Do I Participate in the Discourse of Respectability? Reflecting upon Histories of Female Homoeroticism and Enslavement

Author:

Brooten Bernadette J.1

Affiliation:

1. Bernadette J. Brooten, Ph.D., Dr. Theol., h.c. (Bern), Robert and Myra Kraft and Jacob Hiatt Professor emerita, Brandeis University, directs the Feminist Sexual Ethics Project (). She researches enslaved and slaveholding women in early Christianity, female homo-erotic desire, and texts on female-female marriage in the Roman world. Her email is: .

Abstract

My research challenges and participates in discourses of respectability, focusing on female homoerotic desires, the intertwining of religiously endorsed enslavement with sexual violence, and the intersection of race, ethnicity, and religion with sexual violence. I argue for the freedom of academic writing to present evidence-based conclusions and personal insights, drawing on contemporary figures like Sudanese anti-slavery activist Mende Nazer. Respecting biblical texts involves differentiating between plausible historical readings and personal ethical views. Misreadings of biblical passages are common, but interpretations such as that Rom 1:26–27 condemns same-gender relations or that Col 3:22 condones enslavement are not among them. The early Christian groups rejecting slavery were labeled heretics, prolonging slavery’s existence. A hard, critical examination of where things went wrong both within the Bible and beyond may help to prevent future Christians from supporting new forms of slavery. I hope that my feminist intersectional interpretations are compatible with the womanist biblical interpretation and ethics that are central to all future research on these topics.

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Reference44 articles.

同舟云学术

1.学者识别学者识别

2.学术分析学术分析

3.人才评估人才评估

"同舟云学术"是以全球学者为主线,采集、加工和组织学术论文而形成的新型学术文献查询和分析系统,可以对全球学者进行文献检索和人才价值评估。用户可以通过关注某些学科领域的顶尖人物而持续追踪该领域的学科进展和研究前沿。经过近期的数据扩容,当前同舟云学术共收录了国内外主流学术期刊6万余种,收集的期刊论文及会议论文总量共计约1.5亿篇,并以每天添加12000余篇中外论文的速度递增。我们也可以为用户提供个性化、定制化的学者数据。欢迎来电咨询!咨询电话:010-8811{复制后删除}0370

www.globalauthorid.com

TOP

Copyright © 2019-2024 北京同舟云网络信息技术有限公司
京公网安备11010802033243号  京ICP备18003416号-3