Queer Devotions Rainbow Faith and Freedom

What gets to count as work for queer and trans people? This is a question illustrator and comic artist Syan Rose's remarkable collection, Our Work is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer and Trans Resistance, explores through illustrations of her interviews with activists. Published this year, Rose provides an energetic source of connection and community. On our Queer Devotions podcast, we got a chance to ask Rose about the process of interviewing and illustrating so many activists across the country. 

Some highlights include: "Queer Muslim Family" with Mirna Haidar,  “Everything You Love About New Orleans is Because of Black People,” a conversation with Phlegm, "Our Brown Divinity" with Dusty Lamay and “Auriga” with Jaye Sablan. This work also comes with naming Black, Indigenous and people of colour as originators of queer cultures, joy, community care, healing, and so much more. 


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Bonnie Violet, a trans, gender queer drag queen, has many stories to tell. Growing up in Idaho, Bonnie Violet first found a fulfilling community in church and felt a calling within her to be of service to others. But her queerness and transness didn’t feel compatible, at first, with the church, and she left it for a decade.

But that calling still lived within Bonnie, as she worked in HIV/AIDS advocacy, and she began to reclaim the spiritual thread in her life, undertaking a remarkable process of healing that she shares in our Queer Devotions podcast.

Now Bonnie Violet is “A Queer Chaplain” with a vibrant YouTube page and Facebook group, where she interviews drag queens about their spirituality, hosts multifaith discussions about transness and spirituality, and talks across the religious divide with her conservative aunt in a podcast called, Splintered Grace. Her work provides spiritual and pastoral care to queer and trans folks who are so often denied it.

Standout episodes of her Drag & Spirituality series include her discussion with Ms. Penny Cost, Fonda Coxx, and a multifaith discussion with Mango Lassi, Coco Sho-Nell, LoUis CYfer.

This work is now included in our Resource Portal, launched today with other work focused on the spiritual care of queer and trans people. This includes the memoir of Rev. Dr. Cheri NiNovo, The Queer Evangelist, Beloved Arise’s album, Serenade, Ivan Coyote’s new book Care Of: Letters, Connections, and Cures, and the article from Autrostraddle, “Queering Faith: Reclaiming the Holy of Spirituality.”


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In 2013, the queer chaplain Mandi Rice embarked on the ‘Queerituality’ road trip, speaking with nearly 100 people across 17 American cities, asking one very big question: “What is life like for you at the intersection of queerness & spirituality?” On our Queer Devotions podcast, Rice described the incredible organic momentum of the project and its legacy almost ten years later, as well as the ‘Queerituality Guide' she put together which condensed her findings. The Queerituality Road Trip and A Queerituality Guide, are now, excitingly, a part of our Resource Portal.


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In June of this year, our guest, Dr. Travis Salway, published an astonishing report with co-authors about the continued prevalence of conversion therapy in Canada, which you can read in full here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0252539. Among the many important findings, the report shows that 67% of conversion therapy happens in religious contexts, for the population they studied. We sat down with Dr. Salway to discuss this report and talk about how RFF and others can fight for a federal ban of the practice. 

There are some incredible resources available that dive deeper into survivors' stories and the history of conversion therapy. Here is No Conversion Canada: https://www.noconversioncanada.com/contact-1, which features some heartbreaking and mobilizing stories. UnErased: The History of Conversion Therapy in America is a production from WYNC Studios and Radiolab, made in partnership with the film, Boy Erased. It's a four part series: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/unerased-the-history-of-conversion-therapy-in-america/id1439513792. 




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Dr. Alex Abramovich, our guest today, is an expert on 2SLGBTQ+ youth houselessness - and has been addressing the issue for the past 10 years. Internationally recognized for his work, Dr. Abramovich is one of few Canadian researchers studying the phenomenon of queer and trans youth homelessness. In our conversation today, I ask about why queer and trans youth are so much more likely to be housing insecure than their cisgender or heterosexual peers, how religious intolerance plays a role in forcing youth out of their homes, what kinds of interventions work and the available affirming services youth can access. 

Just a note: there is talk of suicidality, self-harm and childhood abuse.

PFLAG, Faith in Our Families: https://pflag.org/resource/faith-our-families

Sprott House: https://ymcagta.org/find-a-y/ymca-sprott-house

More about Dr. Abramovich: https://www.camh.ca/en/science-and-research/science-and-research-staff-directory/alexabramovich


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Today's episode is a bit different. Today, Queer Devotions features an audio production of RFF's report, "Mapping the Landscape of Faith-Based Heterosexism and Transphobia in Canada," which compiles research to ask: which sectors of society are most influenced by religious bias on the basis of sexual or gender minority status? If you'd like to read the text or follow along, please visit: https://rainbowfaithandfreedom.org/blog/2021/6/3/rff-report-mapping-the-landscape-of-faith-based-heterosexism-and-transphobia-in-canada

This document is the first of its kind and aims to beget more research and greater investment into thinking through these questions. Religiosity continues to be one of the strongest determinants of a person’s view of homosexuality. While a largely secular society, Canada’s institutions are built on a foundation of 'Christian' norms of heteronormativity and transphobia. These sectors include the family, worship communities, healthcare and education.




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