor of using this category?

      3. Name some key scholarly works relating to the experiences of LGBTIQ people of color. Which of these works, if any, have you read in the past?

      4. Explain, in your own words, how the terms “race,” “sexuality,” and “spirituality” are used in this book.

      5. What are some limitations of this book as described by the author? Which of these limitations concern you the most?

       For Further Study

       Queer Theology and Religious Studies

      • Cheng, Radical Love, 9–11

      • Lowe, “Gay, Lesbian, and Queer Theologies”

      • Schippert, “Implications of Queer Theory for the Study of Religion and Gender”

      • Schippert, “Queer Theory and the Study of Religion”

      • Schneider, “Queer Theory”

      • Wilcox, “Queer Theory and the Study of Religion”

       Queer of Color Scholarship

      • Anzaldúa, Borderlands/La Frontera

      • Constantine-Simms, The Greatest Taboo

      • Driskill et al., Queer Indigenous Studies

      • Eng, Halberstam, and Muñoz, “What’s Queer about Queer Studies Now?”

      • Eng and Hom, Q&A

      • Hames-García, “Queer Theory Revisited,” 26–27

      • Hames-García and Martínez, Gay Latino Studies

      • Lorde, Sister Outsider

      • Smith, “Toward a Black Feminist Criticism”

       Race

      • Gregory СКАЧАТЬ