A place for LGBTQ spirituality and the arts. Home of the gay Jesus and queer saints. Uniting body, mind and spirit. Open to all. Renamed Q Spirit blog and moved to Qspirit.net in 2017.
Tyler Clementi (1992-2010) brought international attention to bullying-related suicide of LGBT youth by jumping to his death on this date (Sept. 22) in 2010.
Clementi’s highly publicized tragedy made him into a gay martyr whose untimely death put a public face on the problems of LGBT teenagers. His story sparked efforts to support LGBT youth, raise awareness of the harassment they face, and prevent suicide among queer young people. Another result is new legislation stiffening penalties for cyber harassment.
His parents once considered suing Rutgers over their son's death, but in February 2013 they announced that they were working with the university to form the Tyler Clementi Center at Rutgers. It sponsors conferences and academic research to help students make the transition to college. They also established the Tyler Clementi Foundation to promote acceptance of LGBT youth and more inclusive society.
Clementi was an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey when he was driven to suicide by his room mate's anti-gay cyber-bullying.
A talented violinist, Clementi came out to his parents as gay before leaving home for college. Three days before the suicide, Clementi’s room mate used a webcam to secretly record Clementi kissing another man in their dorm room and streamed the video live over the Internet. In messages posted online before he took his own life, Clementi told how he complained to authorities about the cyber-bullying and asked for a new room assignment. Then he jumped off the George Washington Bridge. It took a week to find his body.
The room mate, Dharum Ravi, also 18 at the time, was convicted on 15 counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, in connection with Clementi’s suicide. Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail; 3 years of probation; 300 hours of community service; fined $10,000; and ordered to undergo counseling on cyberbullying and alternate lifestyles. His accomplice, Molly Wei, avoided jail time by agreeing to testify against Ravi.
Anti-LGBT statements by public figures are also partly responsible for Clementi’s death. They created the hostile environment that drove Clementi to suicide. Artist Louisa Bertman emphasizes this point in her powerful ink illustration, “Tyler Clementi, JUMP!” She makes visible the hateful voices that may have been in Clementi’s mind. In her drawing, his head overflows with people urging him to jump. They are politicians as well as the actual students who bullied him. Their names are listed in a stark statement at the bottom of the drawing:
“Message brought to you by Sally Kern, Kim Meltzer, Nathan Deal, Carl Paladino, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Tom Emmer, Jeremy Walters, Rick Perry, Bob Vander Plaats, Dharun Ravi, and Molly Wei.”
Bertman, an artist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is known for her non-traditional portraits.
Clementi helped inspire the founding of the It Gets Better Project and Spirit Day. The It Get Better Project aims to stop suicide among LGBT teens with videos of adults assuring them that “it gets better.” Spirit Day, first observed on Oct. 20, 2010, is a day when people wear purple to show support for young LGBT victims of bullying.
Unfortunately Clementi’s experience is far from rare. Openly lesbian talk show host Ellen Degeneres spoke for many in a video message that put his suicide into context shortly after he died:
“I am devastated by the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi….Something must be done. This month alone, there has been a shocking number of news stories about teens who have been teased and bullied and then committed suicide; like 13-year-old Seth Walsh in Tehachapi, California, Asher Brown, 13, of Cypress, Texas and 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensberg, Indiana. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone: teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.”
Help is available right now from the Trevor Project, a 24-hour national help line for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens. Contact them at 866 4U TREVOR or their website: thetrevorproject.org.
Tyler Clementi’s webcam photo of himself (Wikimedia Commons)
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This post is part of the LGBTQ Saints series by Kittredge Cherry. Traditional and alternative saints, people in the Bible, LGBTQ martyrs, authors, theologians, religious leaders, artists, deities and other figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people and our allies are covered.
Tony O'Connell prepares to kiss St Sebastian in his new film
Prayers to queer saints and a re-enactment of Saint Sebastian’s martyrdom make a strong statement against homophobic violence in a new short film for All Saints Day by queer British artist Tony O’Connell.
He sculpted a life-size statue of Sebastian and filmed his dramatic interactions with the figure, who is widely recognized as the patron saint of homosexuality.
The 12-minute video film of his performance art premieres today for All Saints Day at a private viewing in Liverpool and also on YouTube. The multimedia event includes an art exhibit of the Sebastian statue and related “relics” -- small sculptural assemblages fashioned by O’Connell from props in the film.
O’Connell’s script can serve as a model prayer for people of faith, while sharply criticizing church leaders who incite violence against LGBTQ people. He calls upon Sebastian “not to punish but only to humble those who dedicate themselves to oppression and evil,” listing more than a dozen of them by name.
Then he invites Sebastian to “be glorified with the host of our own queer saints,” who are also named. They include a wide variety of LGBTQ leaders and martyrs throughout history as well as traditional saints who broke gender taboos.
The text is reprinted below in full with O’Connell’s permission.
Sebastian was an early Christian martyr who was shot with arrows and executed in 288 on orders from the Roman emperor. In addition to his longstanding but unofficial status as patron saint of gay men, he is known as a protector against plague and a patron saint of soldiers, archers and athletes.
Hinting at a love-hate relationship and the complexity of the queer spiritual path, O’Connell plays three different roles in the film: A priest who kisses Sebastian on the lips and then spits on the ground. The police executioner who strips Sebastian and shoots arrows into his chest. A queer activist/devotee who honors the martyr with prayers and offerings.
The action occurs in the Bridewell, a former police station that has been converted to art studios in Liverpool. The film is titled “Sancte Sebastian ora pro nobis.” The Latin words mean “Saint Sebastian, pray for us,” a phrase that recurs many times in O’Connell’s voice-over narration.
St Sebastian is martyred by arrows in O'Connell's film
This is O’Connell’s first film, but he has spent years creating art on themes of queer sainthood, democratizing sacredness, and reclaiming the holiness in ordinary life, especially in LGBT experience, His ongoing series include pilgrimages to LGBT historical sites and photos of people with haloes formed by round objects from daily life.
The new film weaves together aspects of O’Connell’s own queer and religious background. He was raised in the Roman Catholic church, but has been a practicing Buddhist since 1995. While playing a priest in the film, he spreads smoky incense with a golden thurible like the one he remembers from his childhood stint as an altar boy. Later in the film he wears the 25-year-old T-shirt that he wore during the early years of the radical British LGBT-rights group Outrage!
“I feel like making this sculpture has not only taken me back to my roots as a sculptor but allowed for genuine spiritual practice,” O’Connell told the Jesus in Love Blog. “I am careful never to work with unwashed hands or not to start touching him before I have made incense offerings to him.”
Filming finished in late October, but the project is far from done. For today’s premiere, O’Connell transformed his Sebastian sculpture by filling him with fragrant oils so he smells like roses, covering his face with gold leaf and building him a halo to indicate that he is now a saint.
Later Sebastian may be reincarnated as a Buddha. “After he has been Saint Sebastian it is possible he will be broken down and reused to build a seated Buddha Shakyamuni for our Liverpool Centre,” O’Connell said. “It would be suitable for me to see becoming a Buddha as a symbol for spiritual evolution -- or even a reward for martyrdom.”
O’Connell worked with many camera people on the film. They include another Liverpool queer artist, Colin Cairns, who is exhibiting his art about pagan deities at the premiere today. Others on the camera crew include Claire Martin, Heather Snow Gum, Kelsang Tenwang, Damian Cruikshank (who also shot O’Connell’s Alan Turing pilgrimage), Dave Elis and Fiona Filby.
Sancte Sebastian ora pro nobis
By Tony O’Connell
Welcoming the saint when others do not
Saint Sebastian, Glorious martyr, I invite you and welcome you to this space. Please bless us with your presence. My father was born in your parish and I knew you from childhood. Now it seems images of your sacrifice are no longer in currency in church shops. Statues, rupas and paintings of you are disappearing. Our Poets and artists have always adored you. Perhaps your association with us has led to removal. If this is true and others turn away from you, know that I do not and we do not, therefore I offer you this litany in celebration and remembrance.
Offerings to the saint and prostrations at his lotus feet
Glorious warrior and martyr of Christ, Pray for us.
Patron and mirror of soldiers, Pray for us.
Despiser of the world, Pray for us.
Conqueror of Satan, Pray for us.
Comfort of the dying, Pray for us.
Consoler of the afflicted, Pray for us.
Announcer of the truth, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, perfect in virtue and wisdom, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, mighty in word and work, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, who strengthens the persecuted Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, who by example gives courage to the down-trodden Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, empowered to avert pestilence and contagious diseases, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian empowered to protect from plague and AIDS, Pray for us
St. Sebastian, surrounded by celestial light, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, instructed by holy Angels, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, giving speech to those without a voice, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, lover of God and men, Pray for us.
St Sebastian, loved and then abandoned by the Roman Emperor, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, loved and increasingly abandoned by the Roman Church, Pray for us
St. Sebastian, Loved by our people, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, who, inflamed with love despised the pains inflicted by the tyrant, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, unafraid of worldly authority or law, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, unbowed by physical violence, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, with the courage to defy your abusers, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, who was wounded by arrows, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, who was murdered with clubs, Pray for us.
St. Sebastian, who was crowned with eternal glory, Pray for us.
Protection by the saint from enemies
Glorious Martyr and undefeated warrior, we ask that you protect the persecuted from tyrants and enemies. Use your unstoppable energy not to punish but only to humble those who dedicate themselves to oppression and evil.
Please humble all members of Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church
Please Humble Anne Coulson, speaker of hate and supporter of the WBC
Please humble Grindr using Rev Matthew Makela, who drove Tyler Kish to consider suicide by saying “he was going to hell either way”
Please humble Westcity Bible Baptist Church pastor Logan Robertson who called a gay Christian author a "filthy child molesting fag".
Please humble hypocrite Clerk of Rowan County, Kim Davis
Please humble Steven Anderson, Baptist pastor in Arizona who called for the death of all gays.
Please humble televangelist Pat Robertson who has dedicated his life to poison and hate.
Please humble Pope Benedict and Pope Francis who failed our people beyond measure.
Please humble Hate preacher Scott Lively to stand trial for crimes against humanity
Please humble Pastor James David Manning, who’s homophobic sign oppresses the vulnerable
Please humble Hull vicar Melvin Tinker who compares homosexuality to paedophilia and adultery
Please humble Brian Brown of the National Organisation for Marriage who spread hate as far as Russia
Please humble Vitaly Milonov sponsor of legislation criminalizing "homosexual propaganda.” who dedicates his life to hate.
Please humble Ugandan Dictator, Yoweri Museveni, whose law condemns homosexuals to life imprisonment.
And causing these enemies to fall from public grace, allow them the shame to recognise the harm they have caused and repent it.
Litany of the Queer Saints
Seeing that your image seems increasingly sanitised from church shops but knowing that we have not forgotten your name, we invite you and welcome you to sit and be glorified with the host of our own queer saints. Take your place with the brave, the gentle and the fierce to be honoured for ever and ever in knowing that we have never abandoned you.
Saint Derek Jarman of Dungeness, hero, artist, Disciple of St Sebastian, martyred by deliberate lack of funding into HIV, Pray for us.
Saint Peter Tatchel, fierce protector of the west, unbowed in the face of violence and hate, Pray for us.
Saint Nikolay Alexeyev, fierce protector of the East, resistant to tyranny, Pray for us.
Saint Uncumber, gender defiant bearded lady, patron of purity and refusal, Pray for us.
Saint Joan of Arc, Fearless warrior and gender-queer martyr, Pray for us.
Saint Aderonke Apata, protector of Nigeria, courageous in the face of humiliation and violence, Pray for us.
Saint Mark Ashton LGSM, hero of solidarity with the miners, Pray for us.
Saint David Kato: Ugandan activist and resilient martyr, Pray for us.
Saint Matthew Shepard, crucified by hateful men, young forever, Pray for us.
Saint Mychal Judge, Fire-brigade chaplain and First martyr of 9/11, ordained but un-canonised by the church on account of your queer spirit, Pray for us.
Saint Alan Turing, who ended war, saved millions and changed the world- martyred by the judiciary, Pray for us.
Saint Oscar Wilde, our saint of humour, grace and elegance, whose gentle hands were put to hard labour, Pray for us.
Saint Harvey Milk, courageous and compassionate, mayor and martyr of San Francisco, Pray for us.
Holy Innocents of the Nazi death camps, Pray for us.
Holy Innocents martyred by ISIS, Pray for us.
Holy Innocents driven to death by the church, Pray for us.
Saint Leelah Alcorn, our sister who walked into the oncoming tide for the benefit of others, Pray for us.
Saint Sebastian we prostrate to you and thank you. Empowered by the benison of your protection we go forward with courage and grace to face the arrows of oppressors and tyrants, and to defeat them.
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This post is part of the Artists series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series profiles artists who use lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and queer spiritual and religious imagery. It also highlights great queer artists from history, with an emphasis on their spiritual lives.
Tyler Clementi (1992-2010) brought international attention to bullying-related suicide of LGBT youth by jumping to his death on this date (Sept. 22) in 2010.
Clementi’s highly publicized tragedy made him into a gay martyr whose untimely death put a public face on the problems of LGBT teenagers. His story sparked efforts to support LGBT youth, raise awareness of the harassment they face, and prevent suicide among queer young people. Another result is new legislation stiffening penalties for cyber harassment.
His parents once considered suing Rutgers over their son's death, but in February 2013 they announced that they were working with the university to form the Tyler Clementi Center at Rutgers. It sponsors conferences and academic research to help students make the transition to college. They also established the Tyler Clementi Foundation to promote acceptance of LGBT youth and more inclusive society.
Clementi was an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey when he was driven to suicide by his room mate's anti-gay cyber-bullying.
A talented violinist, Clementi came out to his parents as gay before leaving home for college. Three days before the suicide, Clementi’s room mate used a webcam to secretly record Clementi kissing another man in their dorm room and streamed the video live over the Internet. In messages posted online before he took his own life, Clementi told how he complained to authorities about the cyber-bullying and asked for a new room assignment. Then he jumped off the George Washington Bridge. It took a week to find his body.
The room mate, Dharum Ravi, also 18 at the time, was convicted on 15 counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, in connection with Clementi’s suicide. Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail; 3 years of probation; 300 hours of community service; fined $10,000; and ordered to undergo counseling on cyberbullying and alternate lifestyles. His accomplice, Molly Wei, avoided jail time by agreeing to testify against Ravi.
Anti-LGBT statements by public figures are also partly responsible for Clementi’s death. They created the hostile environment that drove Clementi to suicide. Artist Louisa Bertman emphasizes this point in her powerful ink illustration, “Tyler Clementi, JUMP!” She makes visible the hateful voices that may have been in Clementi’s mind. In her drawing, his head overflows with people urging him to jump. They are politicians as well as the actual students who bullied him. Their names are listed in a stark statement at the bottom of the drawing:
“Message brought to you by Sally Kern, Kim Meltzer, Nathan Deal, Carl Paladino, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Tom Emmer, Jeremy Walters, Rick Perry, Bob Vander Plaats, Dharun Ravi, and Molly Wei.”
Bertman, an artist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is known for her non-traditional portraits.
Clementi helped inspire the founding of the It Gets Better Project and Spirit Day. The It Get Better Project aims to stop suicide among LGBT teens with videos of adults assuring them that “it gets better.” Spirit Day, first observed on Oct. 20, 2010, is a day when people wear purple to show support for young LGBT victims of bullying.
Unfortunately Clementi’s experience is far from rare. Openly lesbian talk show host Ellen Degeneres spoke for many in a video message that put his suicide into context shortly after he died:
“I am devastated by the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi….Something must be done. This month alone, there has been a shocking number of news stories about teens who have been teased and bullied and then committed suicide; like 13-year-old Seth Walsh in Tehachapi, California, Asher Brown, 13, of Cypress, Texas and 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensberg, Indiana. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone: teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.”
Help is available right now from the Trevor Project, a 24-hour national help line for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens. Contact them at 866 4U TREVOR or their website: thetrevorproject.org.
Tyler Clementi’s webcam photo of himself (Wikimedia Commons)
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This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, heroes, holy people, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.
Tyler Clementi (1992-2010) brought international attention to bullying-related suicide of LGBT youth by jumping to his death on this date (Sept. 22) in 2010.
Clementi’s highly publicized tragedy made him into a gay martyr whose untimely death put a public face on the problems of LGBT teenagers. His story sparked efforts to support LGBT youth, raise awareness of the harassment they face, and prevent suicide among queer young people. Another result is new legislation stiffening penalties for cyber harassment.
His parents once considered suing Rutgers over their son's death, but in February 2013 they announced that they were working with the university to form the Tyler Clementi Center at Rutgers. It sponsors conferences and academic research to help students make the transition to college. They also established the Tyler Clementi Foundation to promote acceptance of LGBT youth and more inclusive society.
Clementi was an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey when he was driven to suicide by his room mate's anti-gay cyber-bullying.
A talented violinist, Clementi came out to his parents as gay before leaving home for college. Three days before the suicide, Clementi’s room mate used a webcam to secretly record Clementi kissing another man in their dorm room and streamed the video live over the Internet. In messages posted online before he took his own life, Clementi told how he complained to authorities about the cyber-bullying and asked for a new room assignment. Then he jumped off the George Washington Bridge. It took a week to find his body.
The room mate, Dharum Ravi, also 18 at the time, was convicted on 15 counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, in connection with Clementi’s suicide. Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail; 3 years of probation; 300 hours of community service; fined $10,000; and ordered to undergo counseling on cyberbullying and alternate lifestyles. His accomplice, Molly Wei, avoided jail time by agreeing to testify against Ravi.
Anti-LGBT statements by public figures are also partly responsible for Clementi’s death. They created the hostile environment that drove Clementi to suicide. Artist Louisa Bertman emphasizes this point in her powerful ink illustration, “Tyler Clementi, JUMP!” She makes visible the hateful voices that may have been in Clementi’s mind. In her drawing, his head overflows with people urging him to jump. They are politicians as well as the actual students who bullied him. Their names are listed in a stark statement at the bottom of the drawing:
“Message brought to you by Sally Kern, Kim Meltzer, Nathan Deal, Carl Paladino, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Tom Emmer, Jeremy Walters, Rick Perry, Bob Vander Plaats, Dharun Ravi, and Molly Wei.”
Bertman, an artist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is known for her non-traditional portraits.
Clementi helped inspire the founding of the It Gets Better Project and Spirit Day. The It Get Better Project aims to stop suicide among LGBT teens with videos of adults assuring them that “it gets better.” Spirit Day, first observed on Oct. 20, 2010, is a day when people wear purple to show support for young LGBT victims of bullying.
Unfortunately Clementi’s experience is far from rare. Openly lesbian talk show host Ellen Degeneres spoke for many in a video message that put his suicide into context shortly after he died:
“I am devastated by the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi….Something must be done. This month alone, there has been a shocking number of news stories about teens who have been teased and bullied and then committed suicide; like 13-year-old Seth Walsh in Tehachapi, California, Asher Brown, 13, of Cypress, Texas and 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensberg, Indiana. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone: teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.”
Help is available right now from the Trevor Project, a 24-hour national help line for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens. Contact them at 866 4U TREVOR or their website: thetrevorproject.org.
Image credit: Tyler Clementi’s webcam photo of himself (Wikimedia Commons)
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This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, heroes, holy people, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.
Tyler Clementi (1992-2010) brought international attention to bullying-related suicide of LGBT youth by jumping to his death on this date (Sept. 22) in 2010.
Clementi’s highly publicized tragedy made him into a gay martyr whose untimely death put a public face on the problems of LGBT teenagers. His story sparked efforts to support LGBT youth, raise awareness of the harassment they face, and prevent suicide among queer young people. Another result is new legislation stiffening penalties for cyber harassment.
His parents once considered suing Rutgers over their son's death, but in February 2013 they announced that they were working with the university to form the Tyler Clementi Center at Rutgers. It sponsors conferences and academic research to help students make the transition to college. They also established the Tyler Clementi Foundation to promote acceptance of LGBT youth and more inclusive society.
Clementi was an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey when he was driven to suicide by his room mate's anti-gay cyber-bullying.
A talented violinist, Clementi came out to his parents as gay before leaving home for college. Three days before the suicide, Clementi’s room mate used a webcam to secretly record Clementi kissing another man in their dorm room and streamed the video live over the Internet. In messages posted online before he took his own life, Clementi told how he complained to authorities about the cyber-bullying and asked for a new room assignment. Then he jumped off the George Washington Bridge. It took a week to find his body.
The room mate, Dharum Ravi, also 18 at the time, was convicted on 15 counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, in connection with Clementi’s suicide. Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail; 3 years of probation; 300 hours of community service; fined $10,000; and ordered to undergo counseling on cyberbullying and alternate lifestyles. His accomplice, Molly Wei, avoided jail time by agreeing to testify against Ravi.
Anti-LGBT statements by public figures are also partly responsible for Clementi’s death. They created the hostile environment that drove Clementi to suicide. Artist Louisa Bertman emphasizes this point in her powerful ink illustration, “Tyler Clementi, JUMP!” She makes visible the hateful voices that may have been in Clementi’s mind. In her drawing, his head overflows with people urging him to jump. They are politicians as well as the actual students who bullied him. Their names are listed in a stark statement at the bottom of the drawing:
“Message brought to you by Sally Kern, Kim Meltzer, Nathan Deal, Carl Paladino, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Tom Emmer, Jeremy Walters, Rick Perry, Bob Vander Plaats, Dharun Ravi, and Molly Wei.”
Bertman, an artist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is known for her non-traditional portraits.
Clementi helped inspire the founding of the It Gets Better Project and Spirit Day. The It Get Better Project aims to stop suicide among LGBT teens with videos of adults assuring them that “it gets better.” Spirit Day, first observed on Oct. 20, 2010, is a day when people wear purple to show support for young LGBT victims of bullying.
Unfortunately Clementi’s experience is far from rare. Openly lesbian talk show host Ellen Degeneres spoke for many in a video message that put his suicide into context shortly after he died:
“I am devastated by the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi….Something must be done. This month alone, there has been a shocking number of news stories about teens who have been teased and bullied and then committed suicide; like 13-year-old Seth Walsh in Tehachapi, California, Asher Brown, 13, of Cypress, Texas and 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensberg, Indiana. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone: teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.”
Help is available right now from the Trevor Project, a 24-hour national help line for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens. Contact them at 866 4U TREVOR or their website: thetrevorproject.org.
Image credit: Tyler Clementi’s webcam photo of himself (Wikimedia Commons)
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This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, heroes, holy people, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.
Freedom of religion and LGBT rights are often seen as opposites, as in Latuff’s illustration. LGBT Christians get caught in the middle, embodying both viewpoints.
In Latuff’s image, the lesbian in a rainbow shirt brandishes a transgender symbol while shielding herself with the Constitution (Constituição in Portuguese). The Christian uses the Bible as a shield while he waves a cross. I imagine that the lesbian is in touch with her spiritual power, the power of Christ who broke rules and crossed boundaries: touching lepers, reaching out to women, eating with prostitutes, talking to foreigners, being accused of blasphemy.
Latuff created this image specifically to promote Brazil’s National March Against Homophobia (Marcha Nacional Contra Homofobia), which will be held May 15 in Brasília. The twin towers in his cartoon are the government buildings in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer.
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Related link:
International Day Against Homophobia website: homophobiaday.org
Carrying a gay child, Jesus walks on dangerous waters above the shark-like jaws of a clergy hat in a new cartoon by Mr. Fish.
Artist Dwayne Booth, who uses the pen name Mr. Fish, drew the cartoon to illustrate “The War on Gays” by Chris Hedges this week at truthdig.com. The article points out religious threats to LGBT youth through an extensive interview with Mel White, author of “Holy Terror: Lies the Christian Right Tell Us to Deny Gay Equality.”
The cartoon shows Jesus carrying a gay child, signified by the rainbow flag on the child’s shirt. Lurking in the water below them is a gigantic mitre -- the tall, pointy cap worn by Popes, bishops and other clergy. The hat has two shield-shaped halves that open like the toothy jaws of a shark. Will Jesus save the child, or will they both be swallowed up by the holy terror of anti-LGBT religious oppression?
Booth is a cartoonist and freelance writer whose work can be seen most regularly on Harpers.org and Truthdig.com. Over the last 20 years his work has been published by many of the nation’s most prestigious magazines and newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times, The Village Voice and the Advocate. A debut volume of his collected cartoons titled Go Fish: How to Win Contempt and Influence People was published in 2011.
Maverick Couch, second from left, with his mother, Tonya, and his friends Josh and Taylor at his April 3 press conference in Cincinnati (photo from Lambda Legal)
A gay teen in a T-shirt that says, “Jesus is not a homophobe” is among those taking a stand for LGBT youth today on the Day of Silence.
Today is the Day of Silence, a national student-led protest of anti-LGBT bullying in schools. On April 20 students from middle school through college take a vow of silence to emphasize the silencing effect of anti-LGBT harassment. During their silence, students explain their message with printed cards, buttons, stickers, T-shirts and such.
Today’s silent protestors include Maverick Couch, a 16-year-old gay Ohio student who won a legal fight this month for the right to wear a T-shirt that says: “Jesus was not a homophobe.”
Couch wore the shirt to his high school in Waynesville, Ohio, for the Day of Silence in 2011. The school principal ordered him to turn the shirt inside out because it “had to do with religion” and “religion and state have to be separate.” Later the school district defended the action by denouncing the shirt’s message as “sexual in nature and therefore indecent and inappropriate in a school setting.”
On April 3 Lambda Legal filed suit against the Wayne Local School District on Maverick’s behalf, arguing that they violated Couch’s First Amendment right to free speech. The very next day a federal judge ruled that Couch can wear his T-shirt while the case proceeds -- but only on the Day of Silence.
Couch’s experience shows the power of combining LGBT and Christian messages. I have done so many projects about the queer Christ that it almost seems tame to wear a T-shirt saying “Jesus is not a homophobe.” But it sure made an impact!
Jesus himself never said anything directly about homosexuality in the Bible, but he often encouraged love for all, including outcasts and enemies. Surely he would agree that he is “not a homophobe.”
The Day of Silence feels like great progress to me when I remember my own high school years in the 1970s. Back then every day was a type of “day of silence” in which we queer kids were afraid to identify ourselves.
Founded in 1996, the Day of Silence is sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). The first Day of Silence was organized at the University of Virginia in response to a class assignment on non-violent protest. More than 8,000 schools have participated in the event, which is held every year in April.
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Related links:
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This post is part of the LGBT Calendar series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. The series celebrates religious and spiritual holidays, holy days, feast days, festivals, anniversaries, liturgical seasons and other occasions of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people of faith and our allies.
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Wear purple today to show support for LGBT youth on Spirit Day (Oct. 20).
Millions of people are wearing purple today to speak out against bullying of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. Spirit Day was started in 2010 by Brittany McMillan, a 16-year-old Canadian girl, in response to high-profile suicides by young LGBT people such as Tyler Clementi.
On Spirit Day individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities wear purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. They also “go purple” by making their profile pictures purple at Facebook and other social media websites. More than 1.6 million Facebook users from around the world signed up for Spirit Day last year.
Spirit Day is being promoted by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). Visit glaad.org for more info, including an interview with McMillan about why she founded Spirit Day.
“The purpose of the event was so that people who were being bullied at their schools could come to school on Spirit Day and look around at all the people wearing purple, all the people who they could trust, all the people who would support them….I honestly had a bit of a pessimistic view of it. I thought that I would only get a few hundred people wearing purple and then my school. I never thought it would get as big as it did,” she said.
McMillan noted that Spirit Day is also a day to mourn the youths already lost. “A lot of events are always doing things for the present or the future, but they don’t really look back on the past. Spirit Day is a day where you can presently support LGBTQ teens, promise to stand up to homophobic bullying and also remember teens from the past,” she said.
Rutgers University student Tyler Clement sparked efforts to support LGBT youth after he jumped to his death on Sept. 22, 2010. He was driven to suicide by cyber bullying and harassment. Artist Louisa Bertman shows how anti-LGBT politicians created the hostile environment that drove Tyler Clementi to suicide in her drawing “Tyler Clementi, Jump!”
Tyler Clementi (1992-2010) brought international attention to bullying-related suicide of LGBT youth by jumping to his death on this date (Sept. 22) in 2010.
Clementi’s highly publicized tragedy made him into a gay martyr whose untimely death put a public face on the problems of LGBT teenagers. His story sparked efforts to support LGBT youth, raise awareness of the harassment they face, and prevent suicide among queer young people. Another result is new legislation stiffening penalties for cyber harassment.
His parents once considered suing Rutgers over their son's death, but in February 2013 they announced that they were working with the university to form the Tyler Clementi Center at Rutgers. It sponsors conferences and academic research to help students make the transition to college. They also established the Tyler Clementi Foundation to promote acceptance of LGBT youth and more inclusive society.
Clementi was an 18-year-old freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey when he was driven to suicide by his room mate's anti-gay cyber-bullying.
A talented violinist, Clementi came out to his parents as gay before leaving home for college. Three days before the suicide, Clementi’s room mate used a webcam to secretly record Clementi kissing another man in their dorm room and streamed the video live over the Internet. In messages posted online before he took his own life, Clementi told how he complained to authorities about the cyber-bullying and asked for a new room assignment. Then he jumped off the George Washington Bridge. It took a week to find his body.
The room mate, Dharum Ravi, also 18 at the time, was convicted on 15 counts, including invasion of privacy and bias intimidation, in connection with Clementi’s suicide. Ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail; 3 years of probation; 300 hours of community service; fined $10,000; and ordered to undergo counseling on cyberbullying and alternate lifestyles. His accomplice, Molly Wei, avoided jail time by agreeing to testify against Ravi.
Anti-LGBT statements by public figures are also partly responsible for Clementi’s death. They created the hostile environment that drove Clementi to suicide. Artist Louisa Bertman emphasizes this point in her powerful ink illustration, “Tyler Clementi, JUMP!” She makes visible the hateful voices that may have been in Clementi’s mind. In her drawing, his head overflows with people urging him to jump. They are politicians as well as the actual students who bullied him. Their names are listed in a stark statement at the bottom of the drawing:
“Message brought to you by Sally Kern, Kim Meltzer, Nathan Deal, Carl Paladino, Newt Gingrich, Sarah Palin, Tom Emmer, Jeremy Walters, Rick Perry, Bob Vander Plaats, Dharun Ravi, and Molly Wei.”
Bertman, an artist based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is known for her non-traditional portraits.
Clementi helped inspire the founding of the It Gets Better Project and Spirit Day. The It Get Better Project aims to stop suicide among LGBT teens with videos of adults assuring them that “it gets better.” Spirit Day, first observed on Oct. 20, 2010, is a day when people wear purple to show support for young LGBT victims of bullying.
Unfortunately Clementi’s experience is far from rare. Openly lesbian talk show host Ellen Degeneres spoke for many in a video message that put his suicide into context shortly after he died:
“I am devastated by the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi….Something must be done. This month alone, there has been a shocking number of news stories about teens who have been teased and bullied and then committed suicide; like 13-year-old Seth Walsh in Tehachapi, California, Asher Brown, 13, of Cypress, Texas and 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensberg, Indiana. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone: teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country, and the death rate is climbing.”
Help is available right now from the Trevor Project, a 24-hour national help line for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning teens. Contact them at 866 4U TREVOR or their website: thetrevorproject.org.
Image credit: Tyler Clementi’s webcam photo of himself (Wikimedia Commons)
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This post is part of the GLBT Saints series by Kittredge Cherry at the Jesus in Love Blog. Saints, martyrs, mystics, heroes, holy people, deities and religious figures of special interest to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) and queer people and our allies are covered on appropriate dates throughout the year.
LGBT Christians, including gay priest John McNeill, presented a letter to the Pope asking him to end homophobia, then marched with thousands through Rome the next day in the big EuroPride parade.
“We ask Your Holiness to condemn violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals and to ensure that criminal punishment for sexual relations between people of the same sex are lifted around the world,” the letter begins. Silence from the Vatican, the letter says, “could be interpreted as approval of the violence.” Click here for the whole letter.
The letter to Pope Benedict XVI is signed by co-presidents of the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups on behalf of the 44 member groups from 23 countries in Europe. It was presented on June 10.
I honor these brave people for taking their call for justice to the very top the church hierarchy. Let’s celebrate with them by enjoying these photos of EuroPride.
The gate to Rome was lit with a rainbow for EuroPride.
John McNeill, seated, shares a EuroPride smile with film director Brendan Fay and clergywoman in rainbow stole: Rev. Hilde Raastad, Norway's first openly lesbian pastor, from Norwegian Lutheran Church in Oslo, Norway.
LGBT EuroPride crowd marches past the Coliseum in Rome. In 2000 the World Pride March was not allowed to circle the Coliseum, but this time they were! Photographer Bill Wilson reports, “It was a meaningful sight to walk down the Via Dei Fori Imperiali past the ancient Roman ruins.”
Italian lesbians! I mean Lesbiche! (Trasversali was not in my Italian-English dictionary. Maybe it means transgender?)
This EuroPride man puts the “glad” in gladiator, as in “Glad to see you,” notes photographer Bill Wilson.
John McNeill at EuroPride Rome with the European Forum of LGBT Christian Groups.
Any excuse to wear a top hat!
EuroPride guys, we honor the love between men!
EuroPride brides, we celebrate the love between women!
Christ with Ants from the David Wojnarowicz video
“A Fire in My Belly”
Insightful essays continue to be written about the Smithsonian’s censorship of gay artist David Wojnarowicz’ video “Fire in the Belly” because of its controversial ant-covered crucifix.
I have come to believe that conservative Christians condemned the Wojnarowicz video precisely because it equates Christ’s torment with queer / LGBT suffering. They do NOT want Christ to be identified with lesbian, gay, bi and trans people at all.
Here are highlights from some of the best new essays on the controversy and its LGBT Christian meanings. Click the titles to see the whole essay:
was published in 2011.
by Mel White
