S1E2.5: Rage Against Homophobia: A Response to the Murders at the Club Q in Colorado Springs

Explicit content warning

11/21/22 • 5 min

The murders at Club Q on November 20 in Colorado Springs are horrific, as are all acts of violence against the queer community. Julia and Jeremiah bypass the impulse to dissect how church rhetoric impacted the murders, especially given that they happened in the mecca of the Evangelical Church. They name their anger and rage at this and a myriad of other crimes committed against queer bodies.

Previous Episode

S1E02: Deadly Sexual Sin #1 (According to the Church): Don’t Have Sex Before You Get Married

The first of the seven deadly sexual sins is the apex of Purity Culture: Don't have sex before you get married. And as Jeremiah and Julia discuss, the Evangelical Church has collaborated with policy makers to ensure that abstinence only sex education is infused throughout public schools nationwide.

The Evangelical Church suggests three ways that sexual experiences will be blissful for those who wait until marriage to have sex. You and your spouse will be able to intuit each other's needs. Your honeymoon will be the most incredible experience of your life. Sex will be spontaneous, and will flow naturally without any need to discuss it.

Most couples have a sexual relationship that only occasionally fits into these three categories. Jeremiah and Julia discuss strategies to base a healthy sexual relationship on, including Peggy Kleinplatz's Optimal Sexuality Model and the sexual menu practice.

Next Episode

S1E03: Deadly Sexual Sin #2 (According to the Church): Don't Be Gay

Jeremiah and Julia continue their series on the Seven Deadly Sexual Sins, According to the Church, with the deadliest of the “sins”, as we were reminded over the weekend in Colorado Springs: Don’t be gay.

They discuss the different ways that the combination of “Don’t be gay” and “Don’t have sex before you get married” negatively impacted their development.

They then describe two binaries that the church (and other institutions) place around queerness: 1) Either you're gay or you're straight; 2) Either you're "born this way" or queerness was socialized into you.

Julia and Jeremiah close the episode by discussing three strategies to navigate the homophobia of the church and broadening practices of sexuality.