This article examines the narratives of 57 older gay women about their experiences in gay women&#... more This article examines the narratives of 57 older gay women about their experiences in gay women's bars in the United States during the pre-Stonewall era (1945–1969). Cartier's (2010) concept of “theelogy” is used to develop two parallel theories that illustrate the meaning of the bars for these women. Christian rituals are used to outline the socioreligious significance of the bars, while achieving self-acceptance is expressed through language that illustrates interconnectedness (including “to see each other” and “to have each other”). The article closes by addressing the significance of these theories and this approach to spirituality for the field of gerontology.
... place. The police of Lincoln, Nebraska did not arrest Brandon Teena's accused rapist... more ... place. The police of Lincoln, Nebraska did not arrest Brandon Teena's accused rapists after Teena reported the rape; they were finally arrested only after they murdered Teena. Given ... another. He has the gun (Jeffers, 2000). If ...
Page 1. http://tse.sagepub.com/ Theology and Sexuality http://tse.sagepub.com/content/ 10/1/40 Th... more Page 1. http://tse.sagepub.com/ Theology and Sexuality http://tse.sagepub.com/content/ 10/1/40 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/ 135583580301000104 2003 10: 40 Theology Sexuality Marie Cartier ...
It is my intention in this brief study to extend the argument that Nestle begins with her seminal... more It is my intention in this brief study to extend the argument that Nestle begins with her seminal article,' Butch-Femme Relationships: Sexual Cour age in the 1950s', and that Henking and Comstock continue by including it in the critical anthology of writings on'being queer' and 'being religious', Qu(e)erying Religion. I want to do this by making 'an overt claim' that
This chapter makes connections between butch-femme lesbian reality, queer theory, and spiritualit... more This chapter makes connections between butch-femme lesbian reality, queer theory, and spirituality, via Christianity. Connecting theology and lived religious reality with butch-femme realities is at the core of this work. The chapter explores how pre-Stonewall lesbians viewed the body to define themselves and the sense of community they developed in the lesbian bars of the period. Such community building functioned through a sense of common faith in each other, and was the grounding for what I call a theology of community that made sacred seeing and befriending each other, in a world where there was no other space that allowed for that.
Abstract:
This paper examines mid- 20th century pre-Stonewall American butch-femme bar culture i... more Abstract:
This paper examines mid- 20th century pre-Stonewall American butch-femme bar culture in light of that community being a sacred community for many of its participants as it was “the only place,” a phrase used by many of the informants, to describe the bar as the place that many of them could have any community at all in the contested period when homosexuals were still deemed mentally ill. This paper continues that examination exploring this community in light of a possible sacrality, and the bar as an ecclesiastical site that was the birth site of the struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights, in contrast to the commonly held assumption that such rights began with the Stonewall Riots of the late 1969. Further this paper proposes that this re-framed view of the community may be helpful to gerontological studies today as it allows a window through which the elder informants can view their past experiences through a gaze of spirituality. This gaze has not been previously available to them as the gay bar culture has been seen by many who participated in it as without deep meaning. By re-framing the period as having deep meaning, akin to religious significance, it allows the participants to enjoy the benefits that spirituality has been shown to have for the aging process. This community is then seen as a possible site of a lived corporeal theology. For instance, it demonstrates that traditional religious activities (such as marriage) and activities labeled “religious” because of their community functionality took place in the bars.
... place. The police of Lincoln, Nebraska did not arrest Brandon Teena's accused rapist... more ... place. The police of Lincoln, Nebraska did not arrest Brandon Teena's accused rapists after Teena reported the rape; they were finally arrested only after they murdered Teena. Given ... another. He has the gun (Jeffers, 2000). If ...
This book examines mid-century American butch femme culture (but will also draw on international ... more This book examines mid-century American butch femme culture (but will also draw on international sources), in light of the community being a possible sacred community, holding a praxis of sex as religion and religious practice. It re-examine urban mid-century butch femme bar culture in light of a possible sacrality, examines stone butch/high femme sex as possibly religious practice, and cements more firmly the idea that mid-century urban bar culture was the beginning of gay and lesbian civil rights, (as opposed to the Stonewall Riots of the late 1960’s).
This article examines the narratives of 57 older gay women about their experiences in gay women&#... more This article examines the narratives of 57 older gay women about their experiences in gay women's bars in the United States during the pre-Stonewall era (1945–1969). Cartier's (2010) concept of “theelogy” is used to develop two parallel theories that illustrate the meaning of the bars for these women. Christian rituals are used to outline the socioreligious significance of the bars, while achieving self-acceptance is expressed through language that illustrates interconnectedness (including “to see each other” and “to have each other”). The article closes by addressing the significance of these theories and this approach to spirituality for the field of gerontology.
... place. The police of Lincoln, Nebraska did not arrest Brandon Teena's accused rapist... more ... place. The police of Lincoln, Nebraska did not arrest Brandon Teena's accused rapists after Teena reported the rape; they were finally arrested only after they murdered Teena. Given ... another. He has the gun (Jeffers, 2000). If ...
Page 1. http://tse.sagepub.com/ Theology and Sexuality http://tse.sagepub.com/content/ 10/1/40 Th... more Page 1. http://tse.sagepub.com/ Theology and Sexuality http://tse.sagepub.com/content/ 10/1/40 The online version of this article can be found at: DOI: 10.1177/ 135583580301000104 2003 10: 40 Theology Sexuality Marie Cartier ...
It is my intention in this brief study to extend the argument that Nestle begins with her seminal... more It is my intention in this brief study to extend the argument that Nestle begins with her seminal article,' Butch-Femme Relationships: Sexual Cour age in the 1950s', and that Henking and Comstock continue by including it in the critical anthology of writings on'being queer' and 'being religious', Qu(e)erying Religion. I want to do this by making 'an overt claim' that
This chapter makes connections between butch-femme lesbian reality, queer theory, and spiritualit... more This chapter makes connections between butch-femme lesbian reality, queer theory, and spirituality, via Christianity. Connecting theology and lived religious reality with butch-femme realities is at the core of this work. The chapter explores how pre-Stonewall lesbians viewed the body to define themselves and the sense of community they developed in the lesbian bars of the period. Such community building functioned through a sense of common faith in each other, and was the grounding for what I call a theology of community that made sacred seeing and befriending each other, in a world where there was no other space that allowed for that.
Abstract:
This paper examines mid- 20th century pre-Stonewall American butch-femme bar culture i... more Abstract:
This paper examines mid- 20th century pre-Stonewall American butch-femme bar culture in light of that community being a sacred community for many of its participants as it was “the only place,” a phrase used by many of the informants, to describe the bar as the place that many of them could have any community at all in the contested period when homosexuals were still deemed mentally ill. This paper continues that examination exploring this community in light of a possible sacrality, and the bar as an ecclesiastical site that was the birth site of the struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights, in contrast to the commonly held assumption that such rights began with the Stonewall Riots of the late 1969. Further this paper proposes that this re-framed view of the community may be helpful to gerontological studies today as it allows a window through which the elder informants can view their past experiences through a gaze of spirituality. This gaze has not been previously available to them as the gay bar culture has been seen by many who participated in it as without deep meaning. By re-framing the period as having deep meaning, akin to religious significance, it allows the participants to enjoy the benefits that spirituality has been shown to have for the aging process. This community is then seen as a possible site of a lived corporeal theology. For instance, it demonstrates that traditional religious activities (such as marriage) and activities labeled “religious” because of their community functionality took place in the bars.
... place. The police of Lincoln, Nebraska did not arrest Brandon Teena's accused rapist... more ... place. The police of Lincoln, Nebraska did not arrest Brandon Teena's accused rapists after Teena reported the rape; they were finally arrested only after they murdered Teena. Given ... another. He has the gun (Jeffers, 2000). If ...
This book examines mid-century American butch femme culture (but will also draw on international ... more This book examines mid-century American butch femme culture (but will also draw on international sources), in light of the community being a possible sacred community, holding a praxis of sex as religion and religious practice. It re-examine urban mid-century butch femme bar culture in light of a possible sacrality, examines stone butch/high femme sex as possibly religious practice, and cements more firmly the idea that mid-century urban bar culture was the beginning of gay and lesbian civil rights, (as opposed to the Stonewall Riots of the late 1960’s).
Uploads
Papers by Marie Cartier
This paper examines mid- 20th century pre-Stonewall American butch-femme bar culture in light of that community being a sacred community for many of its participants as it was “the only place,” a phrase used by many of the informants, to describe the bar as the place that many of them could have any community at all in the contested period when homosexuals were still deemed mentally ill. This paper continues that examination exploring this community in light of a possible sacrality, and the bar as an ecclesiastical site that was the birth site of the struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights, in contrast to the commonly held assumption that such rights began with the Stonewall Riots of the late 1969.
Further this paper proposes that this re-framed view of the community may be helpful to gerontological studies today as it allows a window through which the elder informants can view their past experiences through a gaze of spirituality. This gaze has not been previously available to them as the gay bar culture has been seen by many who participated in it as without deep meaning. By re-framing the period as having deep meaning, akin to religious significance, it allows the participants to enjoy the benefits that spirituality has been shown to have for the aging process. This community is then seen as a possible site of a lived corporeal theology. For instance, it demonstrates that traditional religious activities (such as marriage) and activities labeled “religious” because of their community functionality took place in the bars.
Books by Marie Cartier
This paper examines mid- 20th century pre-Stonewall American butch-femme bar culture in light of that community being a sacred community for many of its participants as it was “the only place,” a phrase used by many of the informants, to describe the bar as the place that many of them could have any community at all in the contested period when homosexuals were still deemed mentally ill. This paper continues that examination exploring this community in light of a possible sacrality, and the bar as an ecclesiastical site that was the birth site of the struggle for gay and lesbian civil rights, in contrast to the commonly held assumption that such rights began with the Stonewall Riots of the late 1969.
Further this paper proposes that this re-framed view of the community may be helpful to gerontological studies today as it allows a window through which the elder informants can view their past experiences through a gaze of spirituality. This gaze has not been previously available to them as the gay bar culture has been seen by many who participated in it as without deep meaning. By re-framing the period as having deep meaning, akin to religious significance, it allows the participants to enjoy the benefits that spirituality has been shown to have for the aging process. This community is then seen as a possible site of a lived corporeal theology. For instance, it demonstrates that traditional religious activities (such as marriage) and activities labeled “religious” because of their community functionality took place in the bars.