Can Adam and Eve Reconcile?: Gender and Sexuality in a New Jewish Religious Movement

Author(s):  
Yaakov Ariel

In the late 1960s a new Jewish religious movement challenged the current conventional assumptions on the relationship between Judaism and the sexual revolution, as well as the women's movement. The neo-hasids were members of the counterculture who became observant Jews and sought inspiration in Hasidic forms of Jewish spirituality. While to many the hippie culture seemed far removed from an observant form of Judaism, to the neo-hasids such a hybrid seemed possible and even desirable. Calling their center the House of Love and Prayer, the group negotiated between Jewish tradition and hippie culture in an attempt to create a new Jewish environment. A major challenge for the group was accommodating hippie modes of sexuality with Jewish laws governing personal and matrimonial behavior. The group interpreted Jewish laws dictating gender roles and sexual behavior in light of the new expectations of female members, as well as the new norms in sexual conduct promoted by the counterculture and the emerging women's movement. Likewise, the neo-hasids gave new meanings and forms to Jewish rites, reinterpreting them in light of their new understanding of the relationship between the sexes. The compromise the group cut in the realm of sexuality and gender has become the de facto attitude of turnof-the-twenty-first-century traditionalist Jews and has permitted thousands of young women and men to become "returnees to tradition" and join the ranks of observant Jewish communities.

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 758-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Henrickson

The Dame Eileen Younghusband Lecture is presented every two years at the joint world conferences of international social work. In 2016 it was presented in Seoul and was based on the conference theme ‘promoting the dignity and worth of people’. The lecture includes a review of heroes, legal, political and social successes, and challenges for sexual and gender minorities around the world. It challenges the binary of gender and sexuality. The privilege of social work is to choose either to challenge or to reproduce oppression based on sexuality and gender, and protect the dignity and worth of all peoples.


2010 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Craig

The notion that queer theory and feminism are inevitably in tension with one another has been well developed both by queer and feminist theorists. Queer theorists have critiqued feminist theories for being anti-sex, overly moralistic, essentialist, and statist. Feminist theorists have rejected queer theory as being uncritically pro-sex and dangerously protective of the private sphere. Unfortunately these reductionist accounts of what constitutes a plethora of diverse, eclectic and overlapping theoretical approaches to issues of sex, gender, and sexuality, often fail to account for the circumstances where these methodological approaches converge on legal projects aimed at advancing the complex justice interests of women and sexual minorities. A recent decision from the Ontario Court of Justice addressing a three-parent family law dispute involving gay and lesbian litigants demonstrates why recognition of the convergences between feminist and queer legal theories can advance both queer and feminist justice projects. The objective of this article is to demonstrate, through different and converging interpretations of this case that draw on some of the theoretical insights offered in a new anthology called Feminist and Queer Legal Theory, one rather straight-forward claim. The claim advanced here is that activists, advocates, litigants and judges are all well served by approaching complex legal problems involving sex, sexuality and gender with as many “methods” for pursuing and achieving justice as possible.La notion que la théorie homosexuelle et le féminisme sont inévitablement en conflit l’un avec l’autre a été bien développée à la fois par les théoriciens et théoriciennes homosexuels et féministes. Les théoriciens et théoriciennes homosexuels ont critiqué les théories féministes les qualifiant d’être anti-sexe, trop moralistes, essentialistes et étatistes. Les théoriciens et théoriciennes féministes ont rejeté la théorie homosexuelle la qualifiant d’être pro-sexe sans esprit critique et dangereusement protectrice du domaine privé. Malheureusement, ces descriptions réductionnistes de ce qui constitue une pléthore d’approches théoriques aux questions de sexe, de genre et de sexualité qui sont diverses, éclectiques et qui se chevauchent manquent fréquemment de tenir compte de circonstances où ces approches méthodologiques convergent sur des projets légaux visant à faire avancer les intérêts juridiques complexes des femmes et des minorités sexuelles. Une décision récente de la Cour de justice de l’Ontario portant sur un litige en droit de la famille entre trois parents et impliquant des parties homosexuelles et lesbiennes démontre pourquoi la reconnaissance des convergences entre les théories juridiques féministes et homosexuelles peut faire avancer à la fois les projets légaux homosexuels et féministes. Le but de cet article n’est pas de suggérer qu’une seule «théorie juridique féministe homosexuelle» convergente soit possible, ou même désirable. Plutôt, le but est de démontrer, par le biais d’interprétations différentes et convergentes de ce cas qui s’inspirent de certaines intuitions théoriques présentées dans une nouvelle anthologie intitulée Feminist and Queer Legal Theory, une proposition assez simple. La proposition avancée ici est que les activistes, les avocats, les parties à un litige et les juges sont tous bien servis en abordant des problèmes légaux complexes au sujet de sexe, de sexualité et de genre avec autant de «méthodes» que possible pour considérer la justice dans tous ses détails.


2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Dwyer

Using interview data on LGBT young people’s policing experiences, I argue policing and security works as a program of government (Dean 1999; Foucault 1991; Rose 1999) that constrains the visibilities of diverse sexuality and gender in public spaces. While young people narrated police actions as discriminatory, the interactions were complex and multi-faceted with police and security working to subtly constrain the public visibilities of ‘queerness’. Same sex affection, for instance, was visibly yet unverifiably (Mason 2002) regulated by police as a method of governing the boundaries of proper gender and sexuality in public. The paper concludes by noting how the visibility of police interactions with LGBT young people demonstrates to the public that public spaces are, and should remain, heterosexual spaces.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Thomas Lissington

<p>The masculine nature of the angels in Paradise Lost, in conjunction with their sexuality as revealed in Book VIII, prompted C. S. Lewis to try and explain away, not entirely convincingly, any potential “homosexual promiscuity” in his Preface to the epic. But other critics are unconcerned about the angels’ sexuality, probably because, unlike Lewis, they see them as essentially immaterial beings.  In what follows I argue that a complete understanding of the angels’ sexuality must rest on Milton’s gradual revelation of the angels’ morphic substance, critical to their sexuality and gender identity. Milton’s use of the conventions associated with classical pastoral in depicting the angels suggests a male homosocial model analogous with the learning institutions of Milton’s own historical context – helpful when it comes to establishing the type of society, and relationships, in the heaven of Paradise Lost. Similarly, an exploration of bi-erotic elements occurring elsewhere within the Miltonic canon helps contextualise the bisexual potential of angelic desire.  With these things in mind, a comprehensive understanding of the angelic sexuality can be achieved through close study of instances of desire, and sexuality, in Paradise Lost. The strong parallel between the angels, and Adam and Eve infers the potential for their descendants to evolve into a similar state of intimacy free of “Of membrane, joynt, or limb, exclusive barrs”.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Thomas Lissington

<p>The masculine nature of the angels in Paradise Lost, in conjunction with their sexuality as revealed in Book VIII, prompted C. S. Lewis to try and explain away, not entirely convincingly, any potential “homosexual promiscuity” in his Preface to the epic. But other critics are unconcerned about the angels’ sexuality, probably because, unlike Lewis, they see them as essentially immaterial beings.  In what follows I argue that a complete understanding of the angels’ sexuality must rest on Milton’s gradual revelation of the angels’ morphic substance, critical to their sexuality and gender identity. Milton’s use of the conventions associated with classical pastoral in depicting the angels suggests a male homosocial model analogous with the learning institutions of Milton’s own historical context – helpful when it comes to establishing the type of society, and relationships, in the heaven of Paradise Lost. Similarly, an exploration of bi-erotic elements occurring elsewhere within the Miltonic canon helps contextualise the bisexual potential of angelic desire.  With these things in mind, a comprehensive understanding of the angelic sexuality can be achieved through close study of instances of desire, and sexuality, in Paradise Lost. The strong parallel between the angels, and Adam and Eve infers the potential for their descendants to evolve into a similar state of intimacy free of “Of membrane, joynt, or limb, exclusive barrs”.</p>


Queer media is not one thing but an ensemble of at least four moving variables: history, gender and sexuality, geography, and medium. Although many scholars would pinpoint the early 1990s as marking the emergence of a cinematic movement in the United States (dubbed by B. Ruby Rich the “new queer cinema”), films and television programs that clearly spoke to LGBTQ themes and viewers existed at many different historical moments and in many different forms: cross-dressing, same-sex attraction, comedic drag performance; at some points, for example, in 1950s television, these were not undercurrents but very prominent aspects of mainstream cultural production. Addressing “history” not as dots on a progressive spectrum but as an uneven story of struggle, the writers in this volume stress that queer cinema did not appear miraculously at one moment but arrived on currents throughout the century-long history of the medium. Likewise, while queer is an Anglophone term that has been widely circulated, it by no means names a unified or complete spectrum of sexuality and gender identity, just as the LGBTQ+ alphabet soup struggles to contain the distinctive histories, politics, and cultural productions of trans artists and genderqueer practices. Across the globe, media-makers have interrogated identity and desire through the medium of cinema through rubrics that sometimes vigorously oppose the Western embrace of the pejorative term queer, foregrounding instead indigenous genders and sexualities or those forged in the Global South or those seeking alternative epistemologies. Finally, though “cinema” is in our title, many scholars in this collection see this term as an encompassing one, referencing cinema and media in a convergent digital environment. The lively and dynamic conversations introduced here aspire to sustain further reflection as “queer cinema” shifts into new configurations.


2006 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. Van der Walt

Contemporary scientific guidance on the relationship between male and femal A previous article discussed the ethical guidance given by contemporary popular books and articles on the relationship between men and women. The authority for Christians of such books (based on an evolutionist biology and worldview) was questioned. No answer was, however, provided on the important and difficult question whether and, if so, to what extent human biology influences or even determines one’s ethical behaviour. Since many current books on sexual morality are based on empirical socio-biological research, this article takes a critical look at this scientific discipline. A Christian- philosophical alternative on the issue of human sexuality and gender will conclude this, as well as the previous article.


Perspectiva ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 1041-1068
Author(s):  
Luciana Kornatzki ◽  
Maria Isabel Seixas da Cunha Chagas

As histórias estão presentes nos espaços escolares da infância e contribuem na construção da criança, de suas sensibilidades e subjetividades. As narrativas digitais, que possibilitam a relação entre história e tecnologias digitais, podem contribuir na inserção das Tecnologias Digitais na escola e em propostas em educação sexual. Objetiva-se, neste artigo, refletir sobre esse recurso como possibilidade pedagógica na problematização do gênero e sexualidade com a infância. Para isso, são apresentadas algumas reflexões sobre histórias e narrativas, assim como uma revisão de literatura, resultante de uma metodologia de pesquisa bibliográfica às bases de dados de Educação, sobre o uso das narrativas digitais em contextos educativos e também em educação sexual, sexualidade e gênero. Reflete-se também sobre limites e possibilidades desse recurso nas temáticas em discussão e mostra-se um cenário de aprendizagem que clarifica e objetiva a proposição das narrativas digitais nessas temáticas. Dessa forma, compreende-se a importância da busca por novas propostas pedagógicas de educação sexual com crianças, incluindo contribuições das tecnologias digitais nesse processo. Digital storytelling in childhood sexuality education: possibilities and limitations AbstractThe stories are present in kindergarten and contribute to the construction of the child, his/her sensibilities and subjectivities. The digital narratives that enable relationships between stories and digital technologies, can contribute to the integration of digital technologies in schools and to the rise of new proposals on sex education. We aim to reflect on this feature as a learning possibility to the problematization of gender and sexuality with children. Therefore, we present some reflections about stories and narratives, as well as a literature review, resulting from a bibliographical research methodology to databases of Education, on the use of digital storytelling in educational contexts as well as in sex education, specifically sexuality and gender. We also reflect about the limits and possibilities of storytelling in sex education and present a learning scenario that clarifies and concretizes the proposition of digital storytelling in these themes. We understand the importance of the search for new educational proposals for children’s sex education, including the contributions of digital technologies in the process.Keywords: Sexuality. Storytelling. Computers and education. Récits numériques dans l'éducation sexuelle a l'enfance: possibilités et limites Résumé Les histoires sont présentes à l'école maternelle et contribuent à la construction de l'enfant, ses sensibilités et subjectivités. Les récits numériques qui permettent établir des relations entre les histoires et les technologies numériques, peuvent contribuer à l'intégration des technologies numériques dans l’école et à la création de nouvelles propositions sur l'éducation sexuelle. Nous visons à réfléchir sur cette fonctionnalité comme une possibilité d'apprendre à la problématisation du genre et la sexualité avec les enfants. Par conséquent, nous présentons quelques réflexions sur les histoires et récits, ainsi que d'une revue de la littérature, résultant d'une méthodologie de recherche bibliographique à des bases de données de l'éducation, sur l'utilisation de la narration numérique dans des contextes éducatifs ainsi que dans l'éducation sexuelle, en particulier la sexualité et le genre. Nous réfléchissons aussi sur les limites et les possibilités de la narration dans l'éducation sexuelle et présentons un scénario d'apprentissage qui clarifie et concrétise la proposition de la narration numérique dans ces thèmes. Nous comprenons l'importance de la recherche de nouvelles propositions pédagogiques pour l'éducation sexuelle des enfants, y compris les contributions des technologies numériques dans le processus.Mots-clés: Sexualité. Contes. Ordinateurs et Éducation.


2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks

AbstractTransnational history and the history of gender and sexuality have both been concerned with the issue of borders and their crossing, but the two fields themselves have not intersected much in the past. This is beginning to change, and this article surveys recent scholarship that draws on both fields, highlighting work in six areas: movements for women’s and gay rights; diverse understandings of sexuality and gender; colonialism and imperialism; intermarriage; national identity and citizenship; and migration. This new research suggests ways in which the subject matter, theory, and methodology in transnational history and the history of gender and sexuality can interconnect: in the two fields’ mutual emphasis on intertwinings, relationships, movement, and hybridity; their interdisciplinarity and stress on multiple perspectives; and their calls for destabilization of binaries.


Author(s):  
Gunvor Christensen

In this article I present findings of a phenomenological study of the relationship between urban space, sexuality and gender. I have investigated conditions of urban spaces in which social gatherings established among equal and perceptived adults expressing their sexual lusts and pleasures are allowed and encouraged. I have characterised these urban spaces as queer spaces. In the first part, I present circumstances that have imperative significance to the existence of queer spaces, and I argue that queer spaces exist in the metropolis and because of the metropolis. Hereafter, I expound the yearnings that are related to queer spaces and point out that for some individuals queer space equals an emancipated and at the same time an oppositional space to other urban spaces. For other individuals queer space is taken as a parallel space to other urban spaces. These different connotations to queer spaces are related to a dichotomy of either keeping a queer sexuality a secret or being open about it. Finally, I suggest that queer space serves as home territory recognised by being something in between the wide, open urban space, and the intimate, private space, and this unique trait of queer space contributes to a redefinition of the positions of men and women in their sexual performances in public.  


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