Abstract
Kerri Mesner combines queer theologies and Theatre of the Oppressed to bridge a gap between activist approaches and sexual-theological activism. Despite extraordinary strides in queer religious activism in recent decades, religiously motivated anti-queer violence continues to be both prevalent and inadequately addressed. Both subtle and outright homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia are among the few remaining forms of societal discrimination that still carry an air of acceptability. This discrimination appears to be further exacerbated by complacency within queer communities and by an increasing normalization and mainstreaming of queer religious activist movements. Mesner introduces a new body of work combining queer theologies and Theatre of the Oppressed to develop strategic interventions for addressing religiously motivated anti-queer violence, specifically drawing on queer theologian Marcella Althaus-Reid and Theatre of the Oppressed creator Augusto Boal. In so doing, notes Mesner, this new area of ministry aims to bridge the gap between academic and activist approaches to sexual-theological activism.
This article was first published as Mesner, Kerri A. “Innovations in Sexual-Theological Activism: Queer Theology Meets Theatre of the Oppressed.” Theology and Sexuality: The Journal of the Institute for the Study of Christianity and Sexuality. 16:3. (2010) 285–303. Print.
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- 1.
To protect the confidentiality of workshop participants and processes, the examples are composites from a wide range of my experiences as a T.O. facilitator.
- 2.
Boal uses the term arsenal to refer to his own wide range of theatrical strategies, perhaps as a response to the politically violent context within which they originally were formulated.
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Mesner, K.A. (2018). Innovations in Sexual-Theological Activism: Queer Theology Meets Theatre of the Oppressed. In: McNeil, E., Wermers, J., Lunn, J. (eds) Mapping Queer Space(s) of Praxis and Pedagogy. Queer Studies and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64623-7_14
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