I Run to Me : Exploring the Religious Oppression of LGBTQ Youth Through Autobiographical Photo Collage

Abstract

The U.S. recently has seen a wave of anti-LGBTQ laws targeting trans youth. Such laws are supported by far right, white dominated Evangelical Christian organizations seeking to enforce binary gender and (hetero)sexual puritanism. These laws give conservative religious parents license to police the identities of their LGBTQ children. “This Blood is my Wine” is a photo collage I created to generate discussion about religious oppression of LGBTQ youth. The inspiration behind this project came from the joy I felt as a bisexual transmasculine person when I moved out of my Evangelical Christian childhood home and began to explore my identity. My presentation is informed by queer, feminist, and decolonial theories, reflecting on two common experiences for LGBTQ youth raised in Evangelical Christian households. 1) The harm experienced by LGBTQ youth who try to appease the expectations of conservative religious parents and 2) The joy LGBTQ youth can experience running towards their true selves, including the tenuousness of this joy when it results in running into other issues (homelessness, poverty, or discrimination). This presentation asserts that LGBTQ youth deserve freedom to explore their true selves, which includes challenging anti-LGBTQ laws and accessing the structural support necessary for such exploration.