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A Rite of Queering
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In his classic text “Liberating Rites,” theologian Tom Driver suggests that a ritual is a “transformance”—a performance designed to change a situation. Rites of passage are about a fundamental change in status or identity. For many, “coming out” is a sort of rite of passage. But it is one that has, unfortunately, been cast…
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Changing Yourself to Find Your Self: Reflections on Judgement and Gender Expression
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As I continue in my process of gender transition, I’m asking myself what I want to change about myself and why. Criticism and judgement abounds in our society—animated by both the soul-less force of consumer capitalism and the toxic religiosity of Christian supremacy. Ours is a performance culture, were we are often made to…
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Vexing the Vainglorious Ashe Van S.
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If you follow me on social media, you may have noticed that I’ve been very vulnerable about my transition in ways that many (if not most) people could find awkward. When I started my transition, I committed to do so publicly. I’ve shared pictures of myself trying to look pretty. I’ve made videos addressing…
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Queer Rebellions Against God
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When other Christians get upset at me for being in rebellion against God (because, you know, I’m queer and stuff), most of the time it is because they believe the Bible insists upon a strict gender binary and commands heterosexual monogamy as the only faithful way to live. And since they believe that, in…
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Queering Jesus
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“Queer” started as a slur against folks whose sexuality or gender “deviated” from the norm. In the late 1980s, various people and groups started embracing the word as a sort of self-identifier. A way of challenging mainstream society and its assumptions about what is “normal.” Today it is often used as a “catch all”…