2.04.2008

compulsory christianity, heterosexuality, & why i can't listen to the radio in my mama's car.

part of this comes from dark daughta's post on a particular video, the other part from having the distinct (dis)pleasure of listening to the "single & saved" radio program on my way home from my mom's last night. i don't like the idea that i have to be christian to be okay or a person of faith any more than i like the idea that i have to be white to be beautiful. i think that as i've aged & explored more of the world, i've gotten into a habit of questioning more things that have always been considered necessary by virtue of being long-standing. through this questioning i've been labeled a trouble making man hating feminist, a non-practicing lesbian, an untrue queer woman & heaven only knows what else. because i refuse to stick to one thing once i gain clarity. i question the answers too, even if i don't verbalize my inquiries. sooooooo, that brings me around to a few questions:

am i so programmed, that i don't know what oppression sounds like even when it comes to a song i like?
is the christian movement against queerness (especially amongst black americans) the result of a genuine understanding of homosexuality as a sin, or is it because the religion tends to describe heterosexuality & breeding as the purpose of humankind? short answer: yes. when ppl aren't hetero, they aren't breeding. when women aren't fawning over men & actively trying to be sheep that renders the men useless. the bible, in my opinion, defines human beings as here for roughly three purposes: serving god, breeding, and suffering until we get to heaven.
is it even possible for me to, once i start to deconstruct things that are oppressive at the root, to simply dig a song/ tv program/ movie? will everything strike me as possibly/ probably racist/ heterosexist/ homophobic?

(more later)

2 comments:

Dark Daughta said...

Oh I don't know about you, but I'm a complete pop culture junky. I consume everything. It's just that I want to decide exactly what of it I'm gonna consume, which parts, how I will consume them and why. This means understanding what I'm consuming as best as I can. For me I don't need to avoid knowledge of how different shows, videos, songs, movies, adverts maintain systems of domination. My enjoyment isn't hinged on avoiding being clear. Actually, my enjoyment is clearer because there's nothing subconscious nagging at me, squirming into my brain. I appreciate the running internal dialogue.

I posted something for you

http://darkdaughta.blogspot.com/2008/02/when-i-decided-i-would-do-queer-femme.html

creatrix said...

single & saved, huh? ha...

i was at my godmother's house yesterday and her partner was talking about how yahweh seems like an orisha who got outta hand, not the creator. since he was the first angel to come along, when the 2nd was birthed and started to marvel at the world, he just went, "yeah. i did that." and that's how all the trouble started...

i didn't get into how it had been cut up into so many bits and pieces by the time it got to us that of course it made no sense anymore, no matter how people tried to justify it. and the more parts of it are found, the less fundamental christianity makes sense anyway (e.g., the dead sea scrolls, gospel of mary magdalene, etc).

...but i'm pretty sure she knows that already. *smile*

wish more folks would learn...