At a recent conference I attended, what eventually got me to shell out the registration fee—begrudgingly, nonetheless—was the broad range of panel presentations. A session entitled Zombies, Vampires, and Exorcisms / Religion and American Music had presentations on "The Value of Human Life When Dealing with Zombies”, “Bob Dylan: An American Tragedian”, “Stryper: Rock and Roll Evangelists”, and “The Problem of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way”: A Process of Becoming within Queer Identities”. While most of these titles were seemingly superfluous or not-quite-relevant for my Mizo self-identification and –location, some afterthoughts do linger.
My wife, a regular visitor to Mizo sites on the web, flagged a Misual post for me. While I labored through the text, I was really surprised at the candidness with which the issue of “gayism” (ouch!) was broached.
On a recent visit to Aizawl, I had met with some probationary pastors and had the chance to catch up on stuff. As we updated each other on what had happened since we last met, we got down to some issues they faced or could face as ministers in the church. I suggested that alternate gender and sexual issues would be something they’d have to grapple with. While the usual doctrinal lines laced with biblical anchors were flung, I countered, rather ad hominem, how they’d react if it was their child expressing these alternate ways of being. They came back: my views were because I was exposed to a different culture. I did not deny that but tried to impress on them that irrespective of where one was located, the issue of alternate lifestyles would persist. Hence one would have to engage them on lines other than facile condemnation.
Back to the conference. The presentation on “The Problem of Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’” was rather eye-opening for me. Lady Gaga had recently aligned herself with the LGTB community and her song “Born This Way” was touted as a popular endorsement of this alignment. However, the queer community took umbrage at the anthemic chorus which gave the idea that queerness was a biological fact.
I’m beautiful in my way
‘Cause God makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track baby
I was born this way
Don’t hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you’re set
I’m on the right track baby
I was born this way
Queer folk, I learned, were claiming their choice for legitimacy. It was an exercise of personal choice that they identified as queer. So was the queer community rescinding a popular endorsement? Apparently, Gaga’s line was responding to an earlier heteronormative argument that queerness was wrong because no one is born queer. Remember the whole quest for the “gay gene” and for proof that homosexuality occurred naturally. The current theme seems to have moved on from this earlier argument from nature to an exercise of individual will. Or to paraphrase, Gaga seemed a little dated.
My thinkacane comes from dabbling in American pop culture. I do not believe American culture is the global template that all else should fall in line with. However, I cannot help think back to the badminton games we played in some hall near Aizawl. A rather effeminate guy would strut his racquet effortlessly; often times making me crisscross the court till I was drained of my energy. In between games, he’d hold hands with another friend; an occasional laughter breaking their subdued chatter. I remember myself just uneasily trying to ignore them. It’s been over six years since I last saw him. And as I walked home from the conference, I wondered if he was around still playing badminton, eking some sense of affirmation from among companions he might have found, hummed Gaga's tune at some point in self-validation, and just making sense of life as I was doing mine.
My wife, a regular visitor to Mizo sites on the web, flagged a Misual post for me. While I labored through the text, I was really surprised at the candidness with which the issue of “gayism” (ouch!) was broached.
On a recent visit to Aizawl, I had met with some probationary pastors and had the chance to catch up on stuff. As we updated each other on what had happened since we last met, we got down to some issues they faced or could face as ministers in the church. I suggested that alternate gender and sexual issues would be something they’d have to grapple with. While the usual doctrinal lines laced with biblical anchors were flung, I countered, rather ad hominem, how they’d react if it was their child expressing these alternate ways of being. They came back: my views were because I was exposed to a different culture. I did not deny that but tried to impress on them that irrespective of where one was located, the issue of alternate lifestyles would persist. Hence one would have to engage them on lines other than facile condemnation.
Back to the conference. The presentation on “The Problem of Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’” was rather eye-opening for me. Lady Gaga had recently aligned herself with the LGTB community and her song “Born This Way” was touted as a popular endorsement of this alignment. However, the queer community took umbrage at the anthemic chorus which gave the idea that queerness was a biological fact.
I’m beautiful in my way
‘Cause God makes no mistakes
I’m on the right track baby
I was born this way
Don’t hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you’re set
I’m on the right track baby
I was born this way
Queer folk, I learned, were claiming their choice for legitimacy. It was an exercise of personal choice that they identified as queer. So was the queer community rescinding a popular endorsement? Apparently, Gaga’s line was responding to an earlier heteronormative argument that queerness was wrong because no one is born queer. Remember the whole quest for the “gay gene” and for proof that homosexuality occurred naturally. The current theme seems to have moved on from this earlier argument from nature to an exercise of individual will. Or to paraphrase, Gaga seemed a little dated.
My thinkacane comes from dabbling in American pop culture. I do not believe American culture is the global template that all else should fall in line with. However, I cannot help think back to the badminton games we played in some hall near Aizawl. A rather effeminate guy would strut his racquet effortlessly; often times making me crisscross the court till I was drained of my energy. In between games, he’d hold hands with another friend; an occasional laughter breaking their subdued chatter. I remember myself just uneasily trying to ignore them. It’s been over six years since I last saw him. And as I walked home from the conference, I wondered if he was around still playing badminton, eking some sense of affirmation from among companions he might have found, hummed Gaga's tune at some point in self-validation, and just making sense of life as I was doing mine.
8 comments:
Always suspected that there was an element of choice somewhere down the not so straight line. I suppose the arguments against the culture are difficult because of the different positions they come from (puns, if there are are unintended!)
Anon: the problem also harks back to what and who constitutes "the culture". In that sense, queerness leads down a rabbit-hole that many dont want to enter; just maintain the status quo...vague puns, definitely unintended!
A lot of people here in Mizoram attribute the sudden onslaught of gayism to the Korean Pop culture. Dont know if there could be any truth in that, but we are such a copy cat community, there could be a bit of truth in that. Anyway, very good post. Thanks.
Daniel: I dont know anything about Korean pop culture to add to your observation. Methinks the notion of cultural isolation and exceptionalism no longer hold. Any attempts to address cultural issues would have to be glocal: one eye on the global with the other on the local.
Thanks for visiting!
The reason why you countered some of the common dogmas in our Mizo Church is not because you're exposed to a different culture, but because you are a progressive thinker :)
There had been many times when I wanted to speak my heart out on this matter, but then, you know our community... If you're a non-conformist, you're ostracized.
Sandman: I would like to think our collective conscience is widening so that there is less need to ostracize. If only we were able to think on alternative ways to be responsible and constructive members in our society. Hope the slings and arrows of such thinking will not silence your voice!
A little late in the day, but I only rediscovered your blog after it was posted on MWE. I'm writing my PhD on American protest songs and pop culture, so this sounds really interesting.
Ku2: check out this singer Rodriguez (from the Detroit area). The ironies in his story is very interesting. He was writing and sing in the 60s but never caught on the imagination of the civil rights movement. Unbeknownst to him, his music was taken up in South Africa and became a Dylan-type of figure in the anti-apartheid movement.
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