13 thoughts on “Lesbianism in Islam and Christianity (slide deck version)”
I found it really interesting when you dive in and talks about what is written in the law/texts and what it could mean for female lesbianism, such as the sex that requires certain sexual organ that women does not have. The way you talk about the similarity and difference of female homosexuality and male was interesting, and I wonder if it’s women’s lower status that they are often overlooked by law writer that actually grant such ‘gap’ or ‘grey area’ with no explicit law that regulates it.
This was a really thoroughly researched project, and you clearly knew what you were talking about. I like that you dove into two separate religions, not just one, showing that your argument proves true within a variety of traditions.
I really liked that your project explores sources that we have been assigned to read throughout the semester but does so in a deeper way. I liked being able to revisit these texts and think more about these texts. Additionally, I appreciated that you included several arguments and counterarguments as well as looked into nuances and possible cracks in each argument. It was a very thorough investigation that presented a lot of food for thought. I loved how you came to conclusions that were also nuanced and not definitive, as this topic is complex and there is a lot to think about. I learned a lot from this presentation!
I think the idea that lesbianism may have been tacitly allowed due to patriarchal understanding of female sexuality, or lack thereof, is a really interesting topic to look into. I like how you pointed out that most of the “clobber texts” and stories that supposedly condemn homosexuality involve gay men and not women. I wonder if there are scholars from the religions you looked into who would rebut your argument by saying that a condemnation of male homosexuality implies a condemnation of female homosexuality because they have to follow all of the same general moral rules as men.
I thought your project was really well researched and thorough. I especially liked your point about lesbian sex not really falling into the Bible’s definition of actual sex since it depends on penetration by a penis, thus lesbians can bypass the need for marriage before sex (very clever!). Your project did a great job deconstructing quotes from both the Qur’an and the Bible.
I like how you pointed out evidence that supports being lesbian is not allowed in Islam and Christianity. Bringing in the Lot story I think plays a huge part in Islam and proving that women were not mentioned in the story tells us everything. Thank you for sharing!
I really appreciated how you not only offering alternative interpretations to the ‘clobber texts’ but uplifted the story of Ruth and Naomi and how what can be understood to be lesbian/queer love as shown in the Bible in a positive light. Arguing from the perspective that lesbian sex technically is not spoken about is very interesting and speaks to your knowledge of both the text and the context it was written in!
It’s interesting to see that both Islam and Christianity had similar focuses in regard to male homosexuality, but completely disregarded lesbianism. I found your thesis statement to be amazing and you achieved in proving your argument with extensive research. Sex between women not being considered actual sex I feel like it correlates to the idea I talked about in my project which said that same-sex intercourse is not anatomically correct because there is no penis penetration. You gave an excellent illustration of key points of lesbianism in Christianity and Islam!
I really enjoyed reading through your essay and seeing your presentation, it really shows the many ways different religious texts can be interpreted and how both, Islam and Christianity, focus on male’s sexuality and pay no attention to women’s sexuality. This is a topic that we have touched in class, but I love the depth you added to it, it really shows that in different levels there still is a power imbalance between the genders.
I really appreciated this project. As a queer person, I have always struggled with my religious background as a part that contradicts my ideals. How lesbian sex is demeaned as “not real” is a saddening truth that further shows patriarchal views of women and their capabilities. This is a really important project to share not only to advance gender equality but queer equality
I thought that this project was very well-researched! I appreciate the fact that you compared and researched multiple religions because it added an extra layer of depth to your project. I also thought that you organized very dense material in a very concise way in your slides which made it easy to follow.
I always find it so intriguing to learn that there are never stories in the Bible or Qur’an about lesbianism, but that scholars and others have turned stories about morality and other common themes into attacks against the Queer community. You did a good job of finding different stories to both support and refute your argument to give a holistic approach.
You did a great job breaking down the different bits of text from Christianity and Islam and analyzing what they may or may not be saying about lesbianism. The fact that these texts are almost entirely written by men probably has a lot to do with why lesbianism isn’t really discussed. Think it’s important that you pointed out how men often define sex as being about penetration (with a penis) so they either didn’t really “count” lesbian sex, or were maybe just very ignorant about it at the time. Hard to say what was really going on thousands of years ago.
I found it really interesting when you dive in and talks about what is written in the law/texts and what it could mean for female lesbianism, such as the sex that requires certain sexual organ that women does not have. The way you talk about the similarity and difference of female homosexuality and male was interesting, and I wonder if it’s women’s lower status that they are often overlooked by law writer that actually grant such ‘gap’ or ‘grey area’ with no explicit law that regulates it.
This was a really thoroughly researched project, and you clearly knew what you were talking about. I like that you dove into two separate religions, not just one, showing that your argument proves true within a variety of traditions.
I really liked that your project explores sources that we have been assigned to read throughout the semester but does so in a deeper way. I liked being able to revisit these texts and think more about these texts. Additionally, I appreciated that you included several arguments and counterarguments as well as looked into nuances and possible cracks in each argument. It was a very thorough investigation that presented a lot of food for thought. I loved how you came to conclusions that were also nuanced and not definitive, as this topic is complex and there is a lot to think about. I learned a lot from this presentation!
I think the idea that lesbianism may have been tacitly allowed due to patriarchal understanding of female sexuality, or lack thereof, is a really interesting topic to look into. I like how you pointed out that most of the “clobber texts” and stories that supposedly condemn homosexuality involve gay men and not women. I wonder if there are scholars from the religions you looked into who would rebut your argument by saying that a condemnation of male homosexuality implies a condemnation of female homosexuality because they have to follow all of the same general moral rules as men.
I thought your project was really well researched and thorough. I especially liked your point about lesbian sex not really falling into the Bible’s definition of actual sex since it depends on penetration by a penis, thus lesbians can bypass the need for marriage before sex (very clever!). Your project did a great job deconstructing quotes from both the Qur’an and the Bible.
I like how you pointed out evidence that supports being lesbian is not allowed in Islam and Christianity. Bringing in the Lot story I think plays a huge part in Islam and proving that women were not mentioned in the story tells us everything. Thank you for sharing!
I really appreciated how you not only offering alternative interpretations to the ‘clobber texts’ but uplifted the story of Ruth and Naomi and how what can be understood to be lesbian/queer love as shown in the Bible in a positive light. Arguing from the perspective that lesbian sex technically is not spoken about is very interesting and speaks to your knowledge of both the text and the context it was written in!
It’s interesting to see that both Islam and Christianity had similar focuses in regard to male homosexuality, but completely disregarded lesbianism. I found your thesis statement to be amazing and you achieved in proving your argument with extensive research. Sex between women not being considered actual sex I feel like it correlates to the idea I talked about in my project which said that same-sex intercourse is not anatomically correct because there is no penis penetration. You gave an excellent illustration of key points of lesbianism in Christianity and Islam!
I really enjoyed reading through your essay and seeing your presentation, it really shows the many ways different religious texts can be interpreted and how both, Islam and Christianity, focus on male’s sexuality and pay no attention to women’s sexuality. This is a topic that we have touched in class, but I love the depth you added to it, it really shows that in different levels there still is a power imbalance between the genders.
I really appreciated this project. As a queer person, I have always struggled with my religious background as a part that contradicts my ideals. How lesbian sex is demeaned as “not real” is a saddening truth that further shows patriarchal views of women and their capabilities. This is a really important project to share not only to advance gender equality but queer equality
I thought that this project was very well-researched! I appreciate the fact that you compared and researched multiple religions because it added an extra layer of depth to your project. I also thought that you organized very dense material in a very concise way in your slides which made it easy to follow.
I always find it so intriguing to learn that there are never stories in the Bible or Qur’an about lesbianism, but that scholars and others have turned stories about morality and other common themes into attacks against the Queer community. You did a good job of finding different stories to both support and refute your argument to give a holistic approach.
You did a great job breaking down the different bits of text from Christianity and Islam and analyzing what they may or may not be saying about lesbianism. The fact that these texts are almost entirely written by men probably has a lot to do with why lesbianism isn’t really discussed. Think it’s important that you pointed out how men often define sex as being about penetration (with a penis) so they either didn’t really “count” lesbian sex, or were maybe just very ignorant about it at the time. Hard to say what was really going on thousands of years ago.