scholarly journals The Changing Relation Between Sexual and Gender Minorities and Religion in Finland: Some Observations in the Light of Postsecularity

Author(s):  
Peter Nynäs ◽  
Eetu Kejonen ◽  
Pieter Vullers

AbstractThis chapter addresses some relevant issues regarding religion and sexual and gender diversity in Finland. Starting from the notion of a postsecular condition and making use of three complementary lenses, the chapter first provides an overview of recent developments in both legislative equality and changing attitudes in Finland. Second, it provides additional depth with an interview study including professionals from organizations working with issues of relevance to sexual and gender minorities. The chapter identifies some remaining challenges in the nexus of religion and gender and/or sexual diversity in Finland, an aspect that is emphasized when the chapter finally turns to public discussions in the media where different positions and views tend to clash today. The discussion in this chapter exemplifies the need to critically account for recent changes in the religious landscape.

Author(s):  
Finn Reygan

While queer theology has foregrounded sexual and gender diversity in faith communities internationally, in South Africa, the emergence of a queer, African theology is necessary given that religion is often not a ‘safe space’ for sexual and gender minorities owing to theological violence. Advocacy for inclusion requires the development of theological capacity in queer communities so as to foster biblical, theological and interpretative resistance. There are a number of approaches available, including demythologising and reclaiming the Bible for queer communities, developing more redemptive interpretative options for queer inclusion and developing alternative discourses that challenge the heteropatriarchy of the Bible. Entry points for this work include Bible study; workshops and seminars for faith communities on sexual and gender diversity; the acceptance of a minimum pastoral threshold (or minimum levels of preparedness) for engaging with issues of sexual and gender diversity; and creating ecumenical spaces, cognizant of the local context, where such engagements can take place. This involves moving beyond a theology of compassion and essentialised notions of sexuality and gender so as to develop a queer, African, people’s theology that recognises the trauma experienced by sexual and gender minorities in faith communities.


This Handbook contains chapters on the struggles for LGBT rights and the security of sexual and gender minorities around the world, with a substantial number of contributions from the Global South. It contextualizes the regional case studies within relevant theoretical frameworks from the sociology of sexualities, critical race studies, postcolonialism, indigenous theories, social movement theory, and international relations theory. Therefore, it provides readers with up-to-date empirical material as well as various ways of assessing the analytical significance, commonalities, and differences of global LGBT politics. As such, the chapters combine to present an overall interdisciplinary and critical perspective on contemporary LGBT politics.


Author(s):  
Michael J. Bosia

This chapter responds to the challenge state homophobia poses to LGBT rights in its invocation of a “gay menace.” It engages the limits of a rights-based discourse in achieving security for sexual and gender minorities under threat: first, as homophobia is marshalled as a tool of statecraft and then as LGBT rights and identities are bound geotemporally by the historically specific context to which they responded. These two efforts demonstrate the need for an approach sensitive to the practical conditions faced within specific political contexts. The chapter’s argument addresses the political incommensurability of LGBT rights in the context of authoritarian and illiberal states and the danger of associating sexual and gender liberation with autocracy. It considers the consequences of a “gay menace” and of “rights”-claiming in response as both are bounded in geotemporal terms, then dislocated from history, culture, and politics as they become modular. Finally, the chapter asks what a global sexual and gender minority politics might look like through claims around capabilities tied to global civil society that foster collective self-actualization instead of “human rights” or “security” tied to authoritarian or fickle states.


Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 583
Author(s):  
Rita Alcaire

The main purpose of this article is to analyse how healthcare providers in Portugal perceive asexuality. To do so, the author makes use of qualitative data from both the CILIA LGBTQI+ Lives project and The Asexual Revolution doctoral research on asexuality in Portugal, namely, a focus group conducted with healthcare providers, drawing from their assessment of interview excerpts with people identifying as asexual. The data were explored according to thematic analysis and revealed three major tendencies: (1) old tropes at the doctor’s office; (2) narratives of willingness to learn about the subject; and (3) constructive and encouraging views of asexuality. From this analysis, valuable lessons can be drawn concerning the respect for gender and sexual diversity. The author argues that both formal and informal learning play an important role in building cultural competence among healthcare providers. This could be achieved both by introducing sexual and gender diversity in curricula in HE and through media exposure on these subjects. Overall, it will lead to building knowledge and empathy about marginalised groups, and will help fight inequalities of LGBTQI+ people in healthcare. As such, LGTBQI+ activism that puts the topics of asexuality and LGBTQI+ in the media agenda, is a powerful strategy. Hence, because healthcare providers show willingness to learn, the media becomes a source for learning about asexual and LGTBQI+ experiences, which they can incorporate in their medical practice.


Author(s):  
Brandon J. Weiss ◽  
Bethany Owens Raymond

Rates of anxiety disorders are significantly elevated among sexual and gender minorities. In this chapter, the minority stress model is discussed as a framework for conceptualizing anxiety among sexual and gender minorities, and the authors review the literature on the relationships between specific minority stressors and symptoms. The authors examine prevalence rates of anxiety disorders among sexual minorities and gender minorities, separately and in comparison to heterosexual and cisgender individuals. Also reviewed is the literature on anxiety disorders among sexual and gender minorities with a racial or ethnic minority status. Current assessment and treatment approaches are identified and reviewed. Finally, limitations to the current literature base are discussed and recommendations are provided for future studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 817-817
Author(s):  
Shana Stites

Abstract Many studies find gender differences in how older adults’ report on their memory, perform on cognitive testing, and manage functional impairments that can accompany cognitive impairment. Thus, understanding gender’s effects in aging and Alzheimer’s research is key for advancing methods to prevent, slow, manage, and diagnosis cognitive impairment. Our study, CoGenT3 – The study of Cognition and Gender in Three Generations – seeks to disambiguate the effects of gender on cognition in order to inform a conceptual model, guide innovations in measurement, and support future study. To accomplish this ambitious goal, we have gathered an interdisciplinary team with expertise in psychology, cognition, sexual and gender minorities, library science, measurement, quantitative methods, qualitative methods, and gender and women’s studies. The team benefits from the intersections of expertise in being able to build new research ideas, gain novel insights, and evaluate a wide-range of actions and re-actions but this novelty can also raise challenges.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
José Paulo Gomes Brazão ◽  
Anselmo Lima de Oliveira ◽  
Alfrancio Ferreira Dias

The concepts of gender and sex have been considered in recent literature as elements of power, under the circumstance of contemporary floating constructions. In the field of Education, a “deconstructed”, non-normative look is needed as a political act on issues of sexual diversity and gender. The curriculum as a culture can and must take a Queer view at school. In this research we intend to make a comparative study on sexual and gender diversity in the academic environment, listening to the voices of students from the University of Madeira and the Federal University of Sergipe. In this way, we emphasize coeducation in the construction of inclusive environments and their contribution in the field of pedagogical innovation. The discussion of these themes in the academy is fundamental for the conceptual renewal and the organizational contexts of the practice of pedagogy. It also contributes to important changes in social agendas.


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