“What’s a Conscientious Faggot to Do?”

My friend Lydia recently shared with me an article from the website Dissident Voice.

Written by Charlie Hinton and entitled “The Burka, the Castro, and the Unborn Child,” the article draws connections between the various forms of religious fundamentalism and their impact on “women and queers.”

Following is an excerpt.

I’m troubled by the evolution of sexuality since I came out in the glory days of gay liberation. Capitalism has turned what started out for me as a personal matter of sexual freedom, the casting off of the repressed puritanical sexuality of the Cold War United States, into big business and a new kind of sexual exploitation. Pornography has evolved from an underground subculture to a major industry with its own celebrities and millionaires. Advertising and popular culture flaunt sexuality and nakedness to the point that ‘sexual liberation’ has become more about the commodification of sex than about the liberation of human beings . . . I really don’t like pornography – its stereotypical bodies and mechanical sex. There are times I’d rather not be bombarded with pornographic video ads when I walk down Castro Street, and frankly, I feel solidarity with people of all faiths who’d like to raise their children in a less sex-obsessed environment.

The one force that binds together all forms of fundamentalist religion is their adherence to patriarchy, with strictly defined roles for men and women. I fear the power and potential for violence of the fundamentalist religious tide that is sweeping the world – not just Protestant Christianity and Islam, but also fundamentalist Judaism, Hinduism, Opus Dei Catholicism, and others. As women, queers, and trans people challenge patriarchal sex roles and division of labor, male supremacists respond with ever more force and violence.

The world finds itself at a particularly risky juncture, but one pregnant with revolution and change. In the Islamic world, religion is used as an organizing force to fight against imperial aggression and colonial occupation. In the Christian world, religion is used as a bulwark to defend ‘traditional family values,’ which include imperial aggression and colonial occupation. In both cases women and queers suffer. What’s a conscientious faggot to do?

Hinton goes on to outline a number of responses to this question, which is one reason why I like and recommend his article. He doesn’t just highlight the negative, but offers possible solutions and alternatives.

To read the entire article, click here.