Men's Bodies, Men's Gods: Male Identities in a (Post) Christian Culture 9780814763612

Citation preview

M e n ' s Bodies , M e n ' s G o d

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Male Identities

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(Post-)

Christian Culture

Edited by B J O R N K R O N D O R F E

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NEW YOR K U N I V E R S I T New York and London

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NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London © 1996 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Men's bodies, men's gods : male identities in a (post-) Christian culture / edited by Bjorn Krondorfer. p. cm . Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8147-4668-3.—ISBN 0-8147-4669-1 (pbk. ) 1. Me n (Christian theology) 2 . Body , Human—Religious aspects— Christianity. 3 . Me n (Christian theology)—History of doctrines. 4. Body , Human—Religious aspects—Christianity—History of doctrines. I . Krondorfer , Bjorn. BT703.5.M46 199 6 233'.5'o8i—dc20 95-3246 6 CIP New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper , and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured i n the United States of America

For m y siste r i n Vienna , m y brothe r i n Berlin , and other s w h o inhabi t non-traditionally gendere d w o r l d s .

Contents

List of Illustrations xi Acknowledgments xiii Contributors xv P A R T I Mal

e Gende r an d Religio n

i Introductio

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2 Thre e Arguments fo r th e Eliminatio n o f Masculinity 2 SETH MIRSK Y

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P A R T 1 1 M a l e Bodie s an d th e Constructio n o f Religious Identit y 3 Growin g U p Christia n an d Male : One Man' s Experience 4 TOM F . DRIVE R

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4 Blac k Bodies , Whose Body ? Africa n America n Men i n XODUS 6 GARTH BAKER-FLETCHE R

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viii Contents 5 Empowerment : Th e Constructio n o f Ga y Religious Identitie s 9 MICHAEL L . STEMMELE R

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P A R T i n M a l e Sexua l I d e n t i t y a n d t h e Religious Bod y 6 Bringin g Goo d New s t o th e Body : Masturbatio n and Mal e Identit y 11 SCOTT HALDEMA N

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7 Facin g the Bod y o n th e Cross : A Gay Man' s Reflections o n Passio n an d Crucifixio n 12 ROBIN HAWLE Y GORSLIN E

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PART i v Mal

e Friendship s

8 Me n an d Christia n Friendshi p 14 PHILIP L . CULBERTSO N 9 "Th e Manl y Lov e o f Comrades" : Mythico Religious Model s fo r a n Athletic s o f Male Male Friendshi p 18 WILLIAM G . DOT Y

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p A R T v M e n ' s Bodie s i n C o n t e m p o r a r y C u l t u r e a n d Religio n 10 Th e Confine s o f Mal e Confessions : O n Religion , Bodies, and Mirror s 20 BJORN KRONDORFE R

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11 Ca n Me n Worship ? Reflection s o n Mal e Bodie s in Ba d Fait h an d a Theology o f Authenticit y 23 LEWIS R . GORDO N

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12 Th e Masculinit y o f Jesus in Popula r Religiou s Art 25 DAVID MORGA N 13 Barin g the Flesh : Aspects o f Contemporar y Male Iconograph y 26 WILLIAM G . DOT Y

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Contents i PART v i Concludin

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14 Epilogu e 31 JAMES B . NELSO N Index 319

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Illustrations

i. Warne r Sallman , Head of Christ 25

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2. Gustav e Dore , Jonathan and David 25

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3. Warne r Sallman , Christ Our Pilot 25

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4. Heinric h Hofmann , Head of Christ 26 5. Giann i Versace , advertisement 27 6. 2(x)ist , advertisemen t 27 7. 2(x)ist , advertisement 27 8. Liberto , Jean advertisemen t 28

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XI

A c k n o w l e d g m e n t s

Three year s ago , I started t o solici t manuscript s o n th e inter section o f body , religion , an d culture . I looke d fo r scholar s i n religiou s studies an d cognat e area s willin g t o examin e th e cultural , religious , an d social force s tha t hav e shape d mal e bodie s an d mal e identitie s i n th e Western tradition(s) . Somewha t frustrate d wit h th e man y ne w title s o n neo-Jungian an d archetypa l approache s t o mal e spirituality , I aske d potential contributor s t o engag e th e issu e o f mal e gende r i n non-essen tialist categorie s an d t o stud y mal e identitie s a s par t o f a comple x we b of socia l relations , religiou s persuasions , spiritua l experiences , sexua l orientations, an d racia l differences . Each contributo r helpe d t o defin e thi s book , an d m y specia l thanks , therefore, g o t o m y colleague s wh o hav e take n u p th e challeng e o f mapping ne w terrain s an d explorin g fres h possibilitie s i n th e interdisci plinary stud y o f gender , religion , an d culture . I t wa s a pleasur e t o wor k with them , an d I will remember man y o f ou r conversations . I receive d helpfu l feedbac k fro m th e workin g grou p o n "Image s o f Masculinity" durin g th e 199 4 annua l meetin g o f th e Society for Values in Higher Education i n Atlanta . I especially than k To m Drive r who , a s chair o f thi s workin g group , aske d m e t o presen t a draf t o f m y chapte r on mal e confessiona l writings . Th e annua l meeting s o f th e America n xin

xiv Acknowledgments Academy o f Religio n (AAR ) becam e anothe r foru m wher e man y o f th e scholars represente d i n thi s volum e wer e abl e t o exchang e idea s o n a n informal basis . Stephe n Boyd , co-chai r o f th e "Men' s Studie s i n Reli gion" grou p a t th e AAR, gave some helpfu l advis e i n the initia l stage s of the book . I a m especiall y indebte d t o Rut h Os t an d Bobb y Alexande r who , despite othe r academi c commitments , wer e abl e t o find th e tim e t o correct m y contribution s an d mak e importan t editoria l suggestions . Thanks als o t o m y wif e Katharin a vo n Kellenbach , a feminis t an d scholar i n religion , wh o watche d th e progres s o f thi s boo k wit h a critical an d supportiv e eye . Allison Ber g directe d m e t o som e importan t resources o n autobiography , an d Willia m Dot y kep t m e abreas t o f ne w publications i n men's studies . Special thanks , too, to Jennifer Hammer , edito r a t Ne w Yor k Univer sity Press , who , fro m th e start , believe d i n th e book' s relevanc e fo r continuing th e discussion o n gender . Last no t least , I a m thinkin g o f m y daughte r Zadeki a wh o ofte n imitated m e b y typin g awa y o n he r ow n keyboard . Sh e gre w fro m a baby int o a toddler whil e I completed thi s book . BJORN KRONDORFE R

Contributors

G A R T H B A K E R - F L E T C H E R i s professor o f Christia n ethic s at th e

School of Theology i n Claremont, California . H e is the author o f Somebodyness: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Theory of Dignity (Fortres s Press, 1993) . P H I L I P L . C U L B E R T S O N i s directo r o f pastora l studie s a t St .

John's Theological Colleg e in Auckland, New Zealand. H e is the author of The Pastor: Readings from the Patristic Period; New Adam: The Future of Masculine Spirituality-, Counseling Men: A Caregiver's Guide to Men in Crisis (al l publishe d b y Fortres s Press) ; an d A Word Fitly Spoken: Context, Transmission and Adoption of the Parables of Jesus (State Universit y o f New York Press , 1994) . He also ha s published ove r forty scholarl y articles . He has been activ e in the men's movemen t sinc e 1988, regularl y leadin g conference s i n America , Europe , an d the Sout h Pacific, W I L L I A M G . D O T Y i s professo r o f humanitie s i n th e departmen t

of religiou s studie s a t th e Universit y o f Alabama/Tuscaloosa . H e has contributed t o man y journal s an d publishe d fifteen book s i n severa l fields, includin g Myths of Masculinity (Crossroad , 1993) , Mythical xv

xvi Contributors Trickster Figures (1993) , Picturing Cultural Values in Postmodern America (Universit y o f Alabama Press , 1994) , and a stud y o f interdisci plinary education . He is the editor o f Mytbosphere: A Journal for Image, Myth, and Symbol. T O M F . D R I V E R i s th e Pau l Tillic h professo r o f Theolog y an d Culture Emeritu s a t Unio n Theologica l Seminar y i n Ne w York, wher e he has been a faculty membe r sinc e 1956 . He has held visitin g professor ships a t Fordha m University , Vassa r College , Barnar d College , th e University o f Otag a i n Ne w Zealand , Doshish a Universit y i n Japan , an d Columbia University . H e has published extensively , an d his most recen t book i s The Magic of Ritual (Harpe r Collins , 1991) . L E W I S R . G O R D O N teache s i n th e philosoph y departmen t an d th e

African America n Studie s and Research Cente r a t Purdue University . He is the author o f Bad Faith and Antiblack Racism (Th e Humanities Press , 1995), an d Fanon and the Crisis of European Man (Routledge , 1995) , the edito r o f Existence in Black (Routledge , 1996) , an d co-edito r o f Black Texts and Black Textuality (forthcoming) . H e currentl y i s com pleting Her Majesty's Other Children, whic h i s a collectio n o f hi s own essays and philosophical fiction. R O B I N H A W L E Y G O R S L I N E i s a doctora l candidat e i n system -

atic theolog y a t Union Theologica l Seminar y i n New York. He identifie s himself a s a black-positive , whit e Anglica n Unitaria n Universalis t Radi cal Faerie . Hi s essay , "Le t U s Bles s Ou r Angels : A Pro-Feminis t Ga y Male Liberatio n Vie w o f Sodom," appear s i n Redefining Sexual Ethics. His researc h interest s includ e th e construction o f sex and race in American cultur e an d the relation o f male violence and Christian theology . S C O T T H A L D E M A N i s a doctora l studen t a t Unio n Theologica l Seminary i n Ne w York . H e i s intereste d i n th e socia l constructio n o f religion, culture, sexuality, gender , race , and class. His chosen metho d is that o f performanc e an d ritua l studies . Hi s biggest challeng e a t presen t is t o liv e int o a worl d wher e hi s daughter wil l no t fea r th e violence of sexism an d heterosexism. Hi s dissertation focuse s o n the problems an d possibilities presente d t o the worship program s o f U.S. churches b y the multicultural realitie s of this nation .

Contributors xvi B J O R N K R O N D O R F E R i s visitin g assistan t professo r o f religiou s studies a t St . Mary' s Colleg e o f Maryland . H e i s th e autho r o f Remembrance and Reconciliation: Encounters Between Young Jews and Germans (Yal e Universit y Press , 1995) , an d th e edito r o f Body and Bible: Interpreting and Experiencing Biblical Narratives (Trinit y Press , 1992) . He ha s publishe d i n Journal of Ritual Studies, Journal of Men's Studies, Literature and Theology, Christianity and Crisis, English Education, among others . H e als o conduct s Bibliodram a workshop s an d facilitate s encounters betwee n group s o f (American ) Jew s an d (non-Jewish ) Ger mans. He enjoy s parentin g hi s daughter Zadekia . S E T H M I R S K Y ha s worke d fo r th e pas t fiftee n year s o n question s o f feminism's implication s fo r men . H e work s a s a freelanc e edito r an d i s a member o f th e steerin g committe e fo r th e Men' s Studie s i n Religio n Group o f th e America n Academ y o f Religion . H e receive d hi s B.A . a t Wesleyan Universit y an d studie d a t Harvar d Divinit y Schoo l wit h Caro l Christ, Sharo n Welch , Kati e Cannon , an d Miek e Bal . He no w live s i n a cabin i n the North Carolin a wood s wit h hi s partner . D A V I D M O R G A N i s assistant professo r o f ar t histor y an d chairma n of th e Departmen t o f Ar t a t Valparais o University , Indiana . H e recentl y directed a researc h projec t funde d b y th e Lill y Endowmen t o n th e pro duction an d receptio n o f mass-produce d popula r religiou s art . H e au thored an d edite d Icons of American Protestantism: The Art of Warner Sallman (Yal e Universit y Press , 1996) , an d ha s publishe d article s i n Journal of the History of Ideas, Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism, European Romantic Review, an d Religion and American Culture, among others . He i s currently a post-doctoral fello w i n the Pew Progra m in Religio n an d America n Histor y a t Yal e an d i s workin g o n a ne w book, Imaging the Faith: Mass-Produced Imagery and American Protestant Piety, 1840-1960. J A M E S B . N E L S O N i s professor emeritu s o f Christia n ethic s a t th e United Theologica l Seminar y o f the Twin Cities . His book s includ e Body Theology (1992) , The Intimate Connection: Male Sexuality and Male Spirituality (1988) , Between Two Gardens: Reflections on Sexuality and Religious Experience (1983) , an d Embodiment (1978) . Mos t recently , he co-edited wit h Sandr a Longfello w th e boo k Sexuality and the Sacred

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xviii Contributors (1994). H e i s als o th e autho r o f numerou s boo k chapter s an d journa l articles, an d serve d a s a boar d membe r o n man y committee s an d tas k forces o n issues o f human sexuality , includin g th e Sex Information and Education Council of the U.S. (SIECUS), an d th e Stat e o f Minnesot a Task Forc e on AIDS. M I C H A E L L . S T E M M E L E R i s associat e professo r o f religio n a t

Central Michiga n University . H e has published i n Gay-Affirmative Ethics (Monument Press , 1993 ) and edited wit h J. Michael Clark , Spirituality and Community: Diversity in Lesbian and Gay Experience (Monu ment Press , 1994) , whic h include s hi s chapter o n "Famil y i n th e Gay Nineties: The Explosion o f a Concept." H e was the co-chair o f the Ga y Men's Issue s i n Religion Grou p o f th e American Academ y o f Religion , and co-produce d a video o n the experience o f gay life an d homophobi a on th e college campus , In Our Own Words (Mt . Pleasant, 1992) . He is currently workin g i n th e area s o f ga y spiritua l identit y formatio n an d the ethics of non-traditional relationships .

ONE

Introduction BJORN KRONDORFE

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The depictio n o f ma n a s homo religiosus i s no t simpl y a semantic acciden t tha t exclude s women . Rather , i t reflect s a socia l prac tice o f Christianit y i n whic h mal e religiou s institutions , patriarcha l au thority, an d masculin e image s o f Go d hav e bee n dominant . Th e centra l Christian doctrines , rituals , an d worl d view s wer e formulate d b y me n for men , an d althoug h no t al l me n hav e enjoye d equa l statu s withi n th e Christian mora l an d politica l community, most were assured a privilege d position withi n tha t univers e or , a t least , wer e rewarde d i f the y wer e willing t o conform . W e cannot , o f course , ignor e class , religious, ethnic , or sexua l difference s amon g me n tha t hav e le d t o numerou s form s o f repression an d persecutio n o f me n i n Christia n history . We onl y nee d t o recall th e oppressio n o f peasant s durin g th e feuda l system , th e persecu tion o f heretic s durin g th e Inquisition , th e enslavemen t o f African s dur ing colonization , th e antisemiti c assaul t o n Jews , an d th e homophobi c retaliation agains t gende r transgressor s t o realiz e ho w man y me n an d women hav e bee n marginalized , victimized , an d brutalize d b y the domi nant force s o f Europea n Christia n cultures . Yet, th e fac t remain s tha t th e dominan t tradition s hav e alway s fa vored men . Gender-consciou s an d feminis t scholar s hav e repeatedl y drawn ou r attentio n t o th e fac t tha t me n ar e normativ e i n theologica l 3

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discourse an d enjo y unrestraine d acces s t o position s o f political , socio economic, an d sacre d power . Usually , suc h patriarcha l system s ar e mi sogynist i n their portraya l o f wome n an d negativ e i n their assessmen t o f the body . Wome n an d body , o r wome n a s body , ar e depicte d a s corrup t and evil . Wha t moder n interpretation s ofte n overlook , however , i s tha t the mal e bod y itsel f i s treate d preferentially . After all , men' s bodie s ar e like God' s body . The author s o f thi s volume , wh o ar e wit h tw o exception s scholar s i n the field o f religiou s studies , examin e differen t aspect s o f th e mal e bod y in th e religiou s an d cultura l discours e i n th e histor y o f Wester n Chris tianity. Ho w ar e mal e bodie s constructe d i n differen t historica l period s and contexts? Ho w i s the male body represente d i n religious and cultura l systems? Ho w d o race , ethnicity , an d sexua l preferenc e impac t o n th e intersection o f mal e bodie s an d religiou s identity ? Doe s Christianit y provide model s t o cop e wit h th e agin g an d ailin g mal e body ? Doe s i t provide model s fo r intimac y betwee n me n an d women , me n an d men ? Do me n se e themselve s a s havin g a sexua l body , a religiou s body , a social body ? Ho w i s sexuality linke d t o spirituality? Ho w d o me n reflec t the carna l dimension s o f power , abuse , an d justice ? Thes e ar e th e kin d of question s tha t th e author s o f Men's Bodies, Men's Gods wil l rais e and discuss . To provid e som e contex t t o th e book , I wil l revie w a fe w selecte d themes o n th e construction an d representatio n o f th e mal e gende r i n th e history o f Wester n Christianity .

Ascetics, C e l i b a t e s , a n d P r e a c h e r s The gospels' proclamation o f Go d becomin g flesh through an d i n his son Jesus Chris t i s not gender-inclusive . Th e incarnatio n occur s i n a specifi cally mal e bod y (notwithstandin g it s clai m t o universa l significance) , even i f thi s bod y i s viewe d a s asexual . T o posses s mal e genitali a ha s validated men' s statu s a s sole representative o f Chris t i n the past, an d i n some churches this remains true to this day. Although theologians , visual artists, an d iconoclast s hav e take n grea t pain s i n concealin g th e savior' s pelvic nakedness—wit h th e exception , perhaps , o f th e ostentatio genu talium i n Renaissanc e ar t (albeit , th e genitali a o f onl y th e Chris t chil d and th e dea d Chris t wer e unveiled ; se e Steinberg 1983)—th e ecclesiasti -

Introduction 5 cal traditions leave little doubt abou t th e centrality o f Christ' s maleness. Those wh o hav e trie d t o interpre t th e se x an d gende r o f God' s so n differently hav e been punished and marginalized. Whenever women have tried t o represen t God' s so n and , hence , mov e int o position s o f sacre d authority, the y were me t wit h fierce resistance. Whethe r w e loo k a t th e erasure o f women' s participatio n i n th e leadershi p o f th e earl y churc h (Fiorenza 1984 ; Torjesen 1993 ; Clark 1983) , a t th e mystica l vision s o f medieval wome n i n which the y asserte d a direct relationshi p t o Christ' s body, thus bypassing the restricted access to the eucharist (Bynum 1987) , or at contemporary battle s ove r women's ordination , gender has alway s been a source o f conflicts . The recen t controversy ove r a small religiou s theater company , whic h cas t a femal e Jesu s i n a performanc e durin g Pope Joh n Pau l IP s visi t t o Denve r i n 1993 , remind s u s o f th e anxiet y over the "correct " gender representation o f Christ . Conservativ e Catho lics calle d th e performanc e "a n assaul t o n a ver y centra l doctrine , no t only o f th e Catholi c church , bu t o f Christianity, " whil e mor e libera l voices praised the play, arguing, like Sister Maureen Fiedler, coordinato r of Catholic s Spea k Out , tha t i f on e represent s "Jesu s crucified , I can' t think of anyon e bette r in the church than a woman" (Niebuh r 1993) . Early Christia n movement s experimente d wit h gender-varian t behav ior an d equalit y o f th e sexe s b y manipulatin g th e body . Som e groups , such a s th e Encratites , renounce d sexuality . Thei r practic e o f sexua l continence allowe d me n an d wome n t o talk , travel , an d liv e freel y together. Bu t the idea of continenc e di d not gain enough support amon g the masses of antiquity . T o renounce sexualit y an d live in poverty wa s a price tha t onl y fe w wer e willin g t o pa y fo r a ne w eschatologica l visio n and gende r equality . Othe r groups , suc h a s th e Gnostics , trie d t o und o the separatio n o f bod y an d matter , man an d woman , b y developin g androgynous images . Gnosti c circles , fo r example , di d no t assig n re demptive power to the continent bod y itsel f but, instead, emphasized th e need fo r a spiritua l cur e wit h th e hel p o f th e "feminine " principl e o f sophia (cf . Brow n 1988 ; Meek s 1974 , 1993) . Thi s is , perhaps, wh y th e androgynous idealis m of Gnosticism , even to this day, has appealed to a few spiritually curious men experimenting with gender variance (Conne r 1993; Nobl e 1992) . Bu t i t i s importan t t o remembe r tha t th e Gnostic s did no t celebrat e th e body . Rather , the y strov e t o becom e indifferen t t o it. Ever since Adam, according to the Gnostic myth , human bodie s wer e the wor k o f a n inferio r creation , a vie w tha t resulte d i n a "mora l

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emptying o f th e body' s significance " (Meek s 1993 : 138 ) an d lef t th e body wit h "littl e valu e a s a declarator y agent " (Brow n 1988 : n o ) . Certainly, Gnosticis m di d no t escap e androcentri c imagery . Th e non canonical, gnosti c Gospe l o f Thoma s end s wit h Simo n Peter' s deman d that wome n leav e th e communit y o f disciples , t o whic h Jesu s replies , "For ever y woma n wh o wil l mak e hersel f mal e wil l ente r th e Kingdo m of Heaven " (Camero n 1982 : 37) . Th e tex t leave s n o roo m fo r doubt : redemption lie s i n th e mal e body , an d th e androgynou s unio n wil l onl y take plac e i n the spiritual realm . Despite th e existenc e o f suc h group s a s th e Encratite s an d th e Gnos tics, th e patriarcha l Christia n household , whic h modele d itsel f afte r th e Roman pater familias, becam e the norm. Gende r divisio n wa s eventuall y reintroduced int o ascetic practices: men's celibacy an d women' s virginit y became model s o f spiritualit y tha t wer e n o longe r base d o n gende r equality. This developmen t coincide d wit h th e strengthenin g o f a dualis tic theolog y tha t equate d malenes s wit h sou l an d spiri t an d femalenes s with bod y an d matte r (cf . Ruethe r 1974 ; Nelso n 1978) . Suc h a body mind dualism , however , doe s no t ignor e th e male flesh. O n th e contrary : though i t i s tru e tha t matter , body , an d wome n wer e perceive d a s obstacles t o men' s spiritua l liberatio n fro m th e darknes s o f sin , Chris tianity's dualis m an d misogyn y di d no t rende r th e mal e bod y insignifi cant. Paradoxically , th e mal e bod y remaine d men' s spiritua l battle ground. The issu e o f asceticis m i s a cas e i n point . Th e earl y mal e asceti c wanted t o fre e himsel f fro m socia l norm s an d biologica l necessitie s b y manipulating th e bod y a t it s mos t basi c level : foo d an d sexuality . Fo r example, th e deser t father s o f th e thir d centur y wen t int o remot e area s and refuse d an y natura l sustenanc e t o th e body . Athanasiu s reporte d that St . Antony though t h e would blus h i f h e were see n eatin g b y other s (Athanasius 1980 : 65) . Sham e prevente d thos e me n fro m swallowin g food an d spillin g semen . Literall y an d metaphorically , th e bodie s o f th e desert father s drie d u p a s thei r spirit s bega n t o flow—if onl y i n th e nightmarish stat e o f adiaphoria, i n which the y experience d th e breakin g down o f boundarie s betwee n "ma n an d desert , huma n an d beast " (Brown 1988 : 220). As much a s the ascetic s worked o n effacin g th e sexua l functio n o f th e penis, the y di d no t escap e phallocentri c practices . Fo r mal e ascetics , th e ability to imitate Chris t require d physica l likeness , warranted i n the mal e

Introduction 7 body. Bu t Christ's bod y differe d fro m thei r bodie s i n regard t o spiritua l perfection: Christ' s bod y ha d no t bee n touche d b y si n an d desir e whil e they experience d dail y temptations . Imitatio Christi mean t t o liv e i n a male bod y withou t masculin e desires , a struggl e tha t wa s impossibl e t o win. The unrul y erectilit y o f th e peni s constantl y reminde d me n o f thei r weakness. Fo r Augustine, man' s lack o f control over his vital orga n wa s a sig n o f humanity' s inheren t sinfulness . Eve n renunciatio n o f sexualit y did no t hel p ma n t o gai n tota l contro l ove r lust . Nocturna l emission s offered conclusiv e proof . Augustine , lik e man y celibat e me n befor e an d after him , wa s bewildere d b y nocturnall y recurring , sensua l memorie s which move d fro m th e real m o f dream s straigh t dow n t o th e pelvis . After confessin g t o involuntar y carna l emissions , Augustine , exasper ated, praye d t o God , "Griev e a t m y imperfec t stat e . . . an d perfec t i n me your mercie s t o achiev e perfec t peace " (1992 : 204 ; see Miles 1992) . The ultimate control o f mal e virility was not i n man's power bu t subject to God' s mercy. Despite the projections of male desires onto female bodie s and despite men's fantasie s abou t women' s seductiv e power—theme s tha t ru n through muc h o f Christia n literature—men' s spiritua l struggle s wer e fought withi n an d agains t thei r ow n bodies . The differentl y bodie d woman wa s exclude d fro m th e despai r an d glor y o f male-embodied , ascetic practices. The denial o f th e penis—even i n the most radical for m of castration , a rout e Origin , fo r example , ha d take n (Brow n 1988 : 168)—did no t remove th e spiritual significanc e o f th e phallus. Controlling one' s bod y throug h asceticis m an d sexua l renunciation , though popular amon g Christian s i n the first centuries, was not a model that coul d ultimatel y compet e wit h th e sexua l regulations , gende r divi sions, an d hierarchie s o f th e evolvin g Christia n househol d an d Catholi c church. The married Christian householder continued to use the body as sign o f hi s o r he r mora l an d politica l commitment s (Meek s 1993) , bu t the mor e radica l form s o f bodil y practice s b y whic h earl y Christia n circles ha d achieve d ritua l visibilit y (e.g. , extrem e asceticism , celibacy , perpetual virginity , libertin e rites ) wer e pushe d t o th e margin s an d de clared heretical . Ascetic practices , however , survived . The y wer e eithe r adjuste d t o o r separated fro m th e normativ e code s o f th e househol d movement . Fo r example, virginity, as a form of femal e asceticism , turned into the elabo-

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rate cul t o f th e Virgi n Mar y (Kristev a 1986 ; Warne r 1976 ) whic h n o longer require d perpetua l virginit y o f al l daughter s o f th e Christia n household. Th e adoratio n o f th e Virgi n becam e compatibl e wit h th e institution o f marriage , thu s easin g th e householder' s fea r tha t th e prac tice o f continenc e woul d disrup t hi s oikonotnia. Mal e asceticism , o n th e other hand , wa s channele d int o a celibat e clerg y an d monasti c orders , while th e Christia n householde r wa s allowe d t o engag e i n a restraine d but lici t sexua l life . A s Christianit y evolved , th e marrie d lait y wa s sepa rated fro m a celibate clergy—a proces s tha t wa s not complete d unti l th e twelfth century , an d perhap s no t unti l th e sixteent h century , agains t th e bitter complaint s o f marrie d priest s (cf . Barsto w 1982 ; Ranke-Heine mann 1990 ; Lea 1907) . Yet, a fundamenta l conflic t remained . Th e theologica l insistenc e o n the simultaneit y o f Jesus' maleness an d Christ' s asexualit y seem s to hav e been experience d a s a continuou s sourc e o f frustration , fo r i t produce d a paradoxica l notio n o f mal e spiritualit y b y insistin g o n phalli c powe r while denyin g th e sexua l penis . Th e onl y perfec t man , Pop e Gregor y I wrote i n th e sevent h century , i s "th e on e wh o manage s no t t o bur n amidst th e fire" (quote d i n Ranke-Heineman n 1990 : 142) . The inevita ble psychodynami c tensio n coul d onl y b e resolve d b y entrenchin g patri archal powe r i n th e ecclesi a o n th e on e han d an d counterbalancin g i t with gender-varian t imagery , rituals , an d symbolization s o n th e other . This woul d explain , fo r example , why , i n a n al l mal e institution , Chris t was tim e an d agai n represente d i n highl y sensuou s an d androgynou s images. Whether w e loo k a t painting s fro m th e fourteent h an d fifteenth centuries, th e Sacre d Hear t iconograph y o f th e nineteent h century , o r the popular portrait s o f Chris t b y the American painte r Warne r Sallma n (Morgan 1996) , Jesu s ha s feminin e facia l features , lon g hai r touchin g his shoulders , an d a bod y wrappe d i n sof t an d flowing gowns . Hi s posture o n th e cros s sometime s suggest s masochisti c self-abandon , an d his bleedin g woun d belo w th e nippl e suggest s a (spiritual ) feedin g o f humankind, jus t a s Mary's lactatin g breas t fe d hi m (Bynu m 1987) . Even the fluids (blood , sweat , tears) , whic h Christ' s sufferin g bod y excrete s abundantly, hav e a "feminine " quality . Accordin g t o mora l theolog y o f the thirteenth century , bodil y fluids ar e more typica l o f woman' s nature . "Woman i s les s qualifie d fo r mora l behavior, " wrot e Alber t th e Great , the teacher o f Aquinas, because sh e "contain s mor e liqui d tha n th e man , and i t i s a propert y o f liqui d t o tak e thing s u p easil y an d t o hol d

Introduction 9 onto the m poorly " (quote d i n Ranke-Heineman n 1990 : 178) . Christ' s exuding bod y o n th e cros s betray s a masculin e anatom y tainte d b y "womanish" features . A peculiarit y i n th e histor y o f Wester n Christianit y i s tha t i t doe s not worshi p th e linga directl y bu t rathe r divinize s th e mal e bod y b y effeminizing it . Thos e sensuou s an d androgynou s representation s are , however, i n mos t case s th e produc t o f "mal e phantasmatics " (Kristev a 1986: 178) . Rea l gende r transgressors—ga y people , transvestites , me n or wome n pretendin g t o b e anothe r gender—hav e been , an d stil l are , punished b y moral an d secula r law . Thoug h suc h androgynou s imager y suggests the sublimation o f the phallic presence in the Christian symbol ization of the sacred, it negates neither patriarchal power nor the importance of the biological male sex. This can be seen, for example, in stories about Pope Joan, a female pope , that began to circulate in the thirteenth century. Accordin g t o medieva l sources , Pop e Joan , wh o supposedl y reigned briefly betwee n Leo IV and Benedict III in the ninth century, had the misfortun e t o giv e birt h durin g a lon g papa l processio n throug h Rome. Sh e and her newborn chil d wer e stone d t o deat h o n th e spo t (cf . Pardoe and Pardoe 1988 ; Gossmann 1994) . Whether w e vie w Pope Joan a s a historica l figure o r a s th e resul t o f historical fiction, th e fac t remain s tha t he r (rea l o r apocryphal ) infiltra tion int o th e institutio n o f sacerdota l celibac y require d sever e punish ment. The peculiar dynamic betwee n absent penis and phallic presence— paradoxical, irreconcilable , ye t hel d u p t o ma n a s a pat h t o spiritua l perfection—does no t allo w th e physica l presenc e o f a woman . Sh e would b e a mocker y o f th e denie d penis . He r presenc e woul d tur n th e idealization o f celibac y int o a sig n o f impotenc e an d thu s threate n t o unveil the chimera o f phallic power . In the history of Western Christianity , i t did not suffic e t o subjec t th e clergy alon e t o th e enigm a o f spiritua l perfectio n (absen t penis/phalli c presence); mora l theolog y pu t heav y restriction s als o o n th e sexua l pleasures o f th e laity . Intercours e wa s permitte d o n specia l day s an d for procreativ e purpose s only , an d contraceptiv e devices , abortion , an d intercourse durin g menstruatio n wer e prohibited . Som e regulation s sin gled out la y men, such as the notio n o f copula sicca (dr y intercourse) o r coitus reservatus, th e withdrawin g o f th e peni s afte r pleasurin g th e woman "withou t lettin g th e see d o f generatio n flow forth " (Cardina l Huguccio, quoted in Ranke-Heinemann 1990 : 171) .

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When th e Reformatio n reformulate d th e Catholi c doctrine s o f venia l and morta l sin , me n wh o converte d t o Protestantis m wer e free d fro m some o f th e mora l constraint s place d upo n sexuality . Marti n Luthe r ridiculed sacerdota l celibacy . H e regarde d sexua l instinc t a s a la w o f nature tha t woul d alway s overrid e man' s vow s o f chastity . " I a m satis fied," Luthe r onc e said, "tha t th e saints stic k i n the mud jus t lik e we do " (quoted i n Grisar 1971 : 514). Although h e acknowledged tha t som e me n may posses s the rare gift o f celibacy, he admonished ma n t o "b e marrie d [and] hav e a wife. " Calvin , too , wrot e tha t ma n shoul d "abstai n fro m marriage onl y s o lon g a s h e i s fit to observ e celibacy " (quote d i n Doug lass 1974 : 295-96) . Luther's theology that human s ar e saved "b y faith alone " an d tha t th e priesthood extend s t o al l believer s opened th e doo r t o a more egalitaria n understanding o f huma n relationships . Peasants , women, an d th e radica l wing o f th e Reformatio n pushe d t o rectif y socia l injustices , t o redefin e sacramental authority , an d t o rethin k issue s o f sexualit y an d pleasur e (Noble 1992 : 189 ; Marshall 1989 ; Douglass 1974) . Today, w e know, o f course, tha t thes e movement s wer e eventuall y crushe d b y mainstrea m Protestantism whic h insiste d o n obedienc e t o th e stat e an d introduce d the ide a o f individualize d piety . Th e clerica l monopol y wa s replace d b y the patriarcha l family . Marriag e wa s looke d upo n i n a favorabl e light , but marrie d couple s were , a s before , warne d o f th e danger s o f uncon trolled lus t tha t pollute d matrimony . Despite th e liberatin g promis e o f th e Protestan t spirit , wome n re mained exclude d fro m ordination . Whe n th e gate s o f th e wome n con vents and monasterie s wer e opene d i n Protestant countries , women eve n lost wha t littl e religiou s autonom y the y ha d retaine d a s nun s (Wiesne r 1989). Luthe r sneere d a t wome n saint s (Erikso n 1962 : 71) . Women' s new plac e was the hom e where the y could practic e thei r fait h a s mother s and th e wive s o f pastors . "I f a mothe r o f a famil y wishe s t o pleas e an d serve God, " Luthe r wrote , "le t he r car e fo r th e family, . . . educate an d teach he r childre n [and ] d o he r tas k i n th e kitchen " (quote d i n Douglas s 1974: 295) . A submissiv e wif e wa s respecte d b y he r husband , bu t a disobedient wif e suspecte d o f sorcer y (Barsto w 1994 : 60 ; Nobl e 1992 : i88f). Husbands wer e als o admonishe d t o d o thei r dutie s i n th e emergin g bourgeois family . "[I] t i s of greatest importanc e fo r ever y married man, " Luther preache d i n a sermo n o n th e estat e o f marriage , "t o pa y closer ,

Introduction 1 more thorough, and continuous attentio n to the health of his child's soul than t o th e bod y whic h h e ha s begotten " (reprinte d i n Lul l 1989 : 636) . Yet, Protestant men, married or not, held onto their leadership position s in th e churc h an d continue d t o determin e theologica l discourse . Whe n the Reformatio n turne d celibat e priest s int o marrie d preachers , i t ease d the conflict betwee n absent penis and phallic presence but did not change patriarchal dominance . The sexua l peni s n o longe r prevente d me n fro m offering th e sacrament s a s lon g a s thei r sexualit y wa s controlle d b y marriage. Marrie d me n wer e no t exclude d fro m powe r bu t powe r re mained exclusively amon g men. The Reformatio n free d Protestan t me n fro m th e psychodynami c ten sion o f havin g t o achiev e spiritua l perfectio n throug h th e denia l o f desire, bu t i t di d no t challeng e phalli c power . The Protestan t spirit , i f viewed a s a n earl y expressio n o f modernity , manage d t o mov e phalli c power fro m th e ecclesi a t o secula r institutions , suc h a s th e military , economic, an d political elites . As the secula r force s o f modernit y gaine d strength, me n bega n t o see k power , authority , an d reputatio n i n th e economic, legal , o r scientifi c sphere s rathe r tha n ecclesiastica l circle s o f male celibate s (Nobl e 1992) . Religion , no w a matter o f privat e convic tions, becam e a less desirable mal e domain . Me n ar e public, women ar e private (Elshtai n 1981) . With progressiv e secularization , me n los t inter est i n privat e an d "womanish " religio n an d withdre w thei r ambition s from traditiona l spiritua l pathways . The privatizatio n o f religio n ex plains, perhaps, wh y contemporar y me n fee l spirituall y impoverishe d despite th e powe r an d privilege s the y stil l enjoy . I t ma y als o explai n why, in the twentieth century, women have been successful i n their move into leadership positions i n many Protestant churches and why women' s ordination i s no w a fiercely debate d issu e amon g Catholics . Onc e reli gion is declared a private affair, me n leave and women ar e admitted. Today, thoug h me n ma y hav e man y goo d reason s t o celebrat e th e liberation fro m th e religiou s yok e o f celibacy , thi s come s wit h losses . A privatized religion has left contemporary me n of faith without a medium to talk about their bodies religiously. As convoluted a s the moral debate s over suc h issue s a s coitus reservatus ma y hav e been , they provide d me n with a public religious foru m t o discuss the intimacies o f th e male body . In modernity , thi s discours e ha s becom e romanticized , sexualized , an d medicalized. Lik e religio n itself , th e mal e bod y i s a privat e affair . Th e male bod y excretin g liquid s is , fo r example , n o longe r a spiritua l ico n

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but ofte n a pornographi c image . I n th e twentiet h century , pornographi c language an d medica l terminolog y rathe r tha n religiou s imager y see m t o dominate th e discours e o n th e mal e body . Perhaps , th e dominan t idea l of masculinit y i n Christia n culture s ha s shifte d fro m denyin g th e peni s to oversexin g it , albei t neve r challengin g th e powe r an d th e presenc e o f the phallus .

W i l d m e n a n d M y t h o p o e t i c Spiritualit y In ligh t o f thi s heritage , i t i s not surprisin g tha t man y me n i n contempo rary American societ y feel estranged fro m religion . Neither Christianity' s severe scrutin y o f mal e desire s no r modernity' s privatizatio n o f religio n appeals t o me n i n a competitive , consumption-oriented , an d pleasure seeking culture . Bu t i n th e 1980s , informa l group s an d gathering s o f American me n i n searc h fo r ne w form s o f masculin e spiritualit y gaine d public visibility. Today, they are known a s the mythopoetic men' s move ment (cf . Kuper s 1993 : 146-50 ; Clatterbaug h 1990 : 85-103 ; Nelso n 1992: 76-80 ; Dot y 1993) . Thi s movemen t o f predominantl y white , middle-class me n ha s bee n abl e t o articulat e a sens e o f spiritua l alien ation. I t als o offer s a cure : Revitaliz e th e ol d sources ! Thes e source s include Gree k mythologie s (Bole n 1989 ; Dot y 1993) , th e biblica l tradi tions (Culbertso n 1992 ; Arnol d 1991 ; Judy 1992) , pre-Christia n an d pagan religion s (Rowa n 1987 ; Conne r 1993) , th e masculin e wisdo m o f fairy tale s (Bl y 1990) , an d th e generativ e powe r o f mal e archetype s (Keen 1991 ; Anderson 1990 ; Moore an d Gillett e 1990) . The mythopoeti c movemen t ha s recentl y com e unde r seriou s criti cism—though les s for it s aspiration t o find new form s o f mal e religiosit y than fo r it s representatio n o f gender . Feminist s hav e bee n particularl y critical o f th e mal e mythmaker s o f th e 1980 s an d 1990s , viewin g the m as th e spiritua l expressio n o f th e conservativ e backlas h tha t America n society i s currentl y experiencing . Feminis t critic s hav e describe d th e work an d practic e o f suc h me n a s Robert Bly , Sam Keen, Robert Moore , and Dougla s Gillett e a s a "depolitization " o f th e concept s o f "masculin ity" and "sexism " (hooks) , a "grotesquel y one-dimensional , easily popu larized pseudoanalysis " (Randall) , a s "essentialist " an d "dangerou s t o women" (Brown) , a n "anti-feminis t backlas h . . . o f whit e me n . . . reestablishing] th e traditional male-dominan t value s of Western patriar -

Introduction 1 chal culture " (Noble) , an d a "glorificatio n o f rapis t divinitie s an d sexis t fairy tales" (Caputi an d MacKenzie; all quoted i n Hagan 1992) . Such characterization s unfairl y homogeniz e thes e groups , glossin g over som e significan t difference s amon g them ; yet , considerin g th e nu merous veiled and open attacks against feminism in the current literature on masculin e spirituality , th e women' s passionat e response s ar e under standable. Notwithstandin g th e occasional li p servic e paid t o a womanfriendly agenda b y individual authors, the general tone of their argumentation belie s th e rhetoric . The "wounde d man " i s th e focu s o f thei r attention. Bu t littl e i s don e t o compar e th e gravit y o f thei r wound s t o the damaging and painful disenfranchisemen t o f othe r groups. Thus, the potentially liberatin g practic e o f a spiritua l men' s movemen t ha s to o often yielde d t o effort s o f consolidatin g patriarcha l powe r (cf . Bord o 1993; Burant 1988 ; Nelson 1992 : 78; May an d Strikwerda 1992 : xiv). Patrick Arnold' s boo k Wildmen, Warriors, and Kings: Masculine Spirituality and the Bible exemplifie s th e extrem e en d o f masculinis t religious writings. A "new cultural disease is developing," he claims, "a n opportunistic infectio n s o recent that most people neither know its name nor eve n recogniz e it s existence. " Arnol d call s thi s diseas e "misandry, " the hatred o f men . "Misandr y i s an ideologica l spinof f o f extrem e femi nism. . .. I t i s ofte n presen t alongsid e feminis t influenc e i n suc h majo r institutions a s academia, th e church, the arts, business, and law" (1991: 52). I n religion , feminist s hav e bee n especiall y successfu l a t spreadin g the disease. "Spiritualit y is an area where men are probably most vulnerable and where misandrists, in turn, seem to make the most far-reachin g and malicious claims. The most virulent sources of this hatred are foun d in post-Christian feminis t religiou s writings, especially i n the burgeonin g field o f Goddes s religion " (1991 : 55) . The languag e o f mor e libera l writings ma y b e tamer bu t the idea s ar e similar. I n Fire in the Belly, fo r example, Sa m Kee n distinguishe s betwee n a propheti c feminism , whic h is awar e o f th e wound s o f bot h wome n an d men , an d a n ideologica l feminism "animate d b y a spirit of a resentment, th e tactic of blame , and the desir e fo r vindictiv e triump h ove r me n tha t come s ou t o f th e dog matic assumptio n tha t wome n ar e th e innocen t victim s o f a mal e con spiracy" (1991 : 196). It is too painful t o repeat other flagrantly anti-feminis t an d misogynist statements; these few examples may suffice t o illustrate the emergence of a male-revisionist agenda . The mythopoetic movemen t is , of course , no t

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monolithic. Th e spectru m reache s fro m Patric k Arnold' s reactionar y views t o Sa m Keen' s libera l androcentris m an d th e cavernou s spac e hollowed ou t b y Robert Bly' s conservative paternalism (se e Clatterbaug h 1990). What bind s thes e writing s togethe r i s their politica l an d religiou s sentimentalism. B y uncriticall y reappropriatin g androcentri c myth s an d traditions, the y pla y int o th e hand s o f a conservativ e gende r ideolog y and policy . Why d o s o man y neo-Jungia n writing s o n mal e spiritualit y en d u p reproaching wome n fo r men' s lac k o f religiou s devotion ? Wh y d o mythopoetic me n lamen t thei r conditio n o f spiritua l impoverishment , when, i n fact , religiou s histor y i s filled wit h book s o n male-specific , religious practices? I t is important t o remember tha t men, unlike women , whose centuries-lon g marginalizatio n ha s lef t the m wit h onl y a fe w sources t o reconstruc t thei r spirituality , hav e abundan t materia l t o wor k with. I n 1888 , fo r example , d e Roskovan y produce d a bibliograph y o n Christian mal e celibac y whic h alon e filled seventee n volume s (Barsto w 1982: 8). Considering suc h voluminou s archives , are men really "spiritu ally challenged, " o r merel y threatene d b y ne w social , political , an d economic realities ? D o the y atten d t o thei r wound s becaus e the y wis h t o rectify th e injustices o f sexis m an d racism , or becaus e they see k t o regai n power ove r a spher e tha t the y voluntaril y gav e u p whe n modernit y promoted secula r notion s o f progress ? I s mythopoesi s a spiritua l path way tha t lead s t o gende r equalit y an d t o toleratio n o f gender-varian t behavior, o r i s it a code wor d fo r neo-patriarcha l values ? The focu s o n archetype s i n th e recen t literatur e o n mal e spiritualit y creates considerabl e problems . Archetype s easil y escap e a critica l analy sis of th e economi c an d politica l statu s o f me n i n contemporary society . Archetypes expres s a nostalgi c desir e fo r a n untrouble d pas t an d ar e enlisted i n the task o f envisioning the futur e o f male spirituality—unfor tunately, th e futur e doe s no t loo k s o different fro m th e patriarcha l past . The "prima l spiritua l gift s tha t me n ca n offe r t o thei r world, " Arnol d suggests, ar e "fightin g fo r wha t yo u believ e in , lovin g freedom , an d taking responsibility . Masculinit y mean s standin g ou t fro m th e crowd , . . . coming t o th e rescu e whe n peopl e ge t i n trouble, . . . thinkin g logi cally an d upholdin g th e la w [and ] reverencin g Go d a s Totall y Other " (1991: 50) . Suc h formulation s ma y hav e th e powe r t o reconcil e publi c men wit h privat e religion , bu t the y d o no t transfor m androcentri c struc -

Introduction 1 tures. They accommodate affluen t me n in search of a gratifying spiritual ity without challengin g their socially privileged positions .

T o w a r d Gender-Consciou s E m b o d i e d Spiritualit y The contributor s t o Men's Bodies, Men's Gods d o no t dwel l o n mascu line archetypes as models for a contemporary male spirituality bu t reflect on th e comple x an d ofte n ambiguou s religiou s force s tha t shap e mal e bodies and identities, taking into consideration the social, psychological , cultural, an d historica l dimension s o f moder n "manhood. " Th e mal e figures o f warriors, wildmen , kings , Iro n Johns , lovers , magicians , o r shamans ma y hav e therapeuti c valu e fo r a limite d grou p o f men , but , more ofte n tha n not , suc h archetypa l configuration s misnam e th e problems, misplace th e blame , and simplify th e complexity o f men' s contemporary existence . "Fo r actua l me n ar e not timeles s symboli c constructs , they ar e biologically , historically , an d experientiall y embodie d beings " (Bordo 1993 : 696). Archetypes , o n th e othe r hand , ar e disembodied , ahistorical figures (for a different view , see Wehr 1987) . They have more in commo n wit h symbolization s o f phalli c presence—constant , eternal , erect—than th e mutabl e an d multipl e form s o f mal e bodies—flaccid , aging, excreting. Particular mal e bodie s continuall y challeng e th e transcenden t rul e o f the phallus, religious or secular. Particularity require s that men's divers e cultural an d ethni c background s an d sexua l orientation s mus t b e take n into accoun t whe n movin g towar d a renewe d understandin g o f mal e identity an d spirituality . Man y o f th e author s o f thi s boo k no t onl y analyze th e problem s bu t ar e already engage d i n reinventin g a religiou s discourse o n embodiment , intimacy , an d sexuality , a discourse tha t wa s lost whe n religio n becam e a privat e affair . Ne w theological , spiritual , and ritual pathways fo r men must take their bodies seriously. Fo r example, i n hi s critiqu e o f phallocentri c theology , James Nelso n admonishe s men no t t o projec t th e "value s o f phallos . . . ont o ou r experience d worlds," but to make the "full y physical, sweating, lubricating, menstruating, ejaculating, urinating , defecatin g bodie s . . . th e central vehicles of God's embodimen t i n ou r experience " (1992 : 94 , 31) . Fo r men , t o become awar e o f th e vulnerabilit y o f thei r bodie s i s a positiv e startin g

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point. Rathe r tha n buildin g u p a muscular , athletic , erect , brave , wise , protective, competitive , iro n body , w e coul d tr y t o sta y close r t o rea l bodies: itching, aging , flowing, hurting , loving , dying, smelling, praying , masturbating, spilling , adorning , fathering , nurturing , growin g fat , get ting sick . Adopting th e perspectiv e o f a gender-conscious , mal e religiosit y would, moreover, requir e men to examine the preferential treatmen t tha t many o f the m hav e enjoye d i n Christia n tradition s an d post-Christia n cultures. Suc h a perspectiv e self-criticall y assesse s th e wound s tha t me n have inflicte d o n other s an d themselves . I t leave s behin d th e model s o f male celibates, warriors, kings, and wildmen, and investigate s difference s among men . I t searche s fo r spiritualit y i n th e unexpected : whe n me n befriend othe r men , whe n the y explor e eroti c fantasies , whe n the y change thei r children' s diaper s o r car e fo r peopl e wit h AIDS , o r whe n they contemplat e th e symbolization s o f th e mal e flesh. Men's Bodies, Men's Gods open s wit h Set h Mirsky' s "Thre e Argument s for th e Eliminatio n o f Masculinity " becaus e hi s piec e analyze s th e aca demic an d politica l contex t o f th e contemporar y men' s movemen t an d locates th e mythopoeti c movemen t withi n it . Revisin g Simon e d e Beau voir's famou s statemen t t o read , "On e i s not born , bu t rathe r become s a man," Mirsk y set s out t o investigat e th e current emphasi s o n th e ide a o f masculinity. H e i s skeptica l abou t th e renewe d interes t i n masculinit y because th e latte r i s to o "deepl y entrenche d i n ou r culture " t o becom e a too l fo r transformatio n an d liberation . A s a n essentialis t category , masculinity doe s no t distinguis h betwee n se x an d gender . A masculin e (or masculinist) identity , therefore, i s a construction tha t enshrine s tradi tional mal e gender role s and "preclude s the pursuit o f a feminist politica l agenda." Th e "quasi-religiou s revaluin g o f masculin e gende r identity " advocated b y th e mythopoeti c movemen t mus t b e criticize d fo r simila r reasons. Althoug h Mirsk y concede s tha t th e searc h fo r mal e spiritualit y can b e a critiqu e o f patriarcha l religions , h e regard s th e ques t fo r th e "deep masculine " i n the archetypa l unconsciou s a "reactionar y fiction." Not ever y boo k tha t carrie s "masculinity " i n it s titl e promote s a conservative agenda , a s Mirsk y seem s t o fear . Suc h work s a s Holy Virility: The Social Construction of Masculinity (Reynau d 1983) , Contemporary Perspectives on Masculinity (Clatterbaug h 1990) , an d Rethinking Masculinity (Ma y an d Strikwerd a 1992 ) ar e good example s fo r

Introduction 1 advancing a progressive discours e (se e als o Kaufma n 1987 ; Jardine an d Smith 1987 ; Goldstei n 1993 , 1994) . Bu t Mirsky's piec e remind s u s that the mere existence of a men's movement does not automatically improv e the situation . Th e Unite d State s governmen t an d Genera l Motors , Mirsky writes, are men's movements, too. Feminist theologian Ruethe r once remarked that "patriarch y is itself th e original men' s movement" (1992 : 17). Communitie s o f me n rang e fro m th e exclusivel y mal e circle s o f Christian ascetic s an d celibates t o thos e o f moder n scientist s an d stock brokers, fro m th e militar y t o smal l group s o f whit e me n searchin g fo r the archetypal wildman . Rather tha n unconditionall y praisin g contemporar y mal e gatherings , it i s importan t t o examin e th e exten t t o whic h thes e me n ar e awar e o f the consequences o f thei r new rhetoric . Does , fo r example, th e quest fo r male spiritualit y produc e ne w fictionalizations o f manliness ? Th e strength o f Mirsky' s piec e lie s i n hi s questionin g o f th e premise s wit h which contemporar y me n construc t thei r gender, includin g thos e o f th e mythopoetic movement . Tom F . Driver's "Growin g Up Christian an d Male" opens the book' s second sectio n o n th e constructio n o f mal e religiou s identity . Drive r autobiographically explore s th e source s whic h influence d hi s under standing o f Christianity , himself , others , an d hi s body . I t i s a kin d o f spiritual archaeology , deliberat e i n it s focu s o n on e man' s particula r experience, though not exclusive i n its ethical an d theological considera tions. Recallin g a "confessional " pape r o n mal e identit y tha t h e pre sented i n a n academi c settin g i n 1978 , Drive r evaluate s th e change s h e has sinc e undergone . H e take s u s o n a journe y fro m growin g u p i n a "typical" America n tow n tha t shaped hi s masculine an d Christia n iden tity, throug h th e tumultuou s perio d o f th e 1960 s an d 1970s , t o th e experience o f facin g deat h afte r a hear t attack . Mal e identity , Drive r seems t o suggest , i s a narrativ e w e construc t fro m live d experience— a perspective that leaves room for change and reinterpretation . The constructio n o f th e religious mal e identit y is , of course , differen t for European American and African America n men. Garth Baker-Fletcher's "Blac k Bodies , Whos e Body? " look s a t ho w blac k bodie s wer e perceived b y whites , ho w black s imagine d themselves , an d wha t rol e religion playe d i n their identit y formation . Africa n America n mal e bod ies, Baker-Fletche r writes , ar e perceive d "a s site s o f labor , instrument s of pleasure , o r vengefu l entertainment. " Hi s theologica l interpretatio n

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of th e John Henr y legend , fo r example , reveal s i t a s a repressiv e myth , because i t "display s th e supernatura l physica l strength " o f Africa n American males , whil e neglectin g th e resultin g injurie s an d eventua l death. Typically , Joh n Henr y i s portraye d a s a hero . Eve n i n Arthu r Mitchell's choreography , performe d b y th e Danc e Theatr e o f Harlem , John Henry' s deat h i s redeeme d b y hi s heroi c resurrection . Fo r Baker Fletcher, suc h rendition s represen t a "subordinationis t Christology. " Ultimately, th e legen d o f Joh n Henr y disempower s Africa n America n men, becaus e in the context o f American "racis t constructions o f mascu linity" blac k me n ar e portrayed a s "instinct, " "unconsciou s urge, " an d the "bod y itself " (Bord o 1993 : 701) . Baker-Fletche r finds spirituall y empowering figures i n the trickster-like characte r o f Hig h John d e Con quer an d th e historica l figure o f Na t Turner : bot h provid e Africa n Americans wit h politica l an d spiritua l pathway s t o oppos e an d surviv e slavery. Empowerment i s also th e them e o f Michae l L . Stemmeler' s piec e o n the constructio n o f ga y religiou s identity . Startin g wit h a brie f assess ment o f th e curren t situatio n o f ga y right s i n America n society , h e discusses issue s o f th e "ga y self, " o f "queerness " i n th e secula r an d religious community , an d o f strategie s t o counte r an d resis t th e homo phobic fear s o f th e heterosexua l majority . Spiritua l empowermen t fo r gay peopl e i s no t simpl y a private , meditativ e journey , bu t a "theo praxis" committe d t o a jus t an d compassionat e society . Ange r an d rag e must b e par t o f a ga y spirituality . Reminiscen t o f Beverl y Harrison' s (1981) reclamatio n o f th e "powe r o f ange r i n the work o f love, " Stem meler argue s tha t "[gay ] ange r abou t societa l rejectio n ha s to b e trans formed int o liberatin g ange r fo r ourselve s an d ou r communitie s [and ] toward socia l an d spiritual change. " The secon d sectio n o f th e boo k thu s suggest s tha t th e formatio n o f religious identit y i s intimately linke d t o societal perceptions o f particula r bodies, gay and straight, blac k an d white: this is the argument advance d by To m F . Driver , Gart h Baker-Fletcher , an d Michae l L . Stemmeler . The thir d sectio n o f Men's Bodies, Men's Gods look s a t th e religiou s significance o f men' s sexua l identitie s an d eroti c bodies . A liberatin g perspective doe s not , of course, follo w th e traditional Christia n pat h o f subjecting al l sexua l activit y t o mora l scrutiny . Rathe r tha n rejectin g eroticism, i t woul d embrac e th e sensualit y o f a n embodie d spirituality . Scott Haldema n an d Robin Hawle y Gorslin e d o exactly that .

Introduction 1 Haldeman's "Bringin g Good News t o the Body" ponders the spiritual and ethica l valu e o f masturbation . H e depict s moder n me n a s alienate d from their bodies and estranged from a concept of love that is simultaneously eroti c an d caring . Masturbatio n help s thos e me n t o ge t bac k "i n touch" wit h themselves . Haldema n concede s tha t masturbatio n i s a n ambiguous gift sinc e it can lead to pornographic activity and a "destructive narcissism. " Bu t understoo d a s a "critica l praxis, " masturbatio n celebrates "th e goodnes s o f one' s flesh" create d b y God , liberate s fro m "the confine s o f patriarcha l images, " an d raise s one' s awarenes s abou t the connections "betwee n male pleasure and violence agains t women. " Not ever y reade r ma y b e willin g t o conced e suc h comprehensiv e powers t o masturbation . Still , Haldeman' s essa y demand s tha t w e pa y attention t o a socially stigmatize d sexua l activity . Medieva l mora l theo logians migh t hav e ha d fewe r problem s i n arguin g wit h Haldeman' s position (thoug h the y woul d hav e disagree d wit h it ) tha n theologian s nourished b y Puritanism . Th e nineteent h centur y medica l definitio n o f masturbation a s a psychiatri c diseas e an d th e popula r Victoria n belie f that masturbatio n ca n lea d t o insanit y stil l hol d swa y over men' s re pressed relatio n t o autoeroticis m (cf . Barker-Benfiel d 1973 ; Paig e an d Paige 1981) . Jame s Nelson , fo r example , foun d tha t man y denomina tions i n the United State s toda y ar e "ope n t o th e suggestio n tha t divin e grace migh t b e powerfull y experience d i n lovemakin g wit h one' s be loved. Bu t when I suggested tha t masturbation migh t also b e a means o f grace, I think I heard gasps.. . . The 'M-word ' was a shock" (1992. : 96). As provocativ e a s Haldeman' s piec e ma y strik e us , th e notio n tha t masturbation ha s sacre d impor t i s no t altogethe r ne w i n Christia n his tory. For example, the Phibionites, a libertine Gnostic sect, were accuse d of gatherin g th e mal e seme n throug h masturbatio n an d homosexua l practices an d offerin g i t "i n praye r a s th e bod y o f Christ " (Goehrin g 1988: 340) . Th e ritua l i s reporte d b y Epiphanius , a church fathe r wh o polemicized agains t th e Phibionites . Becaus e o f hi s polemicism , i t i s difficult t o determin e th e exten t o f histori c accuracy . Ou r positions ma y partially depen d o n ou r ow n view s o f sexualit y an d spirituality . I n Blossom of Bone, fo r example , Rand y P . Conner , wh o belong s t o a radical grou p of California' s Ga y Spiritualit y movement , lend s credenc e to th e Gnosti c practic e o f ritua l masturbation , whil e other s canno t conceive o f an y Christia n sec t bein g involve d i n suc h practice s (Conne r 1993: 130 ; cf. Benk o 1967) .

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Robin Hawle y Gorsline' s "Facin g th e Bod y o n th e Cross, " whic h i s part confessiona l writing , par t liberatio n theology , examine s ho w an d why th e visua l representation s o f Jesu s Chris t ca n sti r homoeroticize d desires. "Many gay men," he writes, "experienc e Jesus as lover." Adopting Margare t R . Miles' s (1985 ) insigh t tha t devotiona l image s i n Western Christianity hav e helpe d believer s t o embody religiou s values , Gorsline articulate s a n analogous lin k betwee n th e physicality o f image s an d the body-memor y o f ga y people . Though popula r image s o f a blue-eye d Jesus o n th e cros s ca n b e obstacle s i n a ga y man' s pat h towar d a liberating spirituality—becaus e Jesus ' "whiteness " exclude s th e experience of men of color, and because the merging of sensuality and violence can lea d t o sado-masochisti c eroticism—les s biase d image s o f Jesu s encourage me n t o embod y Christia n value s b y developin g lovin g an d nurturing relation s t o othe r men . "M y visio n require s tha t whit e me n must no t only remov e th e bod y o f Jesu s fro m th e cros s an d car e fo r it , but also accept the fact that the body we are loving is not white." At times, Gorsline' s vision o f a gay mal e spiritualit y i s reminiscent o f the devotiona l theolog y o f medieva l wome n mystics . They , too , envi sioned a mergin g o f thei r bodie s wit h th e bod y o f Christ , an d the y embodied thei r vision s i n th e concrete , spiritua l practic e o f carin g fo r and feedin g other s (Bynu m 1987) . Th e live s o f thes e wome n wer e un usual; yet , thei r hagiographer s foun d way s t o integrat e thei r radica l theology an d devotio n int o th e medieva l church . Whether th e Christia n community toda y i s willin g t o accep t th e "queer " theologizin g o f ga y and lesbia n Christian s i s stil l a n ope n question . "Wha t wil l th e discus sion of gay spiritual identit y sound like thirty years from now?" Michael L. Stemmeler ask s a t the end o f hi s piece on gay religious identities . It is too earl y t o mak e prediction s abou t a societ y tha t i s stil l homophobic , he admits, bu t this does no t reliev e u s from th e individual responsibilit y to create spaces where gay people can explore their differently embodie d spiritualities. In the fourth sectio n o f Men's Bodies, Men's Gods, Phili p L. Culbertson and William G. Doty discuss how modernity's homophobic attitude s have impede d th e developmen t o f seriou s male-mal e friendships . Sinc e friendships are based, among other things, on trust and care, they require emotional an d physica l closeness . Suc h intimac y frighten s heterosexua l men; consequently, the y put little effort int o deep and lastin g male-mal e friendships— despit e their frequent lament s of no t having friends.

Introduction 2. In "Me n an d Christia n Friendship, " Culbertso n demonstrate s tha t intimate friendship s amon g me n wer e no t th e exceptio n bu t th e rul e i n antiquity and early Christianity. Those friendships were celebrated as the highest idea l o f huma n relationships . I n hi s Confessions, fo r example , Augustine reporte d i n grea t detai l abou t hi s man y intimat e mal e com panions. The woman he loved and lived with for thirteen years, however, was barel y mentioned ; an d thoug h sh e bor e hi s son , w e d o no t eve n know he r name . Indeed , Augustin e ha d n o femal e friends . Culbertso n argues tha t moder n me n nee d t o restor e th e sincerit y o f male-mal e friendships foun d i n earlier periods of Christianity , bu t not at the cost of excluding women . "Adul t intimat e friendshi p offer s me n riche s othe r than th e riche s o f marriage, " h e writes . "Th e Christia n communit y cannot b e healthy unti l wome n an d me n ar e liberate d fro m th e gender role expectations whic h imprison them. " Like Culbertson , Dot y regret s th e curren t lac k o f friendshi p amon g men, and he proposes to study "traditiona l religiou s and mythico-heroi c models, not uncritically , bu t with a n eye t o th e valuable lode s o f insigh t they contain. " Me n woul d hav e "t o decid e o n thei r ow n jus t ho w thei r particular context s an d strengths " permi t the m t o us e mythologica l resources for their "ne w loving male-male relationships. " Of th e contributor s t o Men's Bodies, Men's Gods, bot h Culbertso n and Doty ar e closest t o th e mythopoetic movement , thoug h the y d o no t readily identif y wit h it . Bot h hav e writte n elsewher e abou t th e wealt h and hazard s o f mythi c resource s fo r th e experience s o f me n today . I n New Adam (1992) , Culbertso n peruse s th e biblica l traditio n fo r model s of mal e spirituality ; an d Doty' s Myths of Masculinity (1993 ) draw s o n male heroi c figure s i n Greek , Ancien t Nea r East , an d America n South west mythologies . Thei r heroes , however , ar e neithe r th e "muscula r Christian" o f th e nineteent h century , a n idea l o f manlines s Culbertso n criticizes, no r th e "bodybuilde r Americanus " o f th e 1980s , whic h Sa m Fussell describe s a s "th e muscula r Christia n . . . turned inward " (1993 : 594). Thoug h Dot y speak s o f a n "athletics " o f friendship , h e doe s no t search fo r performance s o f pumped-u p bodie s bu t fo r model s o f male male intimacy . The las t sectio n o f Men's Bodies, Men's Gods examine s cultura l and religiou s manifestation s o f th e mal e body . I n "Confine s o f Mal e Confessions," I look a t ho w me n writ e abou t thei r bodie s i n autobio graphical works . M y reflection s lea d m e fro m antiquit y t o modernity ,

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from Augustine' s auster e inspectio n o f ever y bodil y activit y t o Leiris' s trivialization o f th e mal e flesh. I ask whethe r mal e confessional writing s are ye t anothe r wa y o f distancin g onesel f fro m th e immediac y o f bod y experiences—albeit, perhaps , the only way that makes men comfortabl e to relat e to thei r carnal reality . Piece s of a personal narrative , which ar e woven into the essay, reveal my search for a more authentic confessiona l style tha t eschew s th e close d mal e bod y an d rathe r describe s th e mal e body a s open, vulnerable, and relational . Lewis R . Gordo n als o addresse s th e questio n a s t o whethe r me n ca n open u p an d becom e vulnerable , a precondition , accordin g t o Gordon , to receivin g God . Th e mal e bod y define s itsel f a s a close d body , an d worshiping Go d require s an open an d susceptibl e body . How , then , can men worship ? Gordo n approache s thi s issu e throug h th e philosoph y o f existential phenomenology . Accordin g t o thi s perspective , th e bod y i s constituted b y bein g see n b y other s an d b y one' s realizatio n o f bein g seen b y others . Hence , i n a societ y marke d b y anti-blac k racism , th e process o f seeing , whic h constitute s mal e identity , render s th e spiritua l experiences of "white " bodies different fro m "black " bodies . David Morga n examine s visua l representation s o f Jesu s i n popula r religious ar t o f th e lat e nineteenth - an d twentieth - centur y America n history. H e focuse s o n response s t o Warne r Sallman' s famou s Head of Christ an d discusse s wh y som e peopl e wer e abl e t o experienc e th e painting as a call to friendship with a tender savior, while others rejected it a s a n effeminat e portrai t tha t woul d incit e feeling s o f homoeroti c intimacy. Di d th e artist portray Jesus i n a sufficiently masculin e wa y or , as on e viewe r pu t it , di d h e mislea d th e audienc e b y showin g onl y " a woman's fac e covere d b y a beard? " Morgan's chapte r o n "Th e Mascu linity of Jesus in Popular Religious Art" recalls themes already addressed in th e sectio n o n mal e friendshi p an d connect s the m wit h th e final chapter on contemporary iconographie s o f the male flesh. William G . Doty' s secon d piec e investigate s th e depictio n o f me n i n current advertisements . Simila r t o th e fetishize d representatio n o f women, th e mal e bod y ha s recentl y bee n subjecte d t o idealize d beaut y standards: young , muscular , hairless . Suc h a bod y invite s gazin g b y women an d other men. Doty's curiosity abou t the male bod y as a visual object is spurred by a cultural perspective, and recalls Lewis R. Gordon' s philosophical concer n about "bodie s being seen." Men are no longer the sole proprietor s o f objectifyin g othe r bodies—female , black , o r gay —

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but becom e object s themselves . D o thes e ne w iconographie s o f th e mal e body foste r phalli c presenc e becaus e th e depiction s o f muscular, active , and har d fles h displac e th e penis ? O r ar e the y earl y sign s o f a post phallocentric gaz e becaus e me n themselve s becom e vulnerabl e t o th e homo/eroticized star e of others ? Perhaps w e d o no t hav e enoug h distanc e t o ou r ow n situatio n t o answer thes e questions . Yet , th e fac t tha t toda y mal e religiou s scholar s can seriousl y discus s a non-homophobic an d post-phallocentric practic e of men's spirituality i s a hopeful sign—fo r i t reaches beyond the psychodynamic tension s o f th e traditiona l Christia n mode l o f absen t penis / phallic presence , beyon d th e limitation s o f modernity' s privatize d reli gion an d oversexe d penis , an d beyon d th e contemporar y searc h fo r heroic male virility in phallic archetypes.

REFERENCES

Anderson, William. 1990 . Green Man: The Archetype of Our Oneness with the Earth. Sa n Francisco: Harper. Arnold, Patrick . 1991 . Wildmen, Warriors, and Kings: Masculine Spirituality and the Bible. Ne w York: Crossroad. Athanasius. 1980 . The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellus. Trans . Robert C. Gregg. New York: Paulist Press. Augustine. 1992 . Confessions. Trans . Henr y Chadwick . Oxford , Ne w York : Oxford University Press. Barker-Benfield, G . J. 1973 . "Th e Spermatic Economy : A Nineteenth-Century View of Sexuality." In The American Family in Social-Historical Perspective, ed. Michael Gordon. New York: St. Martin's Press. Barstow, Anne . 1982 . Married Priests and the Reforming Papacy. Lewistown , N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press. . 1994 . Witchcraze: A New History of the European Witch Hunt. San Francisco: Harper. Benko, Stephen. 1967. "The Libertine Gnostic Sect of the Phibionites According to Epiphanius." Vigiliae Christianae 21:103-19. Bly, Robert . 1990 . Iron John: A Book about Men. Reading, Mass. : AddisonWesley. Bolen, Jean Shinoda . 1989 . Gods in Everyman: A New Psychology of Men's Lives and Loves. San Francisco: Harper. Bordo, Susan. 1993. "Reading the Male Body." Michigan Quarterly Review 32 (Fall): 696-737. Brown, Peter. 1988. The Body and Society: Men, Women and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity. Ne w York: Columbia University Press.

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Burant, Christopher . 1988 . "O f Wil d Me n an d Warriors. " Changing Men 1 9 (Spring/Summer): 7-9, 46. Bynum, Carolin e Walker . 1987 . Holy Feast and Holy Fast: The Religious Significance of Food to Medieval Women. Berkeley : Universit y o f Californi a Press. Cameron, Ron , ed . 1982 . The Other Gospels: Non-Canonical Gospel Texts. Philadelphia: Westminster. Clark, Elizabeth. 1983 . Women in the Early Church. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press. Clatterbaugh, Kenneth. 1990 . Contemporary Perspectives on Masculinity: Men, Women, and Politics in Modern Society. Boulder , Colo.: Westview Press. Conner, Randy P. 1993. Blossom of Bone: Reclaiming the Connections between Homoeroticism and the Sacred. Sa n Francisco: Harper. Culbertson, Philip. 1992. New Adam: The Future of Male Spirituality. Minneap olis: Fortress. Doty, William. 1993. Myths of Masculinity. Ne w York: Crossroad. Douglass, Jane Dempsey. 1974 . "Women and the Continental Reformation. " I n Religion and Sexism: Images of Woman in the Jewish and Christian Traditions, ed. Rosemary Radford Ruether . New York: Simon & Schuster. Elshtain, Jean Bethke. 1981. Public Man, Private Woman: Women in Social and Political Thought. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. Erikson, Erik. 1962. Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History. New York: W. W. Norton. Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler . 1984 . In Memory of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. Ne w York: Crossroad. Fussell, Sam. 1993 . "Bodybuilder Americanus. " Michigan Quarterly Review 32 (Fall): 577-596. Goehring, James. 1988. "Libertine or Liberated: Women in the So-Called Libertine Gnosti c Communities. " I n Images of the Feminine in Gnosticism, ed. Karen King. Philadelphia: Fortress. Goldstein, Laurence , ed . 1993 , x 994- The Male Body. Michigan Quarterly Review 32 and 3 3 (Fall/Winter). Gossmann, Elisabeth. 1994 . Mulier Papa: Der Skandal eines weiblichen Papstes: Zur Rezeptionsgeschichte der Gestalt der Papstin Johanna. Munich , Ger many: Iudicium. Grisar, Hartmann, S. J. 1971 . Martin Luther: His Life and Work. Adapted fro m Second German Edition by Frank J. Ebele. New York: AMS Press. Hagan, Kay Leigh. 1992. Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection. Sa n Francisco: Harper. Harrison, Beverly . 1981 . "The Powe r o f Ange r i n th e Wor k o f Love. " Union Seminary Quarterly Review 36:41-57. Jardine, Alice , an d Pau l Smith , eds . 1987 . Men in Feminism. Ne w York : Methuen. Judy, Dwight. 1992 . Healing the Male Soul: Christianity and the Mythic Journey. New York: Crossroad.

Introduction 2

5

Kaufman, Michael , ed . 1987 . Beyond Patriarchy: Essays by Men on Pleasure, Power, and Change. Ne w York: Oxford Universit y Press. Keen, Sam. 1991. Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man. New York: Bantam. Kristeva, Julia. 1986 . "Staba t Mater. " I n The Kristeva Reader, ed. Toril Moi . New York: Columbia University Press. Kupers, Terry A. 1993. Revisioning Men's Lives: Gender, Intimacy, and Power. New York: Guilford Publications . Lea, Henry . 1907 . A History of Sacerdotal Celibacy. London: William s an d Norgate. Lull, Timothy F., ed. 1989 . Martin Luther's Basic Theological 'Writings. Minne apolis: Fortress. Marshall, Sherrin, ed. 1989 . Women in Reformation and Counter-Reformation Europe. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. May, Larry , an d Rober t A . Strikwerda , eds . 1992 . Rethinking Masculinity: Philosophical Explorations in Light of Feminism. Lanham, Md. : Littlefiel d Adams. Meeks, Wayne A. 1974. "The Image of the Androgyne: Some Uses of a Symbol in Earliest Christianity." History of Religions 13 (February): 165-208. . 1993 . The Origins of Christian Morality: The First Two Centuries. New Haven: Yale University Press. Miles, Margare t R . 1985 . Image as Insight: Visual Understanding in Western Christianity and Secular Culture. Boston : Beacon Press. . 1992 . Desire and Delight: A New Reading of Augustine's Confessions. New York: Crossroad. Moore, Robert , an d Dougla s Gillette . 1990 . King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine. Sa n Francisco : Harper. Morgan, David, ed. 1996 . Icons of American Protestantism: The Art of Warner Sallman. Ne w Haven: Yale University Press. Nelson, James B . 1978. Embodiment: An Approach to Sexuality and Christian Theology. Minneapolis: Augsburg. . 1992 . Body Theology. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Kno x Press. Niebuhr, Gustav . 1993 . "Use of Actress in Jesus Role Stirs Dispute." Washington Post (September n ) . Noble, David F. 1992. A World without Women: The Christian Clerical Culture of Western Science. New York: Oxford Universit y Press. Paige, Karen Ericksen, and Jeffrey M . Paige. 1981. The Politics of Reproductive Ritual. Berkeley: University of California Press . Pardoe, Rosemary, and Darroll Pardoe. 1988. The Female Pope: The Mystery of Pope Joan: The First Complete Documentation of the Facts behind the Legend. Wellingborough, England: Crucible. Ranke-Heinemann, Uta . 1990 . Eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven: Women, Sexuality, and the Catholic Church. New York: Doubleday. Reynaud, Emmanuel. 1983 . Holy Virility: The Social Construction of Masculinity. Trans. Ros Schwartz. London: Pluto Press.

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Rowan, John. 1987 . The Homed God. New York: Routledge &; Kegan Paul. Ruether, Rosemary Radford . 1974 . "Misogynism an d Virginal Feminism i n the Fathers o f th e Church. " I n Religion and Sexism: Images of Woman in the Jewish and Christian Traditions. Ed . Rosemary Radford Ruether . New York: Simon & Schuster. . 1992. "Patriarchy and the Men's Movement: Part of the Problem or Part of th e Solution? " I n Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection, ed. Kay Leigh Hagan. San Francisco: Harper. Steinberg, Leo. 1983. The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion. London: Faber and Faber. Torjesen, Kare n Jo. 1993 . When Women Were Priests: Women's Leadership in the Early Church and the Scandal of Their Subordination in the Rise of Christianity. Sa n Francisco: Harper. Warner, Marina . 1976 . Alone of All Her Sex: The Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary. New York: Knopf. Wehr, Demaris. 1987 . Jung and Feminism: Liberating Archetypes. Boston: Beacon Press. Wiesner, Merry. 1989 . "Nuns, Wives, and Mothers : Women and th e Reforma tion i n Germany. " I n Women in Reformation and Counter-Reformation Europe, ed. Sherrin Marshall. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

TWO

Three A r g u m e n t s fo r th

e

Elimination o f Masculinit SETH MIRSK

y

Y

The consideratio n o f masculinit y whic h I undertake her e i s a response t o wha t I can onl y describ e a s th e persistenc e o f "masculinity " as a privileged , an d maddeningl y opaque , ter m i n th e overlappin g dis courses o f contemporar y men' s studie s an d certai n contemporar y men' s movements. l Bot h th e academi c field o f men' s studie s an d th e variou s politically an d spirituall y oriente d men' s group s activ e toda y ow e thei r existence, directly or indirectly (an d in some cases, I suspect, reluctantly) , to feminism , whic h opene d u p th e whol e terrai n o f gende r fo r explora tion, activism , an d transformation . I f Simon e d e Beauvoir' s famou s dec laration, "On e i s not born , bu t rathe r becomes , a woman " (1974 : 301; cf. Butle r 1990) , memorably suggeste d th e radica l separabilit y o f gende r from se x in the case of women , the n certainl y i t had simila r implication s for men : on e i s not born , bu t rathe r becomes , a man . T o observ e thi s i s to stat e th e obvious , ye t me n o n th e whole—wit h th e significan t excep tion o f ga y me n (cf . Kinsma n 1987 ; Kleinber g 1987 ; Hopkin s 1992) — have no t bee n quic k t o lear n fro m feminis t insights , particularly whe n i t comes to tha t mos t closel y guarded o f mal e mysteries : masculinity . The title of thi s chapter i s an allusio n t o cultural criti c Jerry Mander' s provocative book , Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television (1978), callin g fo r th e dismantlin g o f a well-established , indee d nearl y *7

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H MIRSK Y

all-pervasive cultura l institution . Mande r write s o f hi s ow n improbabl e project: "Ho w t o achieve the elimination o f television? I certainly canno t answer tha t question . I t i s obvious, however , tha t th e firs t ste p i s for al l of u s to purge from ou r mind s the idea tha t jus t becaus e television exists , we canno t ge t ri d o f it " (1978 : 357) . Lik e television , th e notio n o f masculinity i s deeply entrenche d i n ou r culture . T o eve n rais e th e possi bility, particularly amon g men, that th e demise of masculinity i s devoutly to b e wishe d for , i s t o plac e onesel f virtuall y beyon d th e bound s o f civilized—or certainl y patriarchal—discourse . Yet , i f nothin g else , I would lik e a t leas t t o challeng e th e inevitabilit y o f masculinit y a s a decisive forc e i n men' s lives , an d it s assume d plac e a s th e preeminen t object o f men' s studies . Th e "thre e arguments " I wis h t o advanc e her e concern th e continuing hol d whic h masculinit y exert s on men' s imagina tion i n th e area s o f men' s studies , men' s movemen t politics , an d men' s spirituality. First, I will provid e som e backgroun d an d perspective . Th e root s o f today's men' s studie s an d men' s movement s li e i n th e tentativ e step s taken b y some men i n the 1970 s in response t o the emergence o f second wave feminism . Muc h o f tha t earl y respons e i s fairly criticize d b y sociol ogists Ti m Carrigan , Bo b Connell , an d Joh n Lee , i n thei r overvie w o f men's studie s an d men' s movemen t literature : It is not, fundamentally, abou t uprootin g sexism or transforming patriarchy , or even understandin g masculinit y i n it s variou s forms . Whe n i t come s t o th e crunch, what i t is about i s modernizing hegemonic masculinity . I t i s concerned with finding ways i n which th e dominan t group—th e white , educated, hetero sexual, affluen t male s w e kno w an d lov e s o well—ca n adap t t o ne w circum stances without breakin g dow n th e social-structural arrangement s tha t actuall y give them their power. (1987: 164) At the same time, however, a number o f self-identifie d "anti-sexis t men " struggled wit h som e o f th e deepe r implication s o f feminis t critique s an d began identifyin g connection s betwee n masculinit y an d mal e supremacy , sexual violence , heterosexism/homophobia, an d militarism. 2 Meanwhile, a quarter-centur y o f feminis t activis m an d scholarshi p has, among othe r things , expanded upo n d e Beauvoir's understandin g o f womanhood a s cultural constructio n rathe r tha n natura l given . Feminin ity, as the gender-ideal assigne d t o women unde r th e terms of patriarchy , has com e t o b e see n a s a mar k o f women' s oppressio n i n a syste m organized aroun d th e interest s o f (putativel y masculine ) males . A s femi -

Three Arguments for the Elimination of Masculinity 2 nist philosopher Mar y Dal y succinctly puts it, "femininit y i s a man-mad e construct, havin g essentiall y nothin g t o d o wit h femaleness " (1978 : 68). Not surprisingly , given this sort o f analysis , feminist call s for th e reform , reconstruction, o r recover y o f femininit y ar e har d t o com e by , an d I have ye t t o se e women's studie s characterize d b y an y o f it s practitioner s as "th e stud y o f femininities. " Imagine m y surprise , then , t o discove r th e curren t prominenc e o f th e category "masculinity " i n the writing s o f feminist-influence d me n acros s the spectru m o f men' s studie s an d men' s movemen t literature . Wit h th e proliferation o f suc h titles as The Making of Masculinities (Bro d 1987b) , Unmasking Masculinity (Jackso n 1990) , Rethinking Masculinity (Ma y and Strikwerd a 1992) , Rediscovering Masculinity (Seidle r 1989) , an d To Be a Man: In Search of the Deep Masculine (Thompso n 1991) , t o name bu t a few , i t i s evident tha t th e discours e o f masculinit y continue s to dominat e th e field, t o th e near-tota l exclusio n o f alternativ e perspec tives. This i s in marke d contras t t o th e thoroughl y problematize d statu s the discours e o f femininit y ha s attaine d withi n feminis t studie s (Butle r 1990). S o what i s it abou t me n an d masculinity ? Wh y d o s o many o f u s hold o n so , whe n w e shoul d kno w better ? Rathe r tha n attemptin g t o answer thes e questions , I sugges t tha t w e kee p the m i n mind , fo r the y underlie th e specifi c critique s o f th e use s of masculinit y whic h follow . M e n ' s Studie s a s t h e S t u d y o f M a s c u l i n i t y In a n unusuall y clea r statemen t o f relevan t issue s fo r me n i n ligh t o f feminism's critiques , socia l an d politica l scientis t Michae l Kaufma n lay s out som e o f th e groun d whic h th e developin g academi c disciplin e o f men's studie s migh t b e expecte d t o cover . "Wha t i s actuall y a t stake, " he writes , "i s no t ou r biologica l manhood , ou r sex , bu t ou r historicall y specific, sociall y constructed , an d personall y embodie d notion s o f mas culinity. W e confus e malenes s (biologica l sex ) wit h masculinit y (gender ) at ou r peril " (1987a : xiv) . Presumably , on e o f men' s studies ' centra l tasks i s to elaborat e o n th e distinctio n betwee n malenes s an d masculin ity, sex and gender , with a view toward diminishin g th e pervasive confu sion which result s fro m patriarcha l society' s conflation o f th e two . Similarly, philosophe r an d men' s studie s schola r Harr y Bro d articu lates what is , ideally, the politica l commitmen t o f men' s studie s when h e declares:

9

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Politically, men' s studie s i s roote d i n the profeminist men' s movement , analogously to women's studies['] rootedness in feminism.... [M]en' s studies should be unabashedly explicit about its roots in the search for progressive, profeminist change in male roles. (1987a: 45) Yet, I believ e men' s studie s i s hindere d i n bot h it s descriptiv e an d pre scriptive aspiration s b y th e wa y i t construct s it s mai n analyti c categor y or "problematic, " that of masculinity . To ge t a t th e problem , le t m e rais e a simple-soundin g question : i s i t possible t o tal k abou t me n and talk abou t somethin g othe r tha n mascu linity? I n th e conceptua l framewor k o f muc h o f contemporar y men' s studies, i t appear s t o b e ver y difficul t indeed , fo r th e stud y o f me n ha s come practically to be equated with the study of masculinities. Althoug h broadly social-constructionis t i n it s professe d methodologica l principle s (for example , Kimme l an d Messne r 1992 : 8-9) , men' s studie s seem s somehow determine d t o reunit e wha t feminis t scholarshi p lon g ag o constructively ren t asunder—namely, se x and gender. This i s accomplishe d throug h wha t I woul d cal l th e "categorica l assumption of masculinity." By this I mean the tendency of men's studies analyses t o trea t th e categor y o f masculinit y a s coextensiv e wit h th e category o f men' s lives . Withi n suc h a framework , individua l me n an d groups o f me n ca n alway s b e understoo d t o b e exhibiting , expressing , or strugglin g wit h some versio n o f masculinity , b e i t "hegemonic " o r otherwise.3 While this understanding allow s for the study of a proliferation o f masculinitie s see n a s specifi c t o variou s communities , th e all encompassing characte r o f th e categor y "masculinity " i s lef t unscruti nized. Tha t men' s live s migh t b e large r tha n thei r relationshi p t o a particular masculinity ; tha t ther e migh t b e area s o r moment s i n men' s lives i n which masculinit y i s irrelevant; that me n migh t exist withou t o r beyond masculinity : suc h possibilitie s ar e not comprehende d i n a men' s studies approach which, against its stated intentions, theorizes masculinity as a necessary attribute of huma n males. In criticizin g th e us e o f masculinit y a s th e overarchin g framewor k within which men's studies proceeds , I am not suggesting tha t masculinity i s a n inappropriat e objec t fo r investigatio n an d critique . O n th e contrary, I am trying to call attention to the theoretical incoherenc e tha t attends it s current usag e a s a universal category . Fo r if al l aspect s o f al l men's lives can b e understood a s elements i n some particula r configura tion o f masculinity , th e concept lose s it s analytical power—no t t o men-

Three Arguments for the Elimination of Masculinity 3 tion an y relevanc e t o feminis t politics . Unde r suc h circumstances , sys tematic critique of masculinit y i s rendered impossible , an d all that is lef t for men' s studie s i s th e compariso n o f a multiplicit y o f locall y define d masculinities. I t woul d appea r tha t men' s studie s scholar s fea r tha t without masculinity , me n disappear , o r at least becom e unintelligibl e a s subjects for study . All o f whic h beg s th e question , Wha t d o w e mea n whe n w e tal k about masculinity ? Takin g ou r cu e fro m feminists ' genera l rejectio n o f femininity a s a n unproblemati c descriptiv e categor y fo r women' s rea l lives, we migh t usefull y understan d masculinit y a s a thoroughly contin gent categor y whic h i s politicall y implicate d i n the patriarcha l structur ing o f th e gende r order . For , a t a minimum, al l masculinitie s shar e tw o central components : th e negativel y definin g characteristi c o f bein g not feminine, o r lik e women ; an d th e positivel y definin g characteristi c o f having mor e powe r (social , physical , cosmic , an d s o forth ) tha n tha t which i s feminine , o r women . (Not e tha t femininit y an d wome n ar e conflated i n this understanding , becaus e tha t i s exactly ho w th e patriarchal structuring o f gender functions. ) The challenge for men's studies is to reveal the contingency o f masculinity—not onl y o f al l particular , loca l masculinitie s bu t o f masculinit y per se: to write, as it were (in the manner of Michel Foucault), a "history of masculinity, " alon g wit h a phenomenolog y o f masculinities . Men' s studies need s t o b e abl e t o theoriz e me n a s no t onl y embodyin g o r modifying masculinity , bu t also resistin g it. 4 On e ke y to facilitatin g thi s line o f inquir y lie s i n achievin g som e clarit y i n ou r us e o f th e gende r term "masculinity, " insisting upo n it s distinctnes s fro m suc h term s a s "men" or "maleness, " which refer more properly to sex . In a brie f bu t suggestiv e passag e elaboratin g o n he r "performative " theory of gender, Judith Butler identifies no t two bu t three dimensions of sex an d gender : "anatomica l sex , gende r identity , an d gende r perform ance" (1990 : 137) . Althoug h th e ful l implication s o f suc h a schem a remain t o b e developed , i n a men' s studie s contex t th e correspondin g terms fo r analysi s migh t b e "men, " "maleness, " an d "masculinity, " respectively. Tha t is , men' s studie s migh t explor e ho w (anatomical ) men ar e gendere d mal e withi n societ y an d perfor m o r d o no t perfor m masculinity accordin g t o society' s norms . Thi s mor e nuanced , multidi mensional approac h displace s masculinit y a s th e assume d categor y fo r men's studie s analysis , an d instea d recognize s i t a s alway s a conteste d

1

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term withi n th e large r contex t o f gendered powe r relation s betwee n me n and women . Perhaps no t surprisingly , ga y mal e theorist s an d other s concerne d with th e relationshi p o f masculinit y t o heterosexis m an d homophobi a have bee n quickes t t o incorporat e an d develo p th e insight s o f feminist s and gende r theorist s i n thei r ow n wor k o n masculinity . A passage fro m one suc h analysi s illustrate s th e potentia l o f a mor e critica l approac h t o masculinity, and close s my argument agains t masculinity' s prevailin g us e within men' s studies . I n a n articl e entitle d "Gende r Treachery : Homo phobia, Masculinity , an d Threatene d Identities, " Patric k D . Hopkin s writes: The gender category of men constructs its members around a t least two conflicting characterizations o f the essence of manhood. First, your masculinity (being a-man) is natural and healthy and innate. But second, you must stay masculine— do no t eve r le t you r masculinit y falter . S o although bein g a ma n i s see n a s a natural an d automati c stat e of affairs fo r a certain anatomica l makeup , masculinity i s s o valued , s o valorized , s o prized , an d it s los s suc h a terribl e thing , that on e mus t alway s guar d agains t losin g it. . . . I n fact , althoug h th e stabl e performance o f masculinit y i s presente d a s a n outcome o f bein g a man , wha t arises in looking at heterosexism/homophobia i s that being a man, or continuing to be a man, is the outcome of performing masculinity . (1992: 123-24)

M e n ' s M o v e m e n t Politic s a s t h e Politic s of M a s c u l i n i t y Not to o man y month s ago , I remove d th e plai n brow n wrappe r fro m my newly arrive d cop y o f the Utne Reader (May/Jun e 1991) , a magazin e which bill s itsel f a s "th e bes t o f th e alternativ e press, " an d behel d a cover whic h proclaimed , "Men : It' s tim e t o pul l together. " Th e subtitl e for thi s cove r stor y wa s "Th e Politic s o f Masculinity. " Oh , I thought , here i s a welcom e men' s critiqu e o f patriarchy . I t turne d ou t th e editor s had somethin g els e i n mind , fo r insid e th e magazin e th e specia l sectio n was title d "Th e New Politic s o f Masculinity " (emphasi s mine) , an d it containe d severa l proposal s fo r reforming , recovering , o r otherwis e salvaging masculinity fo r politicall y libera l an d progressiv e men . Almos t entirely absen t wa s an y recognizabl y critical , profeminis t analysi s o f masculinity. 5 Instead , th e prevailin g moo d wa s on e o f regre t ove r th e loss o f wha t write r Andre w Kimbrel l (1991 : 69 ) calle d th e "long-endur -

Three Arguments for the Elimination of Masculinity 3 ing, roote d masculin e role, " an d o f ange r ove r th e insufficientl y recog nized "oppression " o f men . Fo r Kimbrell , the solution t o these problem s lay in th e establishment o f a "men' s movemen t base d o n th e recover y o f masculinity [which ] coul d rene w muc h o f th e worl d w e hav e lost " (1991: 74) . Now, befor e considerin g whic h worl d ha s bee n los t an d wh o o f u s may hav e los t it , w e migh t kee p i n min d a n observatio n mad e b y Bo b Lamm i n hi s critique o f th e men' s movemen t bac k i n 1975 , published i n the profeminist anthology , For Men against Sexism: "W e liv e in a worl d of men' s movements . Th e Unite d State s Governmen t i s a men' s move ment. Th e Sovie t Governmen t i s a men' s movement . Exxon , I.T.T. , an d General Motor s ar e al l men' s movements " (1977 : 153) . Today , w e might as k jus t ho w th e ne w politic s o f masculinit y differ s fro m th e politics of these other men' s movements, which als o embrace masculinit y in thei r ow n way . A s ethicis t Marvi n M . Elliso n rightl y cautions , "I t i s always wis e . . . t o as k whos e interest s ar e bein g serve d b y th e men' s movement an d whethe r feminis t agenda s ar e bein g promote d i n an y recognizable way " (1993 : 103) . Unfortunately, fo r contemporar y men' s movements a n allegianc e t o th e politic s o f masculinit y effectivel y pre cludes th e pursuit o f feminis t politica l agendas . The problem wit h advancin g a men's politics in the name of masculin ity is that i t has already bee n done—for a t least several thousand years — and it s result s hav e bee n precisel y th e patriarcha l socia l an d ideologica l structures whic h feminis m no w challenges . Th e "worl d w e hav e lost, " for whic h som e neo-masculinist s no w pine , include d no t onl y comfort ably masculin e me n secur e i n thei r tie s t o family , community , an d land , but als o rigidl y structure d hierarchie s o f powe r withi n bot h famil y an d wider society , and narrowl y define d sexua l division s o f labor . Onl y suc h a massivel y sexis t infrastructur e coul d establis h (some ) me n securel y i n their masculinity , a t th e profoun d cos t o f women' s aspirations , bodies , and lives . Contemporary men' s movement s callin g fo r th e reconstructio n o r reform o f masculinit y ma y envisio n a n updated , "sensitiv e new-age " version o f bein g a "real " man , bu t the y remai n premise d o n unexamine d notions o f essentia l gende r difference , an d therefor e fai l t o mak e th e break wit h th e prevailin g gende r orde r tha t a feminis t politic s demands . Little seem s t o hav e change d fro m th e i970s-er a men' s movement , wit h its primar y goa l o f producin g "form s o f masculinit y abl e t o adap t t o

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new conditions , bu t sufficientl y simila r t o th e ol d one s t o maintai n th e family, heterosexuality , capitalis t wor k relations , and America n nationa l power" (Carrigan , Connell , an d Le e 1987 : 187) . Indeed, i t is difficult t o conceive o f a masculinity-base d politic s tha t i s anythin g mor e tha n reformist, fo r suc h a politic s implicitl y accept s tha t whic h feminis m systematically challenges : th e assignmen t o f fixed gende r identitie s o n the basi s of biologica l sex . Unless men' s movemen t advocate s ca n sho w ho w an d wh y th e build ing of a world withou t mal e supremac y demand s "new " me n stil l secur e in thei r fundamenta l differenc e fro m women , notion s o f masculinit y ought t o hav e n o plac e i n men' s movemen t politics . Rather , ou r goa l should b e t o ge t beyon d al l regime s o f compulsor y masculinit y an d femininity, 6 t o discove r wha t kin d o f worl d become s possibl e withou t them. For , a s Kaufman observes : Masculinity i s power. Bu t masculinity i s terrifyingly fragil e becaus e i t does not really exis t i n th e sens e w e ar e le d t o thin k i t exists , tha t is , a s a biologica l reality—something rea l tha t w e hav e insid e ourselves . I t exist s a s ideology ; it exist s a s scripte d behavior ; i t exist s withi n "gendered " relationships . Bu t in the en d i t i s jus t a socia l institutio n wit h a tenuou s relationshi p t o tha t wit h which i t i s suppose d t o b e synonymous : ou r maleness , ou r biologica l sex . (1987b: 13) Whatever els e masculinit y ma y be , it i s no basi s fo r a profeminis t men' s politics. M e n ' s Spiritualit y a s M a s c u l i n e Spiritualit y My final argumen t concern s th e virtua l promotio n o f masculinit y t o th e status o f spiritua l pat h i n recen t years , particularl y withi n th e bur geoning "mythopoetic " men' s movement. 7 Th e primar y architec t o f thi s quasi-religious revaluin g o f masculin e gende r identit y ha s bee n poe t Robert Bl y (1990) , althoug h h e ha s no t bee n alon e i n hi s effort s (cf . Harding 1992 ; Thompso n 1991) . Fo r Bl y an d others , contemporar y North America n me n (particularl y middle - an d upper-class , white , het erosexual men ) hav e successfull y escape d th e stultifyin g mode l o f 1950s style masculinit y onl y t o becom e mire d i n a debilitatin g "softness " attributable, a t leas t i n part , t o feminis m (Bl y 1990 : 1-4) . A s a remed y for thi s situation, the mythopoetic men' s movemen t advocate s th e recov -

Three Arguments for the Elimination of Masculinity 3 ery o f somethin g contemporar y me n sorel y lack : a distinctl y masculin e spirituality. For thes e masculinists , however , authentic masculin e spiritualit y ha s nothing t o d o wit h th e globa l panoram a o f male-centere d religions , administered b y predominantl y mal e priesthood s promulgatin g male glorifying doctrines , an d worshipin g mal e divinities . Rather , i t i s th e "deep masculine " (Bl y 1990 : 6-8)— a vaguel y defined , murk y domai n submerged withi n individua l men' s psyche s an d beneat h Wester n indus trial society—tha t i s see n t o hol d th e ke y t o contemporar y men' s spiri tual renewal . For th e mythopoetic men' s movement, th e existence o f thi s realm i s a primar y articl e o f faith , an d makin g contac t wit h i t i s o f crucial importance . Bly , wh o personifie s th e dee p masculin e i n th e mythic figure o f th e "wildman, " says , "Gettin g i n touc h wit h th e wild man mean s religiou s lif e fo r a ma n i n th e broades t sens e o f th e phrase " (Thompson 1987 : 180) . Th e religio n o f th e wildma n i s presente d a s bringing t o me n a prima l vitalit y clearl y lackin g i n bot h contemporar y institutionalized religio n an d secula r society : a n earthiness , a hairiness , and, o f course, a wildness . The mai n proble m wit h thi s approac h i s tha t potentiall y vali d cri tiques of religion and societ y are being made in the name of a reactionar y fiction—namely, dee p (whic h i s another wa y o f sayin g essential) mascu linity. Once again, gender i s assimilated t o sex, and me n are theorized a s both properl y an d necessaril y masculine . I n thi s case , ther e i s a n addi tional wrinkle , fo r spiritua l masculinist s us e "masculinity " a s a ter m o f absolute value , to describ e al l tha t i s good an d tru e an d endurin g abou t men. Where othe r men' s movemen t advocate s migh t a t leas t concede th e occasional necessit y o f changin g certai n unpleasan t aspect s o f masculin ity—such a s a predilectio n towar d emotiona l numbnes s o r a n inclina tion towar d violence—mythopoeti c adherent s ascrib e suc h failing s t o the absence o f "true " masculinity . This uncritica l us e o f th e concep t o f masculinit y allow s spiritua l masculinist Forres t Crave r t o write , apparentl y withou t irony : "Throughout huma n history , mal e bondin g an d affiliatio n ha s bee n a crucial dynami c fo r evoking , sustainin g an d enlargin g masculin e energ y and directin g i t wit h focuse d an d carefull y calibrate d powe r int o th e community" (1991 : 5) . Masculin e energ y an d powe r i n th e for m o f what? War? Sexual violence? "Monda y Nigh t Football" ? Ethica l distinc tions an d feminis t politica l analysi s vanis h i n th e fac e o f thi s opaqu e

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language, whereb y me n wh o commi t violenc e agains t wome n become , for archetypa l psychologis t Thoma s Moore , "th e weakest , th e leas t masculine, thos e mos t lackin g i n masculin e spirit " (1990 : 129) . Suc h spiritualizing o f masculinit y absolve s i t o f it s destructive , ye t always contested, history an d attempt s a n impossible escape from th e gritty field on whic h gendered powe r struggle s tak e place . But wha t abou t th e ide a o f a spiritualit y fo r men ? A t thi s tim e whe n feminism ha s effectivel y challenge d bot h mundan e an d cosmi c gende r orders, what me n d o no t nee d i s the re-enshrinemen t o f masculinit y a s a spiritual ideal , b e i t "deep " o r otherwise . I have argue d elsewher e (Mir sky forthcoming; cf . Rowa n 1987 ) that me n seekin g a grounded, embod ied, earth-centere d spiritualit y ca n fin d muc h o f valu e i n th e developin g thealogical exploration s an d ritua l practic e o f contemporar y feminis t spirituality, and I believe such creative, collaborative wor k hold s consid erably mor e promis e tha n a retrea t int o a masculinit y tha t neve r was . Rather tha n clutchin g tightl y t o th e mirag e o f masculinit y a s i t vanishe s in th e ligh t o f sustaine d feminis t scrutiny , me n migh t bette r endeavo r to embrac e chang e an d ope n ourselve s t o ne w possibilitie s heretofor e unimagined. 8 To close , I offe r a n observatio n b y Patric k D . Hopkins , drawin g together muc h o f what I have bee n arguing : "Th e logi c of masculinit y i s demanding—protect an d maintai n wha t yo u ar e intrinsically , o r yo u could los e it , mutate , becom e somethin g else " (1992 : 124) . I find th e possibility o f suc h change a hopefu l an d excitin g prospect !

NOTES 1. I n vie w o f th e widel y divergin g ideologica l agenda s o f existin g "men' s rights," "mythopoetic, " an d "profeminist " men' s group s (t o nam e a few) , I believe i t i s ill-advise d an d entirel y inaccurat e t o spea k o f a singl e "Men' s Movement." 2. On e of these men, John Stoltenberg (1989, 1993), continues to advance a radical feminist analysi s of men and masculinity, and is, unfortunately, virtuall y alone among men in doing so. The essential collection of early anti-sexist men' s writings is Snodgrass (1977); also Kokopeli and Lakey (1983). 3. Carrigan , Connell , and Le e develop the idea o f "hegemoni c masculinity " as "a particular variety of masculinity to which others—among them young and effeminate a s well as homosexual men—are subordinated" (1987 : 174). I would argue tha t althoug h "hegemoni c masculinity " i s usefu l i n describin g relation s

Three Arguments for the Elimination of Masculinity 3 between groups of men, it tends to obscure the hegemonic nature of all masculinities when considered from women's standpoint, in the context of men's domination of women. 4. Foucault' s genera l influenc e o n muc h o f m y argumen t her e shoul d b e apparent, an d I a m consciousl y echoin g th e title , The History of Sexuality (Foucault 1980). 5. Th e one exception is Dennis Altman's brief, excerpted piece on homophobia (1991). 6. Th e phrase is suggested by Adrienne Rich's term "compulsory heterosexu ality" (1983). 7. Fo r a n accoun t o f th e origi n an d particula r meanin g o f thi s ter m i n a men's movement context, see Harding (1992: xx). 8. I n this regard, I find particularly suggestiv e and encouragin g th e voice of the God invoked by feminist activist and thealogian Starhawk (1992 : 36): I am not what you expect to see, I'll never tell you what to be, Look outside every boundary, Where there's nothing to hold to, there I'll be. I'm the word that you can't define, I'm the color that runs outside the line, I'm the shiver running up your spine, Break the pattern, I'll make a new design. REFERENCES

Altman, Dennis. 1991. "Why Are Gay Men So Feared?" JJtne Reader 45 (May/ June): 75. Beauvoir, Simone de. 1974. The Second Sex. Trans. H. M. Parshley. New York: Vintage. Bly, Robert. 1990 . Iron John: A Book about Men. Reading , Mass. : Addison Wesley. Brod, Harry. 1987a. "The Case for Men's Studies." In The Making of Masculinities: The New Men's Studies, ed. Harry Brod. Boston: Allen and Unwin. , ed . 1987b . The Making of Masculinities: The New Men's Studies. Boston: Allen and Unwin. Butler, Judith. 1990 . Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge. Carrigan, Tim, Bob Connell, and John Lee . 1987. "Hard an d Heavy: Toward a New Sociology of Masculinity." In Kaufman 1987a . Craver, Forrest . 1991 . "Ignitin g th e Masculin e Soul. " Edges: New Planetary Patterns 4(2): 5. Daly, Mary. 1978 . Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism. Boston: Beacon Press.

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Ellison, Marvi n M . 1993 . "Holding U p Ou r Hal f o f th e Sky : Male Gende r Privilege as Problem and Resource for Liberation Ethics." Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 9 (1-2): 95-113. Foucault, Michel . 1980 . The History of Sexuality: Volume I, An Introduction. Trans. Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage. Harding, Christopher . 1992 . "What's Al l This about a Men's Movement? " In Wingspan: Inside the Men's Movement, ed. Christopher Harding. New York: St. Martin's Press. Hopkins, Patrick D . 1992. "Gender Treachery: Homophobia, Masculinity , and Threatened Identities." In May and Strikwerda 1992. Jackson, David. 1990 . Unmasking Masculinity: A Critical Autobiography. London: Unwin Hyman. Kaufman, Michael , ed. 1987a. Beyond Patriarchy: Essays by Men on Pleasure, Power, and Change. Toronto: Oxford Universit y Press. . 1987b . "Th e Constructio n o f Masculinit y an d th e Tria d o f Men' s Violence." In Kaufman 1987a . Kimbrell, Andrew. 1991 . "A Time fo r Men to Pull Together: A Manifesto fo r the New Politics of Masculinity." Utne Reader 45 (May/June): 66-74. Kimmel, Michae l S. , and Michae l A . Messner, ed . 1992 . Men's Lives. Second Edition. New York: Macmillan. Kinsman, Gary. 1987. "Me n Loving Men: The Challenge of Gay Liberation." In Kaufman 1987a . Kleinberg, Seymour. 1987 . "The New Masculinity o f Gay Men, and Beyond. " In Kaufman 1987a . Kokopeli, Bruce , an d Georg e Lakey . 1983 . "Mor e Powe r Tha n W e Want : Masculine Sexuality and Violence." In Off Their Backs ... and on Our Own Two Feet. Philadelphia : New Society Publishers. Lamm, Bob . 1977. "Men's Movemen t Hype. " I n For Men against Sexism: A Book of Readings, ed. Jon Snodgrass. Albion, Calif.: Times Change Press. Mander, Jerry. 1978 . Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television. Ne w York: William Morrow. May, Larry , an d Rober t A . Strikwerda, ed. , with th e assistance o f Patric k D . Hopkins. 1992 . Rethinking Masculinity: Philosophical Explorations in Light of Feminism. Lanham , Md.: Rowman and Littlefield. Mirsky, Seth . Forthcoming . "Me n an d th e Promis e o f Goddes s Spirituality : Reflections alon g the Way." In Redeeming Men: Essays on Men, Masculinities, and Religion, ed. Stephe n B . Boyd, Merl e Longwood , an d Mar k W . Muesse. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox . Moore, Thomas . 1990 . "Ero s an d th e Mal e Spirit. " I n Men and Intimacy: Personal Accounts Exploring the Dilemmas of Modern Male Sexuality, ed. Franklin Abbott. Freedom, Calif.: Crossing Press. Rich, Adrienne. 1983. "Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence." In Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality, ed . An n Snitow , Christin e Stansell, and Sharon Thompson. New York: Monthly Review Press.

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Rowan, John. 1987 . The Horned God: Feminism and Men as Wounding and Healing, London : Routledge and Kegan Paul. Seidler, Victor J. 1989 . Rediscovering Masculinity: Reason, Language and Sexuality. London: Routledge. Snodgrass, Jon, ed. 1977. For Men against Sexism: A Book of Readings. Albion, Calif.: Times Change Press. Starhawk. 1992 . "A Men's Movement I Can Trust." In Women Respond to the Men's Movement: A Feminist Collection, ed. Kay Leigh Hagan . Sa n Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco. Stoltenberg, John . 1989 . Refusing to Be a Man: Essays on Sex and Justice. Portland, Oreg.: Breitenbush Books. . 1993 . The End of Manhood: A Book for Men of Conscience. Ne w York: Dutton. Thompson, Keith . 1987 . "What Me n Really Want : A n Interview wit h Rober t Bly." I n New Men, New Minds: Breaking Male Tradition, ed . Frankli n Abbott. Freedom, Calif.: Crossing Press. , ed. 1991. To Be a Man: In Search of the Deep Masculine. Lo s Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher.

THREE

G r o w i n g U p Christia n a n d Male O n e M a n ' s Experienc TOM F . DRIVE

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Introduction (1993 ) To spea k honestl y o f men' s bodie s an d men' s god s require s awarenes s of pluralit y an d change . W e nee d t o ask : Wha t men ? A t wha t tim e o f life? Where , and when ? We nee d als o t o recogniz e tha t th e god s themselve s ar e no t immuta ble. Although the y endure fro m generatio n t o generation, the y change a s time passes , littl e b y littl e adjustin g (a s ho w coul d the y not? ) t o th e transformations thei r devotee s underg o i n th e cours e o f persona l an d historical experience . "Al l thing s change—som e faste r tha n others " (Driver 199 0 [1977] : xxii). In 1978 , I wrote a n autobiographica l pape r fo r a pane l o n th e stud y of men's religiou s experience tha t wa s arrange d b y the Women's Caucu s of th e America n Academ y o f Religio n i n Ne w Orleans . I was invite d t o this tas k b y m y frien d Caro l Christ , the n a professo r o f religio n a t Sa n Jose Stat e Universit y i n Californi a an d formerl y m y junio r colleagu e a t Union Theologica l Seminar y an d Columbi a Universit y i n Ne w York . Her lette r wa s date d January 24 , 1978 : We fee l i t i s time me n cam e ou t o f th e close t an d starte d reflectin g on th e mal e experience s (body , culture , o r whatever ) whic h giv e rise to specifi c theme s i n theologies writte n b y men . 43

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I too k th e invitatio n a s a n opportunit y t o reflec t upo n th e childhoo d origins o f m y self-understandin g a s bot h a mal e an d a Christian . Th e resulting pape r wa s delivere d i n Novembe r 197 8 bu t ha s neve r bee n published unti l now , whe n a n inquir y fro m th e edito r o f th e presen t volume, askin g fo r thought s abou t men' s bodie s an d men' s gods , ha s prompted m e to brin g i t to light . Under thes e circumstances , th e curren t assignmen t ha s turne d int o a kind o f archaeolog y o f my changing experience s o f bein g bot h mal e an d Christian, an d m y graduall y shiftin g vision s o f God . Th e pape r itsel f makes referenc e t o severa l layer s o f time . T o i t I wil l ad d a fe w mor e layers, partly a s brie f note s inserte d int o th e tex t i n brackets , an d partl y in th e for m o f a concludin g commentar y writte n i n 1993 , afte r a n interval o f fifteen years . Confessions o f a Male-Centere d Christia n (1978 ) Male Renown Self-evident t o m e a s I gre w u p wa s th e pre-eminenc e o f men . T o think o f thi s a s "mal e supremacy " o r "mal e chauvinism " di d no t occu r to m e unti l th e women's movemen t becam e newl y voca l a fe w year s ag o [that is, in the early 1970s], bu t th e fac t o f male s a t th e hea d o f every thing importan t wa s obvious . There wa s on e exception i n our town . [A place of about 25,000 people in the border South —the Appalachian foothills of east Tennessee, to be more precise. My childhood memories refer mostly to the 1930s, the time of the Great Depression.] The postmaster , a s almost everyon e calle d her , was a woman. However , the job seemed t o give her n o noticeabl e power , an d th e mai n tal k abou t her tha t I remembe r wa s som e wondermen t abou t wh y sh e wante d th e job i n the firs t place . The bes t phras e I have eve r hear d t o describ e th e sexis m o f ou r tow n is the title of a n anthropologica l boo k abou t Papu a Ne w Guine a an d th e Trobriand Islands— Women of Value, Men of Renown (Weine r 198 3 [1976]). I thin k th e phras e come s fro m a n expressio n use d b y certai n New Guine a peopl e themselves .

Growing Up Christian and Male 4 [Of course, I didn't hear these words in childhood but only about two years before writing the paper, after I had visited New Guinea. Recollection is not necessarily invented but is surely shaped by important experiences near the time of writing. The past cannot be known "as it was," but only as it now seems that it was, given the rememberer's present knowledge and point of view.] Women i n ou r tow n wer e certainl y valuable , bu t i f the y becam e re nowned i t coul d onl y mea n the y ha d done , o r wer e abou t t o do , some thing bad . [My mother often said that it was most unfortunate for a woman's name to appear anywhere in a newspaper except on the "Society Page," where engagements, weddings, and other social events were chronicled. The obituaries were another, partial exception: a wornan's obituary should not be too long.] Men, b y contrast, wer e expected t o b e renowned, an d i t was unfortunat e for the m i f they faile d t o achiev e it . From thi s milieu , whic h no w seem s a s typicall y America n a s almos t everything els e in ou r town , I absorbed a clea r understandin g o f mascu linity, closel y linke d t o a certai n vie w o f th e worl d tha t I als o too k in . To b e masculin e wa s t o hav e publi c recognitio n combine d wit h direc t influence o n communa l events . If you ha d influenc e withou t recognition , you didn' t quit e mak e it . I a m thinkin g o f a certai n wealth y ma n who , as I learne d fro m m y banke r father , wielde d a lo t o f powe r bu t wa s reclusive, barel y know n b y sight , o r eve n b y name , t o mos t o f th e citizens. I did no t thin k o f hi m a s very masculine . [It also happened that this man's physical stature was very small, a fact which, added to his reclusiveness, made him appear wraithlike. To me as a child he appeared to possess no weight or substance, which made it hard for me to understand my father's stories of his economic success and influence. That I left this point out of the original paper seems strange until one notices that the entire paper was cast in such a way as to minimize the importance of men's bodies, their physical activities (as in sports, for example) and their sexuality. Why? I think because when I grew up I did not identify my masculine self with these things, and do so only partially today.]

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We als o ha d a fe w me n wh o gaine d notoriet y b y feat s o f derring-d o but otherwis e ha d n o influence . The y were thought o f mor e a s boys tha n as men . Th e statu s whic h a rea l ma n attaine d wa s tha t o f influentia l renown. Masculinity wen t han d an d glov e wit h bot h persona l an d publi c self esteem. Persona l self-esteem , fo r a male , required publi c performance. I t was no t somethin g yo u coul d hav e withou t a n audience . Thus , i t inter locked wit h th e self-esteem o f the community. The town though t o f itsel f as masculine . I t wante d regiona l an d nationa l recognition . I t wante d political influence . I t wa s prou d o f it s initiativ e an d autonomy . Mascu linity wa s identica l wit h it s ide a o f th e good . Tha t doe s no t mea n tha t femininity i n wome n wa s bad . I t wa s simpl y irrelevant . A t th e most , i t was decorative o f the public good. Fine sermons on Mothers' Day , activ e PTA, DAR , an d Blu e Stockin g Clu b di d no t counterac t bu t reinforce d this assumption i n my mind . [Today, in retirement, I spend about half my time in another small town, in New England. Here, more than fifty years later, the situation seems not entirely different. The town I know today is like two towns in one. One of these lives by a code strikingly similar to the one I am describing. The other has come to appreciate the many women in town who are prominent in business and public affairs, which has meant a changed self-understanding on the part of men. These two towns occupy the same space, often the same household. Many individuals experience themselves as citizens of both.] Life i n ou r tow n provide d th e socia l substanc e fo r wha t I mea n when I describ e mysel f a s male-centered . I mus t ad d t o th e pictur e a psychological componen t whic h I kno w b y introspection . Ho w man y men i n ou r tow n share d i t I hav e ofte n wondered . Mos t o f them , I a m inclined t o imagine; bu t I cannot b e sure. The identificatio n o f masculinit y wit h renow n an d influenc e mean t that masculinit y wa s no t ostensibl y a matter o f sex . About se x there wa s a lo t o f squeamishness , certainly i n al l publi c communication an d i n th e circles i n whic h m y ow n famil y moved . On e di d no t becom e masculin e by havin g women , gettin g married , o r fatherin g children . Hence , whil e being masculin e require d mal e gende r (i n th e sens e o f havin g a mal e body), i t di d no t requir e sexua l activity , whic h wa s eithe r take n fo r

Growing Up Christian and Male 4 granted o r viewe d wit h suspicion . Se x was a s private a s masculinit y wa s public. [These generalizations seem very specific to my own social class, which the paper identifies only obliquely. I belonged, then as now, to the educated upper middle class. In the South in those days this meant being brought up in a tradition of gentility, boys taught to become "gentlemen," a tradition reflected here in several ways, especially the discreet separation between masculinity and sex.] It followed, a t leas t i n my mind, tha t masculinit y ha d nothin g t o do wit h women. I t wa s no t a complementar y quality . Thinkin g bac k o n it , I a m hard pu t t o explai n wh y thi s wa s so . Ever y ma n wa s mor e o r les s expected t o b e married, mos t socia l gathering s wer e o f mixe d company , and th e valu e o f women , a s I have said , wa s clearly recognized . M y ow n parents forme d a ver y clea r tea m whos e lov e fo r eac h othe r I neve r doubted an d whos e divisio n o f labo r wa s bot h clea r an d harmonious . [As far as I could then see. Today I am inclined to think that, although it was a solid and loving marriage, there was more disharmony than met the child's eye, some of which had to do with my mother's frustration in a gendered role that she did not outwardly question in my hearing. To recount why I think so would make a long story, of which I was only beginning to be aware when I wrote the paper.] Nevertheless, masculinity , a s I perceive d it , wa s no t th e complemen t o f femininity. Th e latte r wa s a pejorativ e term . Whil e ther e migh t b e femi nine virtues , femininit y a s suc h ha d n o standing . I t wa s simpl y th e negation o f masculinity , whic h wa s a virtu e i n itself . [Since 1978, feminism has taught me a great suspicion of the words masculine, feminine, masculinity, and femininity. I've become aware that these terms point to ideas and values socially constructed by patriarchy. The paper implies this but does not say it, because at the time, although I knew of "the social construction of reality" (Berger and Luckmann, 1966), I had read little or nothing about the social construction of gender.] Insofar a s masculinit y depende d o n renown , i t wa s narcissistic . Insofa r as i t depende d o n influence , i t wa s a one-wa y street . I t ha d a n indepen -

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dent statu s i n being . Masculinit y wa s thu s a n objec t o f desir e an d adoration, fo r i t stoo d a t th e pinnacl e o f rea l value . Thi s attitude , a s I later learne d [in college, right after World War II] 9 wa s tha t o f th e classical Gree k writers , especially Plato . Still later [1976] I saw i t in wha t I fanc y i s pristine for m i n th e highland s o f Ne w Guinea , wher e th e self importance o f me n i s virtuall y unrestrained . Havin g learne d somethin g about mal e mystiqu e i n thos e exoti c societies , I d o no t thin k I a m reading i t backwar d int o th e smal l tow n o f m y boyhood , becaus e I vividly remembe r sittin g o n th e fron t step s o f m y hous e eac h afternoo n at th e ag e o f fou r o r five waitin g fo r th e bigge r boy s t o com e dow n th e street fro m schoo l an d th e father s t o com e u p th e stree t fro m work . M y mother an d siste r insid e th e hous e wer e no t a s real , becaus e no t a s enviable, a s th e boy s an d me n wh o ha d bee n ou t doin g thei r thing . M y desire wa s t o b e aroun d them , belon g t o them , b e on e o f them . Wha t could b e mor e natural , w e ma y ask . An d wha t coul d d o mor e t o infor m one's sens e of th e world ? [This is one of the most formative of all my memories. It is a scene which returns to me frequently at every stage of my life —as a youth, a young man, a soldier, a scholar, a husband, a parent, a teacher, and now a senior citizen. Neither time, place, nor circumstance dulls the image.] Women of Strength A fe w wome n wer e o f grea t importanc e t o my developmen t throug h high school , afte r whic h I wen t awa y fro m ou r town . M y mothe r wa s the mos t important . O f he r I will sa y her e onl y tha t sh e dominate d ou r household b y the totality o f he r dedication t o it, and i n this she appeare d to hav e had th e complete consen t o f m y father . The y ha d thre e son s an d a daughter . Looking back , I a m amaze d tha t i n a famil y o f fou r male s an d tw o females th e males formed n o stron g bonding amon g them. We liked eac h other (well , I liked m y brother s par t o f th e time ) bu t w e di d no t bond . I ascribe thi s t o th e sens e w e ha d tha t th e famil y reall y belonge d t o my mother. M y fathe r too k prid e i n hi s wor k a t th e bank , hi s leadershi p i n civic organizations , hi s wor k a t home , an d hi s children ; bu t h e alway s referred t o th e hom e a s belongin g t o Sarah . I n thi s I believ e h e imitate d

Growing Up Christian and Male 4 the relatio n betwee n hi s ow n parents , an d m y mothe r di d th e sam e fo r her part . Afte r goin g throug h colleg e sh e ha d returne d t o he r parents ' house, doin g nothin g i n particula r unti l sh e go t married . Sh e di d d o some rather goo d painting s an d som e even bette r charcoal drawings , bu t after marriag e sh e did the m n o more . Almost al l m y schoo l teacher s wer e women . Onl y th e hig h schoo l principal an d tw o o r thre e o f hi s facult y wer e men . Wome n taugh t m e to read, write, do figures, dream , an d think . Their eye s were not fastene d on ou r tow n bu t o n th e grea t worl d o f cultur e t o b e know n i n books , art, and travel . Learning of all this from them , I developed mixe d feeling s concerning masculinity . I t mean t havin g influenc e o n publi c thing s righ t in you r ow n spher e i n a directl y visibl e way . I t di d no t usuall y mea n having imaginatio n abou t th e worl d a t large . Thi s wa s anothe r wa y i n which masculinit y wa s self-referential . Thos e wh o seeme d t o drea m o f a larger, mor e excitin g world , a worl d o f Shakespeare , Shelley , an d Thomas Kepler, of Athens, Rome, and London , were women who taugh t in school . I was deepl y tor n betwee n th e parochia l glor y o f me n an d th e imaginative reac h o f m y wome n teachers . There wer e well-to-d o me n i n our tow n wh o ha d lot s o f book s an d wen t of f o n lon g trips , bu t what ever they kne w o f foreig n cultur e the y kep t secret . They di d no t us e it t o enhance thei r influenc e an d renown . [I note today that the "larger, more exciting world" my women teachers taught me to dream of was entirely Eurocentric. There was no dreaming about Africa or Latin America, and almost none of Asia. In other words, the exciting world was the one in which colonialist power was concentrated, not the regions over which that power reigned. By the same token, my imagination was not turned toward the Black, Hispanic, or Native American peoples of my own land. One name for this type of education is elitist. A more informative name is patriarchal: I was taught, even by my women teachers in school, to identify with, and dream of, the achievements of a patriarchal Euro-American culture.] The woman, apar t fro m m y mother, wh o influence d m e the mos t wa s Director o f Christia n Educatio n a t ou r church . I think i f my parents ha d known wha t sh e wa s doin g t o m e the y woul d no t hav e admire d he r a s much a s the y did , bu t the y approve d o n principl e everythin g connecte d with th e Methodis t Church , especiall y th e Stat e Stree t Methodis t

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Church. Virgini a Staffor d coul d b e foun d a t th e churc h an y afternoo n after school , and that' s wer e I went mor e day s than not . [On the other days, I was likely to be at the movies with my friends. The influence that the movies of the 1930s and 1940s had upon my gender formation must have been quite strong, but that's a topic I have not yet thought through.] She would giv e me the keys to th e orga n consol e an d le t me teach mysel f to pla y i t i n th e empt y sanctuary . Enticin g m e wit h suc h pleasures , sh e set about t o improv e upo n m y education . Wantin g t o mak e a liberal ou t of me—theologically , politically , an d racially—sh e fe d m e book s t o read an d discusse d the m wit h me . Sh e als o too k m e an d som e o f my peers t o conference s fa r an d wide . A t thes e I remember my first experi ences o f socia l equalit y wit h blac k people—"colored, " a s w e sai d then . Virginia Staffor d wa s no t married , a s mos t o f m y schoo l teacher s were . She dressed , moved , spoke , an d worke d a s i f sh e di d no t car e wha t people thought. I had neve r see n that befor e i n a woman, an d wa s draw n to i t as to a magnet . Church of Men As fo r th e church , i t wa s masculine . I come no w t o matter s tha t ar e full o f ambiguit y an d stron g feeling . Ho w wa s the church masculine ? Being Protestants, we did no t ofte n refe r t o Mother Church . Nonethe less, th e churc h nurture d me , perhap s eve n mor e tha n th e school , an d my mother viewe d i t as an extensio n o f he r ow n family . Mos t boy s wen t to i t a s seldo m a s possible , an d my goin g ther e s o often , eve n o n weekdays, di d nothin g t o enhanc e my reputatio n a s a rea l guy . Indeed , it wa s par t o f wha t wa s calle d th e siss y i n me , lik e playin g musi c an d going int o th e kitche n t o mak e cookies . Bu t I knew tha t I was draw n t o the church becaus e i t was masculine . There come s t o min d a remembere d scene . Sunda y churc h i s goin g on. Th e preacher' s hea d i s bowe d a s h e pray s a lon g prayer , an d th e congregation's head s ar e down , too . I am a littl e bo y who can' t kee p hi s eyes shut . I loo k around . A t th e bac k o f th e churc h severa l me n ar e standing. Their eye s are not closed, an d thei r head s ar e not bowed . The y are lookin g al l around , an d som e ar e eve n talkin g softl y together . I a m

Growing Up Christian and Male 5 astonished. I t occur s t o m e tha t thi s i s their plac e an d the y ca n d o wha t they please in it. I see no wome n o r girl s not bowe d i n prayer . The moti f her e i s submission. Th e churc h wa s feminin e insofa r a s it s behavior wa s submissive . Al l th e wome n i n it , excep t Virgini a Stafford , were there , i t seemed , t o submit ; an d s o wer e som e o f th e men . The y surrendered t o churc h i n a mixtur e o f dut y an d comfort . Th e churc h i n its piety was feminine . But som e people , I realized, d o no t submit . The y ru n th e place . The y are the greeter s a t th e door , th e ushers , the deacons , the elders. They ar e all men , an d th e masculinit y her e i s the sam e a s elsewher e i n ou r town : visibility an d influence . Thes e qualitie s als o belon g t o th e churc h itself . Few organizations, an d fewe r buildings , in our tow n hav e more visibilit y and influenc e tha n th e churches. They carr y weight. The bi g ones for m a fraternity wit h th e town' s secula r institutions . Eve n a chil d coul d sens e this. As a growin g boy , I kne w ther e wa s powe r i n th e church , an d I wanted it . I di d no t wan t t o b e on e o f thos e deacon s o r elders , bu t I wanted influenc e an d I wanted recognitio n fo r it , as I did als o a t school ; and I go t it . M y lif e bein g wha t i t ha s been , m y sens e o f m y ow n masculinity i s tie d i n wit h tha t o f th e church . I t ha s alway s bee n har d for m e to thin k o f the m separately . At th e cente r o f th e churc h someho w (th e ho w wa s rathe r vagu e t o the youn g boy ) ther e wa s Jesus . In Sallman' s portrait , whic h hun g prominently i n th e churc h offic e opposit e th e fac e o f John Wesley , Jesus did no t loo k ver y masculine ; bu t yo u kne w tha t h e ha d visibilit y an d influence—and tha t h e wa s male . Jesus wa s th e mos t renowne d perso n of al l time , and hi s influenc e wa s everywhere . Onl y Go d ha d more . Go d was the bigges t ma n o f all . [My then recent visit to mark on the paper. This expression "Big Man," wheeler-dealer who has

Papua New Guinea has once again left its sentence echoes the New Guinea highland which means a self-made man, a local gained renown, wealth, and clout.]

Everything referre d t o God , an d hi s influenc e wa s sai d t o b e all-power ful. I t di d no t eve n see m t o me , althoug h I hear d i t ofte n enough , tha t God wa s invisible . Ho w coul d someon e b e invisibl e i f yo u ha d thei r picture clearl y i n you r mind ? Th e imag e o f Go d a s a n ol d ma n wit h a

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white bear d sittin g o n a thron e hel d n o interes t fo r me . Having hear d i t ridiculed i n sermons , I regarde d i t a s bot h fals e an d unappealing . Th e God I sa w wa s large , robust , full-face d an d i n th e prim e o f adul t life . I saw onl y hi s fac e an d curl y dar k hair , s o I never coul d tel l wha t clothe s he wore o r i f he was naked . Th e ultimat e masculin e wa s God . [Note that I imagined the masculinity of the God, like that of boys and men, as having little or nothing to do with sex or women. The maleness of God had rather to do with renown and power. Note also that the power, since it was omnipotent, ran in one direction only—from God outward. No outside power could affect God. Note again that the renown of God required an audience full of praise and awe. God's essence, then, was self-referential. Later, when studying theology, I saw this expressed as God's eternity, aseity, and ability to create from nothing. It is a masculinity that requires to be beheld but is not beholden —a divine narcissism. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, when I began to question Western imperialism and the divine right of patriarchy, I came to believe that the idea of divine self-sufficiency is a theological mistake. Yet it remains characteristic of too much theology, which holds out, at some point, for a non-relational quality deemed essential if God is to be God. I no longer think so.] Male God, Male Minister The masculinit y o f th e Christia n ministe r i s a strang e topic . I felt thi s acutely a s a youth , fo r I wa s attracte d t o th e ministr y a t a ver y youn g age, an d i n hig h schoo l I received a ministeria l "call" ; ye t I resisted thi s in grea t agony , fearin g th e los s o f my autonomou s manhood . [I have since described this experience. See Driver 1991: 70] On th e one hand, sinc e I was religiou s an d a good publi c speaker , th e ministry offere d m e a clea r roa d t o renow n an d influence . A t th e ag e o f six, I use d t o com e hom e fro m church , ri g u p a pulpi t i n th e backyar d while waitin g fo r m y mother' s Sunda y dinner , an d harangu e th e bird s and bee s wit h th e goo d new s o f th e gospel . Oh , wha t a fine preache r was I ! On th e other hand , th e ministry threatene d t o set me apart fro m othe r men i n a stereotype d rol e tha t woul d tak e awa y m y autonom y i n th e same measur e i n whic h i t gave i t to me . Ministers wer e o f necessit y me n

Growing Up Christian and Male 5 (the only exception I heard o f a s a child was the notorious Aime e Sempl e McPherson), bu t minister s wer e no t rea l men . I t wa s no t onl y tha t they couldn' t cus s an d tel l dirt y jokes . I t wa s tha t the y wer e servants . Conspicuous a s they were, renowned a s some became , influential a s the y might be , they ha d t o submit t o elders, deacons, bishops, and God . The y couldn't eve n ge t ma d an d quit , a s me n i n busines s coul d do . Whe n I received m y "call " I tol d non e o f m y friend s abou t it , fo r I kne w the y would fee l sorr y fo r me . What I actuall y di d wa s sa y yes t o th e "call " an d late r g o int o theological teaching , whic h i s a muc h mor e independen t vocation . Fo r some year s durin g hig h school , th e army , college , an d seminary , I in tended t o b e a pastora l minister . Contrar y t o wha t a psychoanalys t might think , I believ e tha t thes e year s wer e decisiv e i n th e evolutio n o f my male-centere d Christianity . I n an y case , the y wer e th e year s o f m y sexual maturation , unles s th e latte r i s wha t i s occurrin g t o m e no w i n middle age . Be that a s i t may , I devoted mysel f t o Go d an d se x a t th e sam e time . In bot h respects , I must explain , my imaginatio n fa r out-ra n m y activity . My first sexua l experience s wer e wit h boys . I dreamed o f nake d wome n (whom I had hardl y eve r seen ) an d clun g t o boy s m y ag e fo r wha t littl e sexual contac t ther e was . I graduate d fro m hig h schoo l durin g Worl d War I I an d wen t straigh t int o th e army . I hate d everythin g abou t i t except bein g constantl y i n th e compan y o f men , whic h I enjoye d eve n when I did no t lik e al l o f th e men . I refer t o thi s i n orde r t o indicat e i n myself a n eroticize d vie w o f masculinit y tha t i s linked t o m y experienc e of th e Christia n church . [There's an unexplained shift in the paper here, from a picture of masculinity as having nothing to do with sex to "an eroticized view of masculinity." This reflects mainly, I suppose, a shift from boyhood into adolescence and young adulthood. The main theme of this section in the paper is the confluence of maleness, eroticism, God, and the church that began when I was a teenager.] If yo u wan t t o thin k i n th e usua l psychologica l way , yo u ca n sa y tha t I had suc h a vie w [of masculinity eroticized] fro m earl y childhoo d an d would hav e attache d i t t o an y institutio n I too k seriously . I don' t den y that an d coul d eve n cit e m y life-lon g interes t i n theater , wher e simila r dynamics wer e a t play . M y point , however , i s that th e theate r an d othe r

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institutions lac k th e church' s ultimat e rational e fo r preoccupatio n wit h masculine identity . Worshi p o f a self-containe d mal e Go d extend s t o male narcissis m th e qualit y o f somethin g religious . O f thi s I hav e n o doubt. I n fact , I believe that th e homophobi a o f th e church , it s categori cal condemnatio n o f homosexualit y a s sinful , i s a defens e agains t it s own homosexua l latency . Going on from Here Skip no w t o th e yea r 1972 , whe n I a m forty-seve n year s old . I hav e married lon g ago , hav e thre e teen-ag e children , an d a m a seminar y teacher. M y wif e an d man y othe r wome n I kno w ar e i n feminis t con sciousness-raising groups . Several of u s husbands decid e to for m a men' s group. W e hav e n o troubl e gettin g participants , an d th e group , a s i t turns out , meets weekly fo r fou r year s before finally disbanding . Membership i n tha t grou p provide d th e first occasio n o f my lif e fo r regular associatio n wit h me n i n a context tha t wa s no t competitive . I t i s hard fo r m e t o describ e ho w importan t tha t experienc e wa s t o me , an d apparently t o mos t o f th e others . That me n hav e t o relat e t o eac h othe r primaril y b y competitio n wa s something I ha d believe d al l m y life . I t wa s th e wa y my tw o brother s and I ha d related . Th e boy s I kne w a t schoo l an d aroun d tow n wer e forever competin g i n sports , an d thos e o f u s wh o wer e les s athleti c competed fo r grades . Th e arm y ha d mor e camaraderi e a t times , bu t everyone's motiv e ha d bee n t o ge t promoted , ge t out , o r both . I n my professional lif e competitivenes s wa s rampant . Academic s seeme d con stantly t o scor e point s agains t eac h other . Al l thi s seeme d t o m e simpl y natural. Boy s wil l b e boys , afte r all , an d s o wil l men . Fo r a lon g tim e I knew ho w t o pla y tha t gam e wit h excitement . I t is , you see , a concomi tant o f th e identificatio n o f masculinit y wit h renow n an d influence . I ma y no t sa y tha t ou r men' s grou p wa s entirel y fre e fro m competi tion. Two o r thre e of u s brought ver y competitive life-style s wit h us , an d we vie d wit h eac h othe r fo r attentio n an d dominance . Bu t th e grou p a s a whol e wa s no t intereste d i n this , s o th e basi c etho s i n ou r meeting s provided n o supportin g contex t t o encourag e o r justif y competitiv e behavior. A s thi s graduall y dawne d o n me , year s o f burde n seeme d t o fall fro m m y shoulders . I was at las t amon g me n who too k manhoo d fo r

Growing Up Christian and Male 5 granted an d di d no t fee l th e nee d t o prov e it . Th e anxiet y associate d with renow n an d influenc e wa s absent . As a result of the men's group, I know more clearly what I am lookin g for today . I call it a non-chauvinistic fraternity . W e usually thin k o f mal e chauvinism a s a n attitud e o f superiorit y towar d women , bu t tha t i s only part o f wha t I mean b y the word . Primarily , I think o f chauvinis m a s a n attitude me n hav e towar d eac h other , leadin g towar d competitio n fo r renown an d influence , s o tha t thei r association s almos t alway s resul t i n a peckin g order . Wher e on e stand s i n th e peckin g orde r indicate s one' s degree o f masculinity . In suc h a condition , masculinit y i s alway s a performance, somethin g pu t o n lik e a theatrica l rol e o r a priest' s vest ments. It s purpos e i s t o attrac t attention , an d masculinit y turn s ou t t o exist i n th e ey e o f th e beholder . [I shall have more to say about performance below.] When I speak o f a non-chauvinis t fraternity , I mean a mutua l under standing among men obviatin g the necessity o f demonstrating thei r man hood. Th e latter , instea d o f bein g self-referential, ca n the n b e released t o look an d mov e outwar d towar d othe r peopl e an d th e worl d i n way s more trul y lovin g and ethical . [Recently, John Stoltenberg (1990 [1989]; 1993) has taken a different, no doubt better tack. Instead of looking for a redeemed and redeeming form of manhood, he argues that manhood must be repudiated for the sake of "loving justice."] I experience thi s ver y seldom . Ou r economi c syste m i s antithetica l t o it , I hardly nee d say . And s o i s most o f th e Christia n religion , fo r reason s I have alread y indicated . W e need a theological revolutio n tha t ca n enabl e us t o tak e a ne w loo k a t monotheism . T o insist , a s w e hav e done , tha t God i s one , o r eve n a self-containe d "economy " o f three-in-one, doe s not simpl y g o han d i n han d wit h God' s maleness ; i t i s th e ver y sam e thing. [The unity of God in our Western tradition has not been the unity of things that are different, each having a rightful place in the sun, but has been the unity of that which is like unto itself. Such a unity must be called self-referential, narcissistic, or chauvinistic, for its aim must necessarily be to call attention to itself and seek to be imitated. See Driver 1981.]

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I d o no t kno w whethe r me n i n larg e number s ca n la y thei r anxiet y about masculinit y t o rest . I kno w the y ca n sometime s d o i t i n smal l numbers. I find myself lookin g toda y fo r suc h leaven . I believe that unti l men discove r ho w t o lov e eac h othe r withou t competitiv e narcissis m they ar e no t ver y goo d a t lovin g women , children , an d al l manne r o f folk wh o ar e quite differen t fro m themselves . In muc h writin g today , i t i s fashionable t o spea k o f th e narcissis m i n our societ y an d t o blam e i t on a so-calle d "inwar d turn " o f th e 1970s . I read th e phenomeno n differently . Th e root s o f narcissis m i n America n culture g o back , I think , t o th e etho s o f th e self-mad e man , whic h w e Americans di d no t inven t bu t di d rais e t o a high pitch . Religiously , thes e roots g o furthe r back . The y li e i n doctrine s o f a self-mad e God , wh o ultimately require s o f me n onl y on e thing : that the y shoul d worshi p hi m absolutely. I a m wantin g t o sugges t a necessar y connectio n betwee n narcissism an d th e ide a o f a n absolut e God . [It's not entirely clear what I meant by this "necessary connection, " Among the ancient Greeks, for example, there was plenty of male narcissism without the monotheistic idea of an absolute God. But if we turn the matter around, we can see what I had in mind: the absoluteness of God, with its corollary of self-sufficiency, must necessarily connect with a kind of worship or adoration of the self. Or else it issues in a sense of the human self as absolutely worthless, a kind of inverted narcissism.] I woul d lik e als o t o sugges t tha t i f peopl e tur n inwar d tha t doe s no t prove the y hav e give n u p o n society—althoug h ther e i s othe r evidenc e in thi s decad e whic h doe s poin t t o suc h a despair . On e motiv e fo r turning inwar d i s t o ge t suc h a clea r vie w o f one' s sel f a s will enabl e a clearer vie w of others. Where this is the case, self-knowledge an d becom ing a responsible sel f can go hand i n hand wit h belongin g to a communitarian world . Addendum—Fifteen Year s Late r (1993 ) The autho r o f th e paper—wh o wa s (is? ) myself a t a differen t "layer " o f time—was a marrie d man , 5 3 year s old , a professo r o f theolog y an d culture a t a liberal , ecumenical , theologica l seminary . H e ha d tw o daughters an d a so n wh o wer e i n thei r twenties . H e was , althoug h h e

Growing Up Christian and Male 5 did no t sa y thi s t o himself , undergoin g a mid-lif e crisis . I n othe r words , he wa s strugglin g wit h self-recognition , no t a s a yout h o f unteste d potential bu t a s a ma n wit h mor e tha n hal f hi s lif e behin d him . H e ha d achieved, h e thought , a modicu m o f renown . Th e questio n no w wa s hi s value. Carol Chris t kne w tha t fo r abou t seve n years , sinc e 1971, 1 had bee n teaching theolog y fro m th e vantag e poin t o f lif e experience . Tha t is , I had bee n encouragin g m y student s (an d myself ) t o examin e th e connec tions betwee n ou r experience d lives , ou r theologica l perspectives , an d the academi c material s w e encountere d i n a seminar y curriculum . M y book growin g ou t o f tha t teaching , Patterns of Grace: Human Experience as Word of God ha d bee n publishe d i n 1977 , bu t i t gav e n o attention t o experience s tha t migh t b e sai d t o belon g specificall y o r exclusively t o men . When the book ha d come out, i t was the subject o f a public discussio n one evenin g a t Unio n Seminary , i n th e cours e o f whic h severa l wome n pressed m e to accoun t fo r th e fac t tha t al l references t o Go d i n the boo k were t o a mal e figure: I had referre d t o Go d onl y a s fathe r an d a s "he. " The onl y answe r I could giv e wa s th e truthfu l on e tha t a mal e Go d wa s the onl y deity of whic h I had ha d an y experience . I us e th e wor d "experience " t o poin t t o th e intersectio n betwee n cultural, historical , personal , an d psychologica l factors . I d o no t thin k that thes e severa l aspect s o f experienc e ca n b e separated , eve n thoug h we ma y distinguis h the m fo r analyti c purposes . Th e followin g stor y about th e gender o f Go d ma y illustrat e thei r interconnection . Seven year s befor e startin g t o writ e Patterns of Grace, an d abou t thirteen befor e writin g th e "Confessions " paper , I ha d spen t a summe r with Ann e Barstow , m y wife , i n th e Middl e East , on e o f th e highlight s of whic h wa s a journe y w e mad e t o a n importan t archaeologica l di g o n the Anatolia n plai n i n Turkey , a sit e know n a s £ata l Htiyuk . Th e neolithic city that wa s bein g unearthed ther e was devoted t o the worshi p of a goddess , a deit y depicte d i n n o uncertai n term s a s female , mos t strikingly a s a mother i n the act o f giving birth t o a child. Ou r encounte r with thi s mother-goddes s imager y a t £ata l Huyu k turne d ou t t o b e transformative fo r Anne , wh o wa s no t ye t a feminis t becaus e ther e wa s in 196 5 no movemen t t o give her tha t nam e an d tha t self-understanding , but who was, without knowin g it , waiting for tha t movement t o happen . Still an d all , he r lif e experience s ha d prepare d he r t o hav e a powerfu l

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reaction t o th e mother/femal e religiou s imager y a t £ata l Hiiyuk . A fe w years late r sh e wrot e a n articl e abou t i t tha t i s ofte n cite d (Barsto w 1978; 198 3 [1978]) . As fo r m e a t £ata l Hiiyuk , I wa s no t the n read y t o tak e i n wha t I was seeing , a t whic h I looke d wit h a professionall y detached , albei t appreciative, eye . I wa s b y the n a traine d schola r o f literatur e an d a frequent commentato r o n theolog y an d culture . Bu t I was no t ye t awar e of th e realit y o f patriarchy , o f it s limits an d injuries . I was too immerse d within patriarch y t o le t m y identit y an d my theologica l conviction s b e unsettled b y religiou s image s that , howeve r striking , ha d fo r m e neithe r a cultura l no r a personal fram e o f reference . Th e unsettlin g wa s t o com e in 1972 . When I visite d £ata l Hiiyu k I wa s 40 . Th e yea r wa s 1965 , whe n public attention wa s directed towar d th e civil rights struggle and th e wa r in Vietnam . Gende r question s ha d no t ye t arise n fo r m e i n an y public sense. I stumble d upo n the m daily , a s husband , father , an d teacher , without an y wa y t o recogniz e them , fo r lac k o f a relevan t language . Feminism wa s t o creat e th e languag e throug h muc h struggl e an d pai n during th e 1970s . By th e tim e I wrot e th e paper , gende r issue s ha d becom e par t o f public discussion , an d I ha d bee n challenged , a s I'v e said , abou t th e unchastened mal e imager y i n my ow n publishe d work . Prompte d b y women wh o wer e tire d o f bein g lef t ou t o f th e language , the history , th e religious imagery , an d mos t o f th e hall s o f renown , tire d o f bein g use d and lef t anonymous—prompte d b y suc h wome n an d th e ne w gende r discourse the y wer e inventing , I could begi n t o thin k ou t lou d abou t th e correlation betwee n mysel f a s male an d th e mal e Go d I worshiped . Although th e 197 8 pape r wa s m y first publi c ventur e int o th e discus sion of gender, the seismic upheaval tha t feminis t though t create d fo r m e had com e si x years earlier. In the summe r o f 197 1 I read Sexual Politics, by Kat e Millet t (199 0 [1970]) , an d wa s neve r th e sam e again . I t wa s a feminist readin g o f Wester n literatur e fro m th e Greek s t o th e moderns , and i t wa s a battl e cry . I t s o happene d tha t Millett' s stud y wa s don e i n the cours e o f he r doctora l progra m i n Englis h an d Comparativ e Litera ture i n th e ver y sam e departmen t a t th e sam e universit y (Columbia ) where I ha d earne d m y ow n Ph.D . I ha d rea d mos t o f th e work s sh e discussed, an d I ha d a prett y goo d ide a wha t the y wer e about . An d I knew the y di d no t mea n wha t sh e wa s sayin g the y meant . I f the y did , I

Growing Up Christian and Male 5 would hav e see n it , wouldn' t I ? I would rea d a pag e o r tw o o f Millett , throw th e boo k down , fum e abou t it , cool of f a little , an d rea d mor e i n spite o f myself . When I finished th e boo k I was ill . I went t o be d fo r tw o days. This wa s crisi s an d turnin g point . No t tha t th e boo k di d thi s al l b y itself. A lo t o f change s connecte d wit h feminis m ha d bee n goin g o n i n my family , amon g m y colleague s an d students , an d i n th e society . Mil lett's boo k precipitate d a crisi s I was sur e t o hav e ha d soone r o r later . I tell th e stor y becaus e i t dramatize s th e fac t tha t I wa s converte d t o feminism kickin g an d screaming . Tw o decade s later , I stil l backslid e frequently. Onc e yo u becom e addicte d t o th e myt h o f mal e renown , recovery i s painful, slow , never complete . There i s a final observatio n t o b e mad e abou t th e paper , on e tha t concerns m y marriag e an d m y sexuality . Ann e Barsto w an d I ha d mar ried when I was twenty-seven, an d ou r marriag e ha s lasted, miraculousl y I often think , t o the presen t day—mor e tha n fort y years . Yet this sturd y marriage, notabl e whe n considere d i n ligh t o f th e nation' s divorc e rate , not t o mentio n ou r dee p (an d ofte n deepl y troubled ) lov e for eac h other , makes n o appearanc e i n th e paper . Althoug h whe n I wrot e th e pape r I had alread y been married fo r twenty-si x years (almost half o f my lifetim e then), I gave th e reade r n o clu e t o thi s aspec t o f m y situation . Bu t that' s not all . Truth t o tell , I di d no t eve n notic e th e absenc e o f m y marrie d lif e from th e paper an d m y commentary upo n i t unti l Anne , afte r lookin g a t a draf t o f th e presen t document , aske d whethe r I ha d eve r though t m y way throug h t o a theolog y o f heterosexuality , a questio n tha t brough t me u p rathe r short . Th e pape r i s clear i n it s critiqu e o f a male-centere d and strictl y monotheisti c theology , whic h i t view s a s th e reflectio n o f male narcissism . Bu t th e pape r say s nothin g abou t wha t kin d o f hetero sexual theolog y coul d b e written, no r wha t idea s concerning gende r an d sexuality i t migh t include . Reflectio n no w indicate s tha t heterosexualit y has neve r quit e com e int o focu s fo r me . Le t m e explain , hopin g thereb y to cas t a smal l ligh t o n somethin g tha t pertain s no t onl y t o mysel f bu t also, I think, t o man y men . The paper make s clear tha t I had give n a great dea l o f though t t o tha t portion o f m e tha t i s not heterosexual . I ha d though t abou t everythin g in m e tha t draw s m e towar d othe r men , includin g emotion s tha t ar e certainly erotic . Thes e hav e neve r bee n hidde n fro m m y consciousness ,

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nor hav e the y bee n frightenin g t o me , as i t seem s the y ar e t o man y men , giving ris e t o muc h homophobi c behavior . An d ye t thes e feeling s hav e constituted a problem, sinc e they represent somethin g forbidde n t o boy s and me n brough t u p a s I was—not onl y forbidde n bu t unspeakable . Awareness o f somethin g problemati c i n m y ow n genderin g enable d me, onc e I go t ove r m y initia l shoc k reactio n t o feminis t thought , t o appreciate it s critiqu e o f patriarchy , includin g patriarchy' s insistenc e upon wha t ha s come to be called "compulsor y heterosexuality. " I n brief , my upbringin g an d m y individua l psycholog y prepare d m e to thin k lon g and har d abou t masculinity , includin g wha t i s wron g wit h it . Bu t thi s formation di d no t prepar e m e to think lon g and har d abou t me n i n thei r positive relatio n t o women , ou r attractio n t o them , ou r lov e o f them , our partnership with them, our sexua l connection wit h them, our parent ing wit h them , an d yes , ou r fea r an d mistrus t o f them . Conver t t o feminism thoug h I was , o r hope d I was , I ha d neve r learne d t o tak e women seriousl y i n their sexua l relatio n t o me n (o r our s to them ) sinc e I was stil l takin g thi s relatio n fo r granted . I t remaine d "natural. " I t was a part o f m y lif e I had neve r pu t t o a Socrati c examination . Anne's questio n abou t a theolog y o f heterosexualit y reminde d m e that I ha d indee d onc e take n a ru n a t it , i n a chapte r calle d "Woman , Man, an d Christ " i n a boo k subtitle d "Towar d a n Ethica l Christology " (Driver 1981) . Prompte d b y he r question , I now rerea d th e chapte r an d found i t bot h promisin g an d disappointing . Th e promisin g par t lie s i n the theolog y o f relationshi p an d co-creation , whic h I ha d first worke d on i n Patterns of Grace, wher e i t had to do with the relationship betwee n God an d humanity , an d whic h her e i s brought t o bea r upo n connection s between an d amon g huma n beings . Thi s theologica l insight , plu s m y involvement wit h feminism , le d m e i n th e chapte r t o stres s mos t o f al l the nee d fo r equalit y betwee n me n an d women : In my mind's eye . . . there is a vision of relation s betwee n women and women, women and men, men and men. The vision is hardest to bring to focus when the partners ar e wome n an d men . . . . The visio n itsel f wa s memorabl y state d b y Mario Thoma s i n a newspaper articl e (New York Times, April 19 , 1978) . She wrote of herself and other women learning "to look directly into the eyes of men from whom you want nothing—except a serious conversation." This "innocent" vision ha s everythin g t o d o with sexuality , a s I hope ma y b e clear. I t doe s no t envision the denial of sex for th e sake of a "better " transactio n bu t the affirma tion of equality for the sake of a more wholehearted sexuality. To want "nothin g

Growing Up Christian and Male 61 except conversation " i s no t necessaril y t o exclud e se x bu t t o b e fre e o f th e partner's sexua l demand , includin g th e projection o f tha t deman d ont o onesel f as a seductress and a sex object. The chapte r continue s b y notin g tha t th e mutua l recognitio n o f equalit y between person s lead s toward ecstas y an d holiness : The awesomenes s o f th e experienc e o f lookin g deepl y int o th e eye s of anothe r person and recognizing there a self equal in power and need to one's own is the awareness tha t ou r mutua l recognitio n i s a constellatio n o f energ y withi n a relational field of infinite power and meaning. It is holy.. . . Sexism is the fear of equality, and fea r o f equality i s dread o f the holy infinite, which beat s its wings around u s ever mor e audibly a s we give ourselves the mor e full y t o those wh o are with us in the world. (Driver 1981 : 144) This passag e offers , I stil l think , a promisin g lea d towar d a theolog y of sexuality . I t i s disappointin g i n tha t i t fail s t o brin g heterosexua l relations int o focus. I said, correctly, tha t i t is hardest t o brin g the visio n of equalit y int o focu s whe n th e partner s ar e wome n an d men . I did no t quite succee d i n doin g it . Mos t o f th e chapte r i s devote d t o a n attac k upon dualisti c thinking , whic h tend s t o fi x a gul f betwee n mal e an d female. The chapter i s also concerned, rightly , with showin g tha t hetero sexuality shoul d b e neither compulsor y no r th e necessary nor m o f sexua l relationships. Bu t wha t th e chapte r doe s no t d o i s t o addres s th e prob lematic o f heterosexua l relationships , th e wa y tha t the y constitut e a severe challeng e i n patriarcha l cultur e (o r perhap s i n an y imaginabl e culture) an d therefor e nee d ou r sustaine d attention . I f I kne w enoug h not t o regar d heterosexualit y a s th e necessar y norm , I wa s no t wis e enough t o lif t i t ou t o f th e fo g o f "normality. " I wa s still , i n th e las t analysis, taking i t for granted . So th e tas k o f workin g ou t a theolog y o f heterosexualit y lie s stil l ahead. Muc h hel p i s to b e foun d i n th e writing s o f James Nelso n (1978 , 1983, 1988 , 1992 ) an d others , bu t I think n o feminis t theologian , mal e or female, has yet done anything lik e the serious work o n heterosexualit y that conservativ e an d sexis t theologian s have , alas , writte n s o muc h about. When I look i n th e mirro r t o se e mysel f durin g th e decad e an d a hal f since I wrot e th e "Confessions " paper , I se e a proces s o f ver y gradua l change, i n whic h th e principa l ethica l an d theologica l moti f i s a shif t from renow n t o value . I t i s surel y n o acciden t tha t thi s ha s bee n oc -

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curring while the male bod y tha t i s me has bee n passin g fro m th e middl e to th e senio r tim e o f lif e an d ha s suffere d a certai n measur e o f illnes s and pain . As w e age , gende r difference s diminish . Ou r physica l bodie s ten d t o grow mor e rathe r tha n les s alike. Societ y place s upo n u s les s demandin g gender expectations . Whil e th e younge r ma n wit h m y kin d o f socia l origins wa s constantl y urge d t o see k a nam e fo r himself , th e senio r on e such a s I am no w i s relieved o f tha t injunction . About th e middl e o f Marc h 1991 , I the n bein g i n wha t a n earlie r generation woul d hav e calle d my sixty-sevent h year , I lay i n a be d a t St . Luke's/Roosevelt Hospita l i n Ne w Yor k Cit y awaitin g coronar y bypas s surgery th e nex t day . Tw o week s before , I ha d survive d m y thir d hear t attack, th e firs t havin g bee n te n year s earlier , th e secon d jus t seve n months prior t o the third. From these experiences I had learne d t o accep t the fac t o f my ow n mortality . Whe n younger , I had th e sam e though t a s William Saroya n whe n h e wrot e o n a piec e o f pape r foun d i n hi s des k after h e died: " I know tha t al l men ar e mortal, but I have always believe d that i n my case an exceptio n woul d b e made. " The first hear t attack , no t t o mentio n th e secon d an d third , ha d take n away tha t illusion , an d becaus e o f i t I felt no t onl y sane r bu t someho w less morbid . Refusa l t o loo k deat h i n th e fac e is , paradoxical a s i t ma y seem, fa r mor e morbi d tha n t o gaz e int o it s eyes . Illusion s are , i n thei r way, mor e deadl y tha n hear t attacks . I feel entitle d t o sa y this, becaus e I have know n mor e tha n onc e th e instinctiv e an d ghastl y fear , I call i t th e animal fear , th e terro r tha t accompanies , an d eve n signals , a myocardia l crisis. My frien d Roger , no t muc h younge r tha n I , fel l unexpectedl y il l no t long ag o an d calle d m e wit h a questio n a s soo n a s h e wa s hom e fro m hospital. "Torn, " h e said, "what' s th e matter wit h these bodies of ours? " I heard mysel f answer : "Roger , th e warranties hav e ru n out. " I live no w wit h n o guarantees, proceeding a t m y ow n risk . This i s me here, no t anybod y else . Leas t o f al l i s i t th e ma n o f renow n I was onc e supposed t o be , o r migh t hav e been , th e mythica l ma n whos e realit y needed confirmatio n i n the eyes of beholders , the man who , like the Go d of hi s youth, wanted nothin g s o much a s praise. One o f m y visitor s th e afternoo n befor e surger y wa s m y niece , a young woma n who , lovin g m e very much , cam e t o se e how I was doin g and t o wis h m e well . Bu t i t soo n becam e apparen t tha t sh e wa s i n grea t

Growing Up Christian and Male 6 distress ove r my ordeal, was quakin g wit h fea r tha t somethin g woul d g o wrong, an d ha d come , i n fact , a s muc h t o b e comforted a s t o comfort . I felt he r nee d weighin g upo n me , knew tha t th e only way t o lif t i t off wa s to b e honest wit h her . "Betty Ann, " I said , "le t m e tel l yo u wha t I hav e com e t o realize , lying her e thinkin g abou t ho w the y ar e goin g t o pu t m e t o slee p i n th e morning, an d cu t m e ope n righ t dow n th e middl e o f m y chest , sprea d me apart lik e a clamshell [th e image m y cardiologist ha d used] , and tak e my insides out, an d wor k m e over, try to jump-star t m y heart again , an d if tha t works , se w m e u p an d sen d m e t o Recover y an d hop e I mak e i t through th e night. " She shuddered an d hel d bac k tears . "I've com e t o realiz e tw o things, " I wen t on . "On e i s tha t wha t happens tomorro w i s entirel y ou t o f m y control . It' s lik e gettin g o n a commercial airplane . Onc e yo u decid e t o ge t o n board , yo u hav e t o le t somebody els e do th e flying, whethe r the y cras h i t o r not . An d th e othe r thing is , I know tha t I am i n good hands. " "You trus t th e surgeo n tha t much? " "I've bee n tol d he' s a s goo d a s the y come , an d I lik e him . S o that' s part o f wha t I mean. " "What d o yo u mean? " "I mea n tha t eve n i f h e louse s up . Eve n i f h e get s i n ther e an d something goe s wrong . N o matte r what . I kno w tha t I a m i n goo d hands. . . . " Silence. Sh e looke d a t m e lon g an d hard , an d the n fo r th e firs t tim e she too k a dee p breath . Ther e wa s a sigh . W e sa t wordles s fo r a time , until a t las t sh e stoo d up , an d I go t ou t o f be d an d walke d he r t o th e door, an d sh e kissed m e an d touche d m y cheek an d wen t home . It i s no t renow n o n whic h I rel y today . No t m y own , an d no t God's. B y th e sam e token , i t i s no t God' s omnipotence , fo r whic h H E (emphatically HE ) wa s famous , bu t whic h wa s alway s chimerical . Fo r me an d countles s other s th e omnipotenc e o f Go d di d no t surviv e th e Holocaust. Th e hand s o f Go d ar e good , bu t the y canno t d o everything . Today, i t is enough fo r m e if they jus t d o something . They hol d me . The y cares s me . The y bea r m e up . The y wip e awa y tears—my ow n an d God' s ow n an d thos e o f th e dea d an d dyin g i n Haiti, whom I love. In workshop s I hav e ofte n aske d a roomfu l o f peopl e t o clos e thei r

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eyes, mil l about , an d find someone' s righ t han d t o hold . The n I as k them, thei r eye s still closed , whethe r the y kno w whos e han d i t is . If not , I as k whethe r the y kno w th e han d t o b e tha t o f a ma n o r a woman . In most cases , the y canno t tell . Whe n I bi d the m t o ope n thei r eyes , the y look i n wonderment . The hand s o f Go d ar e full y gendered , becaus e the y ar e a s rea l t o m e as huma n hands . Bu t I cannot tel l wha t gende r the y are . I can onl y tel l how expressiv e they feel , an d ho w I long, every now an d again , for the m to touc h me .

REFERENCES

Barstow, Anne L. 1978. "The Uses of Archaeology for Women's History: James Mellaart's Wor k o n a Neolithi c Goddes s Cul t a t Cata l Huyuk. " Feminist Studies 4 (October). . 198 3 [1978] . "Earl y Goddes s Religions. " In An Introduction to the Religion of the Goddess, ed. Carl Olson. New York: Crossroad. Berger, Pete r L. , an d Thoma s Luckmann . 1966 . The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Doubleday. Driver, Tom F. 1981. Christ in a Changing World: Toward an Ethical Christology. New York: Crossroad. . 199 0 [1977] . Patterns of Grace: The Word of God as Human Experience. Reprint, New York: Union Theological Seminary. Original edition, San Francisco: Harper 6 c Row. . 1991 . The Magic of Ritual: Our Need for Liberating Rites That Transform Our Lives and Our Communities. San Francisco: HarperCollins. Millett, Kate. 1990 [1970]. Sexual Politics. New York: Simon 6c Schuster. Nelson, James B. 1978. Embodiment: An Approach to Sexuality and Christian Theology. New York: Pilgrim Press. . 1983 . Between Two Gardens: Reflections on Sexuality and Religious Experience. Ne w York: Pilgrim Press. . 1988 . The Intimate Connection: Male Sexuality and Masculine Spirituality. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. . 1992 . Body Theology. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Kno x Press. Stoltenberg, John . 199 0 [1989] . Refusing to Be a Man: Essays on Sex and Justice. New York: Meridian. . 1993 . The End of Manhood: A Book for Men of Conscience. Ne w York: Dutton. Weiner, Annett e B . 198 3 [1976] . Women of Value, Men of Renown: New Perspectives in Trobriand Exchange. Austin : University of Texas Press.

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History sometime s flows i n violen t eddie s an d swirlin g cur rents. Th e historica l strea m o f tim e tha t create d a "Ne w World " fo r European immigrant s swep t Africa n America n me n an d wome n int o places o f profoun d exploitation , sacrifice , an d ye t unquenchabl e love . While European s wer e fleeing fro m religiou s tyrann y an d oppression , they se t themselve s a s master s an d mistresse s o f dark-skinne d slaves . Former peasants , outcasts , an d eve n prisoner s coul d becom e th e ruler s and dominator s o f black-skinne d bodie s i n th e "Ne w World " o f America. Th e dominatio n tha t wa s achieve d ove r th e mind s an d bodie s of enslave d African s wa s neve r a s complet e a s slaver s imagined , bu t i t was systemic, pervasive, and effectiv e i n perpetuating itsel f fro m 161 9 t o 1865. In orde r t o understan d ho w Africa n America n mal e bodie s ar e per ceived i n th e contemporar y post-moder n worl d a s site s o f labor , instru ments o f pleasure , o r vengefu l entertainment , w e mus t loo k a t th e inter action o f thre e factors: (1 ) how blac k bodie s were understoo d b y whites, (2.) ho w black s image d ourselves , an d (3 ) th e rol e religio n played , bot h positively an d negatively . I t is important t o excavat e th e socia l discours e Reprinted b y permissio n o f Fortres s Pres s fro m XODU S by Gart h Baker-Fletcher , copyright © Augsburg Fortress. 65

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of institutionalize d slaver y fro m whic h negativ e image s o f th e blac k body wer e constructe d an d exploited . O n th e othe r hand , on e mus t als o understand ho w Africa n America n person s extracte d meanin g fro m those exploitativ e practices , sometime s eve n wrestin g positiv e body valuations fro m th e degrade d an d stereotype d bodilines s o f whit e con struction. Th e rol e tha t religion , particularl y Christianity , playe d i n constructing bot h th e negative discourse of exploitation b y the exploiter s and a positiv e reactio n t o tha t exploitatio n b y th e exploite d canno t b e over-emphasized. I shall examin e i n detai l representativ e document s fo r their theological , Christological , an d ethica l implications . Par t o f th e analysis wil l b e t o sho w ho w certai n myth s o f blac k manhoo d (Samb o and Joh n Henry ) hav e functione d i n a n ambiguou s wa y fo r Africa n American mal e body-self imaging . Part o f the re-constructive an d correc tive tas k thes e ambiguou s legend s requir e i s a groundin g i n th e positiv e power o f th e Hig h John d e Conque r legen d an d th e histori c revolution ary Na t Turner . In conclusion , I shal l presen t a wa y i n whic h Africa n American male s ma y mov e towar d body-sel f affirmation . Suc h a n affir mation i s alread y par t o f th e curren t Africentri c movemen t i n intellec tual, educational , an d churc h circles . Africentricit y i s reall y a cultura l and spiritua l "XODUS " (th e "X " honorin g th e spiritual-cultural journe y of Malcol m X ) awa y fro m European-dominate d space . Africa n Ameri can male s must joi n th e XODUS journey, which require s a reinvigorate d sense o f body-selfhoo d a s w e construc t a spac e suitabl e fo r th e flourishing of th e bodies , souls, minds, and spirit s of al l African peoples .

D o T h e y H a v e Souls ? Notions o f convertin g "heathen " African s t o th e "superior " religio n o f Christianity animate d th e missionar y justificatio n fo r slavery . Note d historian Alber t J . Rabotea u discovere d tha t eve n a s earl y a s th e lat e fifteenth century , a Portugese historian name d Gome s Eannes de Azurar a was providin g a theological justificatio n fo r th e enslavemen t o f African s (Raboteau 1978) . Azurar a note d tha t th e enslavemen t o f African s wa s for thei r "greate r benefi t . . . fo r thoug h thei r bodie s wer e no w brough t into som e subjection , tha t wa s a smal l matte r i n compariso n o f thei r souls, which woul d no w posses s tru e freedo m fo r evermore " (Rabotea u 1978: 96). Notic e tha t Azurar a implie s tha t bringin g bodie s unde r sub -

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 6j jection entail s takin g awa y someone' s bodil y freedom , bu t tha t suc h denial o f bodil y freedo m i s t o b e considere d secondar y t o th e primar y value ("greate r benefit" ) o f possessin g "tru e freedo m fo r evermore " b y converting t o Christianity . Suc h a theologica l construc t assume s thre e things that wer e to becom e fundamental t o Christia n justificatio n fo r th e enslavement o f Africans : i. Th e sou l i s eternal. The sou l i n it s natural stat e i s sinful, separate d from God , threatene d b y eterna l damnation , an d require s salvation . Such salvatio n i s the release o f th e sou l fro m th e bound s o f sin , setting i t free. Therefor e Christia n salvatio n i s a salvatio n o f th e sou l an d no t o f the body . 2. Th e bod y is a container fo r th e soul. It may b e detained o r brough t under th e subjectio n o f whip , chain , an d slavery . Th e bod y i s no t a s important a s th e soul , sinc e i t i s th e sou l tha t i s save d fro m damnatio n and judgment . 3. Slaver y i s theologicall y justifie d becaus e i t bring s th e bodie s an d souls o f heathe n African s t o Christian s fo r th e purpos e o f convertin g them. Azurara's tex t i s representativ e o f ho w bot h th e soul s an d bodie s o f Africans wer e assesse d i n a purel y Eurocentri c valu e system . I n anothe r passage Azurar a constructe d a n implie d hierarch y o f cultur e i n whic h African bodie s were place d a t the leve l of beasts : And s o their lo t wa s no w quit e th e contrary o f wha t i t ha d been ; since befor e they had lived in perdition of soul and body; of their souls, in that they were yet pagans, without the clearness and the light of the holy faith; and of their bodies, in that they lived like beasts, without any custom of reasonable beings—for the y had n o knowledg e o f brea d an d wine , an d the y wer e withou t th e coverin g of clothes, or the lodgement of houses; and worse than all, they had no understanding of good, but only knew how to live in bestial sloth. (Raboteau 1978 : 97) It i s apparen t i n th e abov e quotatio n tha t Azurar a place d Africa n bodies an d soul s o n a lowe r leve l o f valu e tha n Europeans . Th e judg mental notion s tha t African s ha d "n o knowledg e o f brea d an d wine " and wer e withou t coverin g o f clothe s o r lodgemen t o f house s ca n easil y be translate d t o mea n tha t the y di d no t adher e t o Europea n ideal s o f proper food , clothing , and shelter . Notions o f bestialit y tha t connecte d African s wit h havin g n o under standing o f "th e good," however , requir e a nuanced readin g o f what th e good wa s understood t o b e at this time. Azurara's languag e suggests tha t

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at leas t par t o f hi s meanin g o f th e goo d i s t o b e neithe r bestia l no r slothful. Wha t i s unclear i s whether Azurar a mean t t o sa y positively tha t working har d an d behavin g a s a "reasonabl e being " (knowin g ho w t o feed, clothe , an d shelte r oneself ) i s wha t th e goo d reall y is ! Whil e w e would no w generall y conced e tha t thi s wa s a racis t understandin g o f Africans, I assert tha t suc h notion s stil l have currency i n the marketplac e of contemporar y socia l values . A belie f i n th e degradatio n o f Africa n customs, clothing, food , an d relaxe d attitude s towar d wor k ("laziness" ) still infect s th e bod y politi c o f contemporar y whit e Americans . S o whil e most American s migh t disapprov e o f th e kin d o f ras h religiou s judg ments Azurar a made , the y practic e i n thei r everyda y live s th e sam e social-customary condemnation s o f the descendants o f Africans. Th e sit e whereby suc h condemnation s ar e projecte d i s th e Africa n America n (read "black" ) bodies . White American s throughou t th e perio d o f enslavemen t i n the Unite d States struggle d ove r whethe r i t wa s prope r t o Christianiz e Africans . Azurara disconnecte d th e subjection o f African bodie s from th e questio n of whethe r African s ha d souls , fo r h e apparentl y hel d tha t African s di d possess souls . American s seeme d t o sens e tha t bot h proselytizin g an d baptizing African s implie d tha t the y possesse d soul s worth y an d equa l to whit e souls , a sociall y dangerou s proposition . I t wa s dangerou s be cause i t implie d tha t b y possessing soul s equa l t o whites , Africans migh t deserve th e physica l (rea d "bodily" ) freedo m o f whites . American s con nected spiritua l freedo m t o bodil y freedo m i n a wa y tha t Azurar a di d not. Arguing tha t African s possesse d bot h soul s an d bodies , Anglica n bishop Edmun d Gibso n instructe d hi s slave-owner charge s o f the Ameri can "colonies " to : Encourage an d Promot e th e Instructio n o f thei r Negroe s i n th e Christia n fait h . . . t o conside r Them , no t merel y a s Slaves , an d upo n th e sam e leve l wit h Labouring Beasts , bu t a s Men-Slave s an d Women-Slaves , wh o hav e th e sam e Frame and Facultie s with yourselves , and hav e Souls capable of bein g eternally happy, an d Reaso n an d Understandin g t o receiv e Instructio n i n orde r t o it . (Raboteau 1978 : 101) Such a n imperativ e mus t b e understoo d a s se t agains t th e prevailin g opinion abou t th e stat e o f African s a s persons . Fo r man y i n th e earl y American frontier , th e onl y African s wh o wer e no t considere d beastly , crude, possessin g n o soul , an d havin g n o rationa l capacity , wer e thos e

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 69 native-born i n America ! So-calle d importe d African s wer e considere d unreachable. Native-bor n Africans , however, were often raise d as Christians. Accordingly , Christianit y itsel f ha d t o b e modifie d t o accommo date th e egalitaria n evangelica l natur e o f Christianity , whic h implie d that al l person s ha d soul s an d bodie s o f equa l merit . Suc h a vie w o f Christianity contradicte d th e vie w institutiona l slaver y held , tha t blac k bodies wer e beastl y property , an d tha t blac k soul s wer e no t worth y o f serious theological consideration . By th e mid-eighteent h century , wit h th e swellin g tid e o f th e Grea t Awakening arousin g bot h blac k an d whit e souls , Christianit y ha d ac commodated itsel f t o th e socioeconomi c realitie s o f slaver y b y insistin g that religion made slaves better slaves. Such a stance effectively separate d the spiritua l salvatio n an d freedo m o f black s fro m th e releas e o f th e black bodie s fro m physica l bondage . B y th e mid-eighteent h century , Americans ha d finally formulate d th e theologica l justificatio n necessar y to ensur e th e institutiona l longevit y o f slaver y b y separatin g soul-free dom fro m physica l bondage . The Portuges e ha d settle d fo r th e sam e thing comfortably i n the late fifteenth! African American s i n slavery , however , understoo d th e functio n o f Christianity a s "th e release of th e yoke," and "settin g the captives free. " Former slav e Henry Bibb' s critica l 185 2 letter s fro m Canad a t o hi s former master , Albert Sibley , demonstrated a sophistication i n theologi cal reasoning unexpected b y whites. Bibb based his criticism of Sibley o n the latter' s avowe d hig h standin g i n th e Methodis t Churc h a s a teache r of the Bible. Bibb held up a radically different understandin g of Scripture than did Sibley, and in so doing, stood th e contradictory proposition s o f "slaveholding religion " o n their head . Speakin g abou t ho w bot h h e and his brother s ha d ru n awa y fro m physica l an d menta l bondag e afte r serving for over twenty year s "withou t compensation," Bib b asked: Is this incompatible wit h the character of a Bible christian? And yet I suppose that you, with your man robbing possee, have chased them [the brothers] with your dogs and guns, as if they were sheep-killing wolves upon the huge mountain's brow, for the purpose of re-capturing and dragging them back to a mental graveyard, in the name of law and slaveholding religion. (Blassingame 1977: 50) In thi s quotation , Bib b reverse d th e perceptio n o f slave s a s beast s implied i n th e phras e "sheep-killin g wolves. " Instead , whit e male s wit h dogs and guns were morally reprove d a s being evil hunters i n the phrase

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"man-robbing possee. " Th e evi l o f thes e hunters , fo r Bibb , wa s thei r acting o n behal f o f th e accepte d la w an d slaveholdin g religio n o f th e United States . Bibb attacked th e Methodist Churc h wit h hi s own biblica l exegesis i n the following : Oh! wha t harmon y ther e seem s t o b e betwee n thes e twi n sisters ; the Fugitiv e Slave Law and the Methodist E. Church. —Listen to the language of inspiration: "Feed the hungry, and clothe the naked: "Break every yoke and let the oppressed go free:" "All things, whatsoever y e would tha t me n should do unto you, do ye even so unto them, for this is the law and the prophets." (Blassingame 1977 : 50) Notice ho w Bib b use d a combinatio n o f propheti c injunction s wit h the Golde n Rul e t o mak e hi s point . H e identifie d slave s a s bein g th e same a s th e oppresse d o f biblica l injunction . Wit h thi s analog y drawn , Bibb demonstrate d ho w eve n th e centra l mora l teachin g o f Christian ity—The Golde n Rule—coul d b e applie d t o condem n th e institutio n o f slavery. H e wen t o n t o presen t hi s mos t devastatin g critiqu e o f th e Methodist Church : While on th e othe r han d you r church sanction s th e buyin g and sellin g of men , women, and children : the robbin g me n of thei r wives, and parent s of thei r off spring—the violatio n of the whole of the decalogue, by permitting the profana tion o f the Sabbath; committing o f theft, murder , incest , and adultery , which is constantly done by church members holding slaves and form th e very essence of slavery. Now, Sir , allo w m e with th e greates t deferenc e t o you r intelligenc e t o inform yo u that you are miserably deceiving yourself, if you believe that you are in th e straigh t an d narro w pat h t o heaven , whils t yo u ar e practisin g suc h abominable violation s o f th e plaines t precept s o f religion . (Blassingam e 1977 : 50-51) What i s particularl y strikin g abou t thes e passage s wa s Bibb' s abilit y to self-consciousl y contras t th e perceptions o f beastlines s projecte d upo n African descendant s wit h hi s jeremia d agains t th e mora l repugnanc y o f slaveholders. Bibb's us e of th e biblica l phras e "brea k ever y yoke , and le t the oppressed g o free" x reveals a profound understandin g o f the connection betwee n physica l bondag e an d th e yokin g o f th e mind . H e insiste d that slaver y wa s a "menta l graveyard, " a willfu l destructio n o f "socia l happiness" (Blassingam e 1977 : 55) , a s wel l a s a crue l institutio n tha t had broke n th e physica l constitutio n o f hi s mother . Bib b buil t a kin d o f legal cas e agains t Sibley , an d i n s o doing , wov e a mantl e o f accusatio n against th e abusivenes s o f slavery : mental , emotional , physical , an d spiritual. Finally , Bib b demonstrate d ho w ther e wa s a connectio n be -

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 7 tween th e tenet s o f slaveholdin g religio n an d the psychic-physical abus e of blac k bodies .

S a m b o th e Entertaine r The peculia r exploitative twis t o f Africa n America n male bodie s may b e revealed i n th e three-hundred-yea r caree r o f th e entertaine r figure o f Sambo. Whil e blac k femal e bodie s wer e ofte n force d t o submi t t o th e desires fo r sexua l "entertainment " o f whit e male s i n violent rape , blac k male bodie s entertaine d throug h self-ridicule , jokes , tom-foolery , an d dancing. Th e degradatio n o f bot h gender s wa s relate d i n a profoun d way to social constructs of maleness and femaleness. The reputed virginity, sexual "purity, " and "tru e womanhood" attribute d to white wome n were degraded in black women b y systematic rape , involuntary concubi nage, and the loss o f sexua l contro l ove r their own bodies . The qualitie s of power , control , reason , an d socia l pois e attribute d t o whit e mal e slaveholders (rememberin g tha t eve n poo r whit e male s wer e exempte d from this dignity) were denied black males , as in the childish, emotional , and silly behavior of th e Sambo character. Even the naming o f a black clown characte r was a process of system atic humiliatio n o f Africa n maleness . Samb o wa s th e nam e i n th e eigh teenth and nineteenth centuries for male slaves who danced and clowned for th e entertainmen t o f whites . Severa l othe r name s wer e regiona l favorites: "John, " "George, " "Pompey, " "Sam, " "Uncl e Tom," "Uncl e Remus," an d "Rastus. " Fo r femal e slave s certai n name s becam e "fash ionable," suc h a s "Diana, " "Mandy, " "Dar k Mear, " Brow n Sugar, " "Auntie," an d "Aun t Jemima. " Th e familia l titl e "Uncle " o r "Aunt " was give n t o slave s wh o ha d a hierarchica l relationshi p t o th e masters . The nam e "Sambo " itsel f apparentl y ha s som e Wes t Africa n roots , having a neutra l meanin g fo r th e Haus a peopl e ("secon d son, " "Nam e given t o anyon e calle d Muhammadu, " an d "nam e o f a spirit"), a nam e of disgrac e an d shame fo r th e Mende an d Vai peoples, and even a name of "on e i n power. " Evidentl y th e derogator y namin g o f Samb o aros e from bot h Englis h cultur e wher e "Sam " wa s a nam e use d ofte n fo r a comic, an d "zambo " i n Spanish . Zamb o refer s t o " a perso n wh o i s bowlegged o r knock-kneed," o r " a type o f monkey " (Boski n 1986 : 3 4 38). The referenc e connectin g blac k mal e bodie s an d enforce d comica l

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behavior t o tha t o f a monkey—animal-like—wa s intentional . Europe ans had calle d Congoles e African s "macaques, " o r rhesu s monkeys , as a way o f deridin g thei r humanity . Suc h namin g questione d whethe r Afri cans coul d b e considere d full y huma n an d misperceive d thei r bodil y movements a s less than human . Was Samb o a rea l flesh an d bloo d character ? Throug h a strang e mixture o f contemp t an d admiration—sinc e white s enjoye d seein g thei r slaves dance , sing , an d mak e merriment—th e Samb o characte r becam e a pervers e socio-cultura l product . Eve n in the early 1700 s the dancin g o f slaves "mad e u s pastime " accordin g t o th e captai n o f a slave-shi p (Boskin 1986 : 44) . Viewin g th e obviou s jo y o f th e dancin g captives , several captor s note d wit h deligh t tha t thes e slave s demonstrate d plea sure, satisfaction , an d a goo d nature—suitabl e qualitie s fo r slaves ! Sambo wa s a blen d o f actua l bodil y gyrations , mimickin g sounds , an d rollicking laughter, observe d b y white captors an d attribute d t o a stereotyped Africa n behavior . Whites wer e strangel y draw n an d repulse d a t th e sam e tim e b y th e ecstasy o f th e dances , th e fervo r o f th e humor , an d hig h volum e o f African laughter . Eve n int o th e eighteent h an d nineteent h centuries , th e "passionate guffaw " o f black s puzzled , delighted , an d offende d whites . For white s accustome d t o puritanica l notion s o f moderation , seri ousness, an d restraint , "th e blac k laug h appeare d . . . too vigorous , to o unrestrained, an d connote d frivolit y an d immediacy " (Boski n 1986 : 66). The stereotyp e o f th e Africa n mal e a s a clown , performer , a figure whose sol e purpos e i n lif e wa s t o entertai n white s "too k roo t i n whit e consciousness i n th e pre-Revolutionar y period " (Boski n 1986 : 67). Those black s wh o seeme d t o hav e a talen t fo r provokin g th e humo r o f whites wer e carefull y cultivate d an d feverishl y employe d a s par t o f th e popular show s o f tha t time . Legendar y figures suc h a s "Ol d Kin g Char lie" an d "Reveren d Jonatha n Todd " wer e know n t o entertai n whit e adults an d childre n fo r hour s a t a time . Sambo di d no t becom e a permanen t par t o f Nort h America n cultur e until th e characte r wa s writte n int o th e structur e o f travelin g shows , light operas , an d comedies . Fro m th e lat e eighteent h centur y int o th e mid-twentieth century , Samb o wa s i n fac t a black-face d caricatur e o f African male s performe d mostl y b y whites . Whil e Souther n white s ha d slaves t o entertai n them , th e black-face d whit e mal e wa s introduce d i n

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 7 the Nort h first (Boski n 1986 : 69) . Dresse d i n extremel y outlandis h costumes, speaking in exaggerated dialec t take n t o b e that o f a "Negro, " the minstre l becam e a permanen t fixture i n America n entertainment . Often minstre l show s woul d ridicul e blac k illiterac y b y givin g th e char acter th e nam e "professor, " an d denigrat e blac k intelligenc e wit h lon g discourses, such a s the following : I hab come, as you all know, from 'wa y down in ole Warginna, whar I studded edicashun and siance all for myself, to gib a corse of lectures on siance gineraly, an events promiscously, as dey time to time occur. De letter ob invite I receibed from d e komitee from di s unlitened city, was full ob flattery as a gemman ob my great discernment, edication, definement, an d research could wish. 2 Eric Lot t (1993 ) believe s tha t Samb o minstrels y owe d muc h mor e t o the Punch-and-Jud y an d Britis h clow n traditio n tha n t o th e anima l tale s and trickste r tradition s o f Africa n origin . Lot t claim s tha t th e tw o mos t highly recognizabl e figures o n stages—th e plantatio n rusti c (Ji m Crow ) and th e urban dand y (Zi p Coon)—ow e muc h o f their bluster , exaggera tion, an d bravad o t o popular Southwester n mythologica l figures suc h a s Davy Crocket t an d Mik e Fin k performe d wit h a n exaggerate d Negr o dialect. This ridiculing of blac k males , according t o Lott , allowe d white s a "blac k mas k . . . t o pla y wit h collectiv e fear s o f a degrade d an d threatening—and male—Othe r whil e a t th e sam e tim e maintainin g some symboli c control ove r them " (1993 : 22) . Lott provocativel y suggest s tha t th e exaggerate d bodilines s o f th e Sambo minstrel—especiall y dresse d i n a long , loudlycolore d tailcoat , implied whit e male' s obsession wit h a "rampageou s blac k penis " (1993 : 25). I n languag e colore d b y a cultura l anthropologist' s sensitivit y t o symbolism, Lot t says : As Elliso n put s it , "Th e Mas k wa s th e thin g (th e 'thing ' i n mor e way s tha n one)." Bold swagger, irrepressible desire, sheer bodily display: in a real sense the minstrel ma n wa s th e penis , tha t orga n returnin g i n a variet y o f contexts , a t times ludicrous, at others rather less so. (1993: 2.6) If Lot t i s movin g i n th e righ t direction , the n i t woul d b e fai r t o sa y that th e blac k ma n represente d b y whit e me n playin g blac k me n wa s a "man o n display. " Thi s male , o n displa y fo r publi c consumptio n an d amusement, provide d a kin d o f ultimat e symbo l o f th e blac k mal e bod y and o f blac k sexuality . I t wa s a sexualit y tha t wa s bol d an d threatenin g

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on th e on e hand , an d laughabl y ridiculou s o n th e other . Th e clownin g and dancin g dimensio n o f performanc e too k th e fearfu l threa t away , removing dignit y an d authenticit y a t th e sam e time . Black-faced comed y wa s me t i n th e blac k communit y wit h greatl y ambiguous feelings . Josep h Boski n ha s note d tha t durin g th e perio d o f slavery humo r wa s an acceptabl e wa y fo r white s and black s t o lesse n th e tremendous socia l chas m betwee n them . Using Sigmund Freud' s concep t of humo r a s "wholl y a socia l proces s wherei n th e share d experience s o f the participant s enabl e the m t o aggres s and/o r regres s together, " Boski n claims that humorou s interchange s acknowledge d white s a s possessing a superior socia l locatio n whil e a t th e sam e tim e "black s wer e abl e t o develop a repertoir e o f retaliator y humo r t o partiall y offse t thei r situa tion" (Boski n 1986 : 58-59) . I f black s wer e allowe d a "saf e space " through cleve r form s o f retaliator y humor , the n w e ar e stil l lef t wit h th e question o f whethe r Samb o coul d articulat e tha t kin d o f humo r o r not . For thi s autho r i t i s apparen t tha t Sambo' s antic s an d humo r wer e designed specificall y fo r whit e amusemen t b y hi s lon g articulation s o f exaggerated self-deprecation . Further , th e figure Sambo , create d wit h greasepaint an d burn t cork , provide d to o smal l o f a spac e fo r a satisfac tory retaliatio n agains t whit e racism , eve n i f som e black s wer e playe d out Africa n trickste r tale s which were then symbolize d a s tales of Sambo . Black ambiguit y towar d Sambo , Jim Crow , Zi p Coon , an d th e hos t of clown s becam e mor e comple x fro m th e lat e nineteent h centur y int o the twentiet h century . O n th e on e hand , b y th e tur n o f th e centur y th e minstrel show s opene d u p opportunitie s fo r black s t o compos e origina l ragtime music . O n th e othe r hand , becaus e th e black-face d style—wit h its exaggerate d facia l paintin g o f whit e an d re d se t agains t a charcoa l black—was hegemonic , blac k troupe s wer e force d t o wea r th e blac k make-up! (Boski n 1986 : 85 ) S o a strang e phenomeno n develope d wher e authentically blac k performer s ha d t o imitat e whit e male s in black-face d imitations o f blac k life . Th e celebrator y physicalit y o f Africa n dancing , and it s enormou s creativ e energ y coul d b e subtl y introduce d int o th e dancing o f clow n minstrels y b y blac k performers . In fact , black s refine d clown performanc e wit h th e addin g o f "splits , jumps , an d cabrioles " (Boskin 1986 : 84). Black minstrel s wove such current innovation s a s th e "jog, buck-and-wing, Virgini a 'essence, ' sof t shoe , and stop-tim e dance " (8$) int o their shows . Even i f w e examin e popula r show s o f th e 1950s , suc h a s "Amos-n -

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 7 Andy," th e 1970 s antics o f Jimmy Walker i n television's "Goo d Times, " and mor e recentl y th e swagge r o f Marti n Lawrenc e i n "Martin, " o r th e antics o f "Urkel " i n "Famil y Matters, " 3 w e se e th e Samb o characte r still ver y muc h aliv e an d well . Whil e minstre l show s wer e labele d a s racist an d eliminate d i n th e 1960s , i t i s apparen t tha t th e residu e o f a centuries-old caricatur e remain s firmly plante d i n th e America n mind . When whit e Americans ar e draw n t o a blac k mal e entertaine r (o r femal e for tha t matter!) , mos t ofte n i t i s thei r self-deprecating , exaggerate d dialect, brigh t mismatche d clothes , an d swaggerin g bodil y movement s that kee p the m popular . Suc h characteristic s ar e th e archetypa l qualitie s of Sambo , who live s on a s a living symbol i n the entertainment world . Moving beyon d analyzin g th e entertainment world , ther e i s a surpris ing retentio n o f Sambo' s threatening/ridiculou s sexualit y i n whites ' per ceptions o f blac k males , whic h deserve s ou r attention . W e mus t di g beneath th e appearanc e o f "integration " a t jobsite s an d examin e th e fabric o f white-blac k relationships . Contemporar y blac k male s ar e ste reotyped int o two possibl e roles i n our relationship s with whites . We ar e perceived a s eithe r threatenin g becaus e ou r language , gestures , bodil y movement, an d demeano r ar e no t submissiv e an d entertaining , o r funn y because w e continu e th e bodil y movement s an d humo r o f Sambo . Bot h of these perceptions ar e strangely attractive and repulsiv e to most whites , mixed togethe r a t th e sam e time . Th e underlyin g trut h i s tha t blacks , male o r female , ar e perceive d a s threatenin g t o white s becaus e w e per ceive ourselve s a s genuinel y equal , whethe r w e ac t i n a threatenin g manner o r not . The Samb o figure, i f w e tak e Lot t seriously , wa s a peni s walkin g around o n stag e wh o ye t symbolize d reassurin g contro l o f tha t penis . If we examin e th e stereotypica l reaction s mos t Africa n America n male s receive fro m whites , the n i t i s no t a n exaggeratio n t o clai m tha t eve n now w e ar e perceive d t o b e Threatenin g Penise s Wh o Nee d Whit e Control. Africa n America n male s wh o ar e outspoke n an d no t funn y ar e ostracized fro m whit e society an d "proper " blac k middle-clas s societ y a s being too radica l (rea d "threatening") . Th e purporte d sexua l prowes s o f black males, more fiction tha n truth , become s the invisible "spoo k sittin g at the door" o f ever y encounter wit h whites . If Samb o i s indee d a permanen t fixture i n whit e America' s socia l mind, the n i t i s u p t o Africa n American s t o reconfigur e tha t imag e i n ways tha t ar e helpfu l t o us . We must pu t togethe r th e shattere d piece s of

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humanity tha t mak e u p th e traditiona l Samb o i n a ne w fashion . Surely , we mus t eliminat e mos t o f thos e pieces ! W e woul d hav e t o eliminat e his servile , self-deprecating , self-ridiculin g speec h an d mannerisms . Ou r deconstruction woul d hav e to challenge bot h whit e Americans an d blac k Americans t o debunk , unmask , an d disentangle 4 th e we b o f manipula tive cultura l productio n tha t ha s kep t Samb o aliv e a s a funn y man . After deconstructin g th e traditiona l Sambo , a positiv e reconstructio n o f Sambo coul d us e hi s qualitie s o f humo r a s a wa y o f bluntin g th e threat ening powe r o f outspoke n blac k mal e presence . A new Samb o construc tion woul d hid e allegedl y threatenin g qualitie s behin d swagger , outland ishness, an d outrageou s bravado . Samb o a s a genuin e psychologica l mask seem s necessar y fo r mos t white s wh o gras p a t th e ide a tha t th e United State s i s n o longe r racist . A mask , o r maskin g behavior , seem s appropriate i f there i s no othe r mean s fo r gettin g a t th e trut h o f racism' s persistence. To posses s a sharp socia l rhetori c an d critiqu e of racism tha t is als o humorou s ma y provid e a significan t contributio n towar d a ne w view o f Africa n America n maleness . Suc h qualitie s hav e surface d mo mentarily i n man y o f th e comedian s wh o cam e t o th e for e i n th e 1960 s such a s Richar d Pryor , Red d Foxx , an d Bil l Cosby . Th e ribald , hit-and miss, exaggerate d comed y o f th e controversia l progra m In Living Color reveals tha t Africa n American s ma y ye t b e finding way s t o reconstruc t Sambo i n a wa y tha t addresse s whit e racism . I f Samb o i s a permanen t fixture i n America n consciousness , fo r goo d an d fo r ill , the n intelligen t African American s wil l hav e t o wres t som e hidde n positiv e potentia l meaning ou t o f th e archetype . J o h n Henr y th e W o r k e r The legen d o f John Henr y ha s actual histori c root s i n the lat e nineteent h century. Briefl y retold , Joh n Henr y wa s a miracl e bab y wh o wa s bor n with " a hamme r i n hi s hand. " Abl e t o d o a "man' s da y o f work " a t a n early age , h e astonishe d hi s parent s an d communit y wit h outstandin g feats o f strength . Leavin g home , Joh n Henry' s feat s o f strengt h an d endurance multiplied . Onc e h e single-handedl y turne d th e paddle-whee l of a steam-boa t tha t ha d broken , bringin g th e passenger s safel y t o shor e after turnin g th e whee l throug h a long , fogg y night . Anothe r time , John Henry lai d mor e trac k tha n an y othe r worke r i n a day' s stretch . Th e climax o f th e legend , o f course , i s th e competitio n betwee n Joh n Henr y

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 77 and a steam-dril l i n seein g which on e woul d tunne l throug h a mountai n first. Th e rapi d blow s o f Joh n Henry' s hamme r prove d mor e powerfu l than tha t o f th e machine's , bu t i n th e end , "H e lai d dow n hi s hamme r and h e died," a s the concluding lyri c of th e folkson g reports . There ar e profoundl y Christologica l overtone s i n th e Joh n Henr y legend tha t canno t b e ignored . Positively , Joh n Henr y wa s a kin d o f Black Sufferin g Servan t whos e wor k wa s aide d b y supernatural strength . Born wit h miraculou s powe r i n hi s body , John Henr y use d hi s hamme r as a n instrumen t o f creativity . I n th e paddleboa t incident , John Henry' s physical powe r becam e a forc e o f deliverance , savin g th e live s o f thos e who neede d hi s assistance . There ar e negativ e Christologica l overtone s a s well. Instea d o f Chris t as a Conquerin g Her o ridin g o n a whit e hors e (a s i n th e Boo k o f Revelation), John Henr y yielde d a hammer. John Henry' s hammer , how ever, di d no t strik e blow s fo r th e freedo m an d justic e o f hi s people . Instead, Joh n Henry' s powe r wa s subjugate d an d mad e int o a n instru mentality o f America n industria l progress . Th e trai n wa s a primar y symbol o f nineteenth-centur y progres s i n th e legen d o f Joh n Henry , requiring th e absolute , unswervin g powe r an d devotio n o f al l o f th e man's lif e energies . A s Chris t die d fo r ou r sin s s o tha t w e migh t live , John Henr y die d openin g u p a wa y throug h mountainou s obstacle s s o that th e railroa d coul d mov e forward . Joh n Henry' s supernatura l energ ies are controlled, tamed , an d channele d b y the greate r unsee n Powe r o f American Migh t whic h require d tha t h e becom e th e sacrificia l Lam b i n this legend . Unlike th e passio n o f Christ , Joh n Henry' s sweat , life-blood , an d body di d no t regenerat e afte r a perio d o f time . John Henr y di d no t ris e again. Hi s power , hi s talents , an d hi s contributio n ar e use d u p i n on e final gloriou s display , tunnelin g throug h a mountain . Hi s "grea t heart " is mentioned nea r th e end o f th e legen d a s bein g broken . Ye t the rendin g of Joh n Henry' s hear t di d no t resul t i n a cosmi c releas e o f resurrectiv e energy. John Henr y simpl y lai d dow n hi s hammer an d died . John Henr y i s a repressiv e myth , a legen d o f a Curbe d Passio n wit h his blac k physica l power s safel y corralle d int o a final momen t o f servi tude, and the n throw n away . John Henr y a s Black Sufferin g Servan t die s for th e Almight y Whit e Man/Maste r whos e invisibl e presenc e an d wil l demands th e ultimat e sacrific e withou t utterin g a word . Th e wil l o f thi s Master Go d i s enacte d a t th e pric e o f a supernaturall y powerfu l blac k

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male wh o give s u p his life i n order t o d o "th e Master' s will " ( a favorit e phrase in black Gospe l songs) . John Henry as Suffering Servan t suggests a perverse social interpreta tion o f wha t theologian s cal l "subordinationis t Christology " wher e Christ submit s hi s lif e t o th e overwhelmin g wil l an d pla n o f Go d th e Father. I n th e legen d o f Joh n Henry , th e wil l an d pla n o f th e Whit e Master/God i s t o g o b y an y mean s an d t o an y lengt h necessar y fo r th e railroad train s t o hav e transcontinenta l access . John Henr y i s but a tool in th e hand s o f thi s Master , a mean s whereb y th e grac e o f industria l progress migh t mov e everlastingl y towar d th e eschaton o f universa l profit. Ther e ca n b e n o hop e fo r John Henry' s life , fo r hi s lif e doe s no t belong to him, just as Christ's life di d not belong to Him, but to God (i n a subordinationis t Christology) . Suc h a visio n o f Chris t tend s t o tur n God int o a cosmi c Tyrant , demandin g th e sacrific e o f Hi s onl y son . I t instrumentalizes Christ' s life, turning all of th e choices o f Jesus of Naza reth int o th e pre-planne d move s o f a hol y automaton . Similarly , Joh n Henry's choices for serving and saving other lives while ultimately giving up hi s ow n ar e neve r calle d int o question , sinc e the y appea r t o b e following faithfull y som e grea t hidde n plan . However , Joh n Henry' s self-sacrifice doe s no t lea d t o a glorious resurrection : he just dies . It is a tragedy. The subordinationist Chris t does rise again, and there is a sense of God' s ultimate justice. Where is God's justice, power, and vindication for John Henry? In our contemporary worl d w e ar e given might y examples o f Africa n American male s wh o displa y amazin g physica l strength . Fro m th e hig h leaps o f "Air " Michael Jorda n i n basketbal l t o th e rocket-lik e spee d o f runner Car l Lewis , Africa n America n male s ar e given muc h encourage ment to develop their physical prowes s fo r th e purpose o f athleti c fame . One popular TV commercial proclaim s that "B o knows." The characte r referred to , B o Jackson, ha s playe d professiona l basebal l an d football . He is also a leading track athlete , and has skill i n several othe r areas. Bo was severel y injure d i n th e hi p durin g a footbal l game , an d al l o f th e authorities predicte d tha t hi s sport s caree r wa s finished. H e ha d give n his mind , body , skill , an d styl e t o severa l differen t arena s o f athleti c prowess, an d ha d becom e a symbo l o f excellence . Ye t wit h thi s injury , and th e resultin g artificia l hi p implan t operation , h e was condemne d t o the ignomin y o f a grea t "ha s been. " However , unlik e Joh n Henry , B o did no t sta y dead , bu t pushe d himsel f beyon d th e norma l limit s o f

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 79 human endurance , pain , an d exertio n t o com e bac k a s a designated hitter for baseball' s White So x team. Bo hit a home ru n the first time h e returned t o bat ! S o the legen d o f B o Jackson i s ongoing . Wil l hi s resurrection b e a n inspiratio n fo r othe r injure d person s wh o hav e bee n cast away a s useless , o r wil l h e give u p his lif e tragically , a s the John Henry legend grimly proclaims? Will he break the self-sacrificial mode l of blac k male achievemen t glorifie d i n Joh n Henr y an d becom e a new , mor e satisfying myth ? Deeper questions are suggested beyon d the current resurrection of the highly marketabl e "Bo. " Even i f "B o doesn' t know " everything , wh y i s it tha t he , lik e Joh n Henry , ha s bee n require d t o b e a sacrificia l hero ? What inne r compulsions , fears , an d need s drov e B o t o aris e fro m th e "tomb" o f anonymity , o r was i t just that ther e wa s to o muc h money t o be gained if he tried? If Bo had tried and failed, or if his current try turns into a failure, wil l i t not reinforc e th e powe r o f th e John Henry legend , especially fo r Africa n America n males ? These question s ca n lea d us int o a deepe r nee d fo r a critica l deconstructiv e strateg y whos e ai m i s t o destroy th e strongholds o f th e White Master' s financial will i n order fo r African America n bodie s t o b e given respec t and esteem outsid e o f thei r instrumentality. Africa n America n male s canno t wai t fo r th e Whit e Master to deliver our bodies to us, for when "He " is finished, it's always after ou r energies , strength , an d productivity hav e bee n exhausted . Ou r bodies mus t b e reclaimed a s sacred spac e belongin g t o non e othe r than , God, ourselves, and our communities. In orde r fo r a reconstructiv e effor t t o begin , a fe w example s fro m African America n mal e histor y ma y b e chose n t o provid e a sturd y foundation. Thi s particula r foundatio n wil l b e buil t o n th e imaginativ e trickster legend of High John de Conquer, and the visionary, revolution ary leader Nat Turner.

High Joh n d e Conque r High Joh n d e Conque r i s a uniquel y Africa n America n mythologica l figure. Although his legend was conveyed originally in black oral culture, the preeminen t cultura l anthropologis t an d folkloris t Zor a Neal e Hurs ton too k dow n severa l tale s attribute d t o Hig h John a s narrate d t o he r by "Aun t Shad y Ann e Sutton. " Hursto n believe d tha t th e figure Hig h

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John d e Conque r provide d a n endurin g gif t o f laughte r an d "sourc e o f courage" t o th e United State s (Hughe s an d Bontemp s 1959 : 102) . High John d e Conquer ha d a supernatural beginning , arising from th e sorrows, pain , an d enslavemen t o f hi s Africa n childre n i n America . Hurston write s abou t Hig h John's origin s thi s way : High Joh n cam e t o b e a man , an d a might y ma n a t that . Bu t h e wa s no t a natural man in the beginning. First off, h e was a whisper, a will to hope, a wish to find something worthy of laughter and song. Then the whisper put on flesh. His footstep s sounde d acros s th e worl d i n a lo w bu t musica l rhyth m a s i f th e world h e walked o n wa s a singing-drum Hig h John d e Conquer wa s a ma n in full, an d ha d com e to live and work on the plantations, and all the slave folks know him in the flesh. (Hughes and Bontemps 1959 : 93; emphasis mine) The invisible/visibl e incarnationa l elemen t o f Hig h Joh n ha s obviou s Christlike resonances . Hig h John' s powe r wa s enfleshe d fo r th e slaves , who recognize d hi m a s a "man " wh o worke d an d live d wit h the m o n the plantations . The y recognize d th e presenc e o f Hig h Joh n throug h hi s sign whic h wa s " a laugh , an d hi s singing-symbo l wa s a drumbeat. " Th e two signs , a laug h an d a drum-beat , wer e take n a s symbol s o f th e irrepressibility an d unquenchabl e qualitie s o f Hig h Joh n b y th e slaves . White slavemaster s misunderstoo d bot h signs , however . Fo r them , th e laughter o f slave s wa s a sig n o f thei r happy-go-lucky , good-natured , and childis h character , whil e th e drumbea t wa s a sig n o f impendin g insurrection, unrest , an d trouble . Hig h Joh n symbolize d a qualit y o f character tha t coul d "bea t th e unbeatable, " tha t wa s "top-superio r t o the whol e mes s o f sorrow " i n th e slave s live s (Hughe s an d Bontemp s 1959: 93-94) . Th e laughte r an d th e drumbea t wer e bu t sign s o f th e presence o f thes e courageou s qualitie s whic h th e slave s too k t o b e th e spirit o f Hig h John . High Joh n wa s a spiri t withi n th e slave s whic h aros e fro m Africa . In Hurston's account , "Distanc e an d th e impossibl e ha d n o powe r ove r High Joh n d e Conquer. " Thu s Hig h Joh n responde d t o th e crie s o f oppressed Africans . Lik e the Jesus o f the Gospels , "H e cam e walking o n the waves of sound . Then h e took o n flesh after h e got ther e [America]. " High John rod e th e "wave s o f sound " o f Africa n pai n an d hope , follow ing th e slav e ship s b y flying ove r the m "lik e th e albatross " ridin g th e winds. Further , Hig h John' s presenc e wa s mean t t o b e hidde n fro m th e ears an d eye s o f whites . Afte r all , "The y wer e no t lookin g fo r an y hop e

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 8 in those days, and i t was not muc h o f a strain fo r the m t o find somethin g to laug h over " (Hughe s an d Bontemp s 1959 : 94-95). One o f Aun t Shad y Anne' s storie s o f Hig h John ha d hi m actin g in th e trickster traditio n o f th e Br'e r Rabbi t tales . I n th e tal e Hig h Joh n stol e some o f th e master' s favorit e youn g pig s t o ea t fo r himself . Eve n afte r the maste r caugh t hi m preparin g th e pig , Hig h Joh n pleade d tha t th e cooking pig was really an "ol d weasly possum" to o sickly for th e master ! After th e master insiste d o n eatin g with him , High John slyl y responded , "Well Massa , I put thi s thing i n here a possum, bu t i f it comes ou t a pig, it ain' t n o faul t o f mine. " Th e maste r wa s take n wit h Hig h John' s humor, an d laughe d i n spit e o f himself ! In th e end , th e maste r repente d of hi s selfis h us e o f pigmeat , an d occasionall y serve d al l th e slave s "a t the bi g hous e afte r that " (Hughe s an d Bontemp s 1959 : 97-98) . John' s courageous actio n o f stealin g th e master' s favorit e food—not e tha t stealing from a master i s not morall y condemned—opened u p an oppor tunity fo r a change o f hear t i n the wa y tha t th e maste r acte d towar d th e entire slav e community . Joh n wa s no t a liberato r here ; h e cajole d th e master, an d throug h hi s mastery o f sl y humor enable d th e slav e commu nity t o surviv e wit h a highe r qualit y o f lif e ("higher " fo r th e slave s wh o evidently enjoye d tende r pigmeat!) . I n thi s tale , Hig h Joh n di d no t alte r the structure o f slavery , bu t change d th e hear t o f th e oppressor . In another tale , High John too k th e slaves who were scared o f runnin g away o n wha t w e woul d toda y cal l a n out-of-bod y experience . Hig h John reassure d the m saying , "Jus t leav e you r work-tire d bodie s aroun d for hi m [th e master ] t o loo k at , an d he'l l neve r realiz e yous e wa y of f somewhere, goin g abou t you r business " (Hughe s an d Bontemp s 1959 : 99). Finally , wit h "Ol d Mass a an d Ol d Miss " sittin g o n th e verand a o f the "bi g house, " Hig h John tol d th e slave s t o "reac h inside " themselve s for th e fine spiritual clothin g the y woul d nee d fo r thei r journey : Just reac h insid e yourselves and ge t ou t al l those fine raiments you bee n totin g around with you for th e last longest. They is in there, all right. I know. Get 'em out, and put 'em on. (Hughes and Bontemps 1959 : 99) To thei r delighte d surpris e th e slave s reache d insid e o f themselve s an d found no t only "fin e clothes, " bu t th e "musica l instruments " the y woul d need t o pla y o n thei r journey . Hig h Joh n proceede d t o tak e the m o n their journe y ridin g o n a giganti c blac k cro w s o larg e tha t "on e win g

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rested o n th e morning , whil e th e othe r duste d of f th e evenin g star " (Hughes an d Bontemp s 1959 : 99). High Joh n too k the m acros s oceans , int o Hell , an d finally u p t o Heaven befor e the y returned . I n searc h o f thei r freedo m "song, " th e mythic scop e o f thei r journe y Hursto n compare d t o tha t o f Jaso n i n search o f th e golde n fleece . Finall y escapin g fro m Hel l the y rod e th e Devil's tw o fastes t horses , "Hallowed-Be-Thy-Name, " an d "Thy-King dom-Come" u p th e Mountai n int o Heaven ! In Heaven , the y foun d th e spiritual refreshmen t an d glorious melodie s of the "song " fo r whic h the y had bee n searching . I n Heaven , promenadin g betwee n "Ame n Avenue " and "Halleluja h Street, " the y encountere d th e ric h harmonie s o f divinit y sung and playe d o n gloriou s golde n instruments . The journey t o Heave n came t o a beatifi c clima x whe n the y wer e calle d befor e "Ol d Maker, " who i n front o f "Hi s grea t Workbench, " made them a tune and put it in their mouths. It had no words. It was a tune that you coul d ben d an d shap e i n mos t an y wa y yo u wante d t o fit the word s an d feelings four had . (Hughes and Bontemps 1959 : 100) Upon thei r return , whic h wa s rudel y initiate d b y th e hars h cal l o f "Old Massa " hollering , th e slave s bega n t o immediatel y retur n t o thei r former depresse d stat e o f mind . Hig h John, however , reminde d the m o f their transcenden t journey , thei r supernatura l enjoymen t an d refresh ment, an d o f ho w th e maste r wa s no t t o b e told : Us got all that, and he [the master] don't know nothing at all about it. Don't tell him nothing . Nobod y don' t hav e t o kno w wher e u s get s ou r pleasur e from . (Hughes and Bontemps 1959 : 101) After hearin g thes e words , th e slave s rejoice d i n thei r secret , an d i n finding ou t ho w t o acces s inner jo y and strengt h despit e the harshnes s o f slavery. Breaking out int o singing, they noticed ho w even the day seeme d shorter an d th e hea t les s hot afte r thi s experience . In thi s tale , we se e that Hig h John enable d th e African slave s t o ow n their interio r spiritua l resource s i n orde r t o surviv e th e hars h oppressio n of slavery . Th e oppresso r wa s no t changed , th e syste m o f slaver y wa s not altered , bu t th e slave s were transformed . The mos t interestin g thin g abou t Hig h John accordin g t o Aun t Shad y Anne, however , wa s i n th e wa y tha t sh e attribute d th e emancipatio n o f the slave s t o hi s power . Aun t Shad y Ann e sai d tha t Hig h Joh n ha d tol d

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 8 black peopl e "on e hundre d year s ahea d o f time " tha t freedo m woul d one da y arriv e (Hughe s an d Bontemp s 1959 : 96). Sh e laughed a t youn g blacks attributin g emancipatio n t o th e Civi l Wa r becaus e accordin g t o what he r mothe r ha d tol d her , "Joh n d e Conque r ha d don e pu t i t int o the white folks to give us our freedom, that's what" (97). Althoug h "ol d Massa fough t agains t it," the inevitability o f freedom wa s assured for all those wh o believe d i n Hig h John' s word . Fo r Aun t Shad y Anne , "th e war wa s jus t a sig n an d symbo l o f th e thing " (97) . The "thing, " o f course, bein g Hig h John's accurat e foretellin g o f freedom' s comin g on e hundred year s befor e i t actuall y occurred . Hursto n report s tha t wit h freedom's coming , High John "coul d retire with hi s secret smile int o the soil o f th e Sout h an d wait " (101) . Thos e wh o reverenc e Hig h John' s power, livin g i n th e secre t dwellin g o f a specia l root , remembe r an d honor his contributions. It i s importan t t o notic e tha t unlik e th e first two tales , thi s spiritua l teaching o r knowin g attribute d t o Hig h Joh n implie d tha t whil e Hig h John th e Trickste r coul d chang e th e heart s o f individua l masters , o r enable th e slave s t o acces s powerfu l inne r resource s t o surviv e slavery' s cruelties, his final intention was to fre e the descendants o f Africans fro m their bondage . I n thi s wa y Hig h Joh n wa s a powerfu l Liberato r figure. He i s a figure that require s theologica l analysis , an d a n appreciatio n o f the fac t tha t h e i s a genuinel y positive , Africa n America n Liberato r Christ-figure. Movin g i n ways tha t were invisibl e t o oppressiv e masters , High Joh n live d a s Jesus did , incarnate d a s a living , breathin g membe r of a sufferin g segmen t o f humanity . Hig h Joh n retire s int o th e eart h waiting fo r a tim e whe n h e migh t b e neede d again . I s suc h a momen t now? N a t Turne r While ther e ar e man y historica l figures tha t coul d b e use d a s notabl e examples of the interaction of religion in the souls and bodies of Africa n American males , th e stor y o f Na t Turne r i s quit e provocative . B y hi s interpretation o f dramati c vision s an d portents, Turner believe d himsel f to b e an apocalyptic prophet wreaking a just verdict on slaveholders. H e led a n insurrectio n i n whic h fifty-seven white s wer e kille d an d mor e than on e hundre d slave s wer e kille d i n response . Hi s life' s missio n wa s consummated b y his reluctant followin g o f what h e took t o b e heavenly

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signs o f th e impendin g doo m o f slaveholders , i n whic h h e an d a smal l band o f follower s slaughtere d whit e men , women , an d children . Whil e such a n accoun t migh t see m th e heigh t o f violen t religiou s fanaticism , i t is wort h lookin g a t th e deepl y religiou s respons e o f on e blac k ma n t o the horrors o f enslavement . Turner, accordin g t o Gayrau d Wilmore , ha d discovere d th e revolu tionary empowermen t o f th e biblica l Go d wh o demande d justice . T o "know hi m an d hi s Son Jesus Chris t wa s to b e set free fro m ever y powe r that dehumanize s an d oppresses " (Wilmor e 1983 : 64). In relationshi p t o the denie d manhoo d o f al l mal e slaves , Wilmor e suggest s tha t Turner' s violent tur n provide d a radica l solutio n whic h b y it s bloodshe d seeme d to matc h th e fanatica l denia l o f slaveholder s i n maintainin g th e system atic denial of what has been taken a s "authentic manhood." I f slavehold ers projecte d a n imag e o f manhoo d tha t conveye d th e impressio n tha t authentic masculinit y mean t violentl y dominatin g th e will , body , an d soul o f whoever on e wished t o dominate, then Turner's insurrectio n wa s an ac t o f tragi c vengeance . Turne r believe d himsel f t o b e a prophet . I f Turner's insurrectio n wa s no t merel y a n ac t o f vengeanc e i n orde r t o authenticate whit e norm s o f maleness , bu t o f a religiousl y inspire d prophet o f Divin e Wrat h an d Justice , the n w e ough t t o examin e th e ways i n whic h Turner' s religiou s consciousnes s eventuate d i n arme d insurrection. In Na t Turner' s confessio n t o Thoma s R . Gra y i n 1831 , Turne r indicated tha t hi s mothe r perceive d hi m t o b e a perso n "intende d fo r a great purpose " (Sernet t 1985 : 89) . The practic e o f discernin g God' s wil l through sign s wa s par t o f hi s mother' s religiou s practic e an d tha t o f th e slave community . A s Turne r tol d it , a s a chil d o f "thre e o r fou r year s old" h e wa s overhear d tellin g othe r childre n o f a n even t tha t ha d oc curred befor e hi s birth . Thi s occasio n wa s take n t o b e a confirming sig n of Nat' s propheti c calling , a callin g tha t th e slav e communit y ha d bee n alerted t o i n hi s infanc y b y observin g "certai n mark s o n my hea d an d breast" (Sernet t 1985 : 89) . Whil e th e whit e confesso r Gra y insultingl y denounces suc h discernmen t a s " a parce l o f excrescences, " i t i s im portant t o note tha t th e African slav e community carefull y observe d an d interpreted mark s o n one' s bod y a s sign s o f one' s spiritua l lif e purpose . Such observatio n an d interpretatio n wer e considere d somethin g unwor thy o f seriou s attentio n b y whites, bu t wer e take n (an d i n som e quarter s are stil l taken ) quit e seriousl y b y blacks . While i t i s beyond th e scop e o f

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 8 this chapte r t o revea l th e detaile d link s betwee n thes e practice s an d traditional Wes t Africa n religiou s beliefs , suc h a connectio n i s distinctl y implied. Ther e i s a profoun d reverenc e fo r th e connectio n betwee n bodily marks , blemishes , an d th e shape s o f thes e mark s wit h spiritua l knowledge, prophecy , an d directio n i n severa l Wes t Africa n traditiona l religions. Theologically , th e basi s fo r suc h practice s i s i n th e clai m tha t the presenc e an d influenc e o f spirit s mak e physica l change s apparen t t o those who have eyes to see. Turner wa s considere d a precociou s child , an d wa s taugh t t o rea d and writ e b y a n indulgen t master . Hi s eas e a t masterin g intellectua l matters, livel y imagination , an d restles s energ y mad e hi m somethin g o f a legen d withi n th e slav e community . Throug h i t al l h e maintaine d a strong self-disciplin e o f praye r an d fasting , withdrawin g fro m th e crow d to meditat e o n thing s tha t h e ha d rea d i n th e Bibl e an d elsewhere . During hi s period s o f withdrawal , h e bega n t o manifes t a visionar y capacity whic h h e calle d "communio n wit h th e Spirit, " sharin g insight s gathered durin g thes e time s wit h bot h slave s an d white s wh o believe d that hi s "wisdo m cam e fro m God " (Sernet t 1985 : 90) . Th e sens e o f a divine promis e an d purpos e i n hi s lif e increased , an d h e "bega n t o prepare the m [othe r slaves ] fo r m y purpose " (91) . Although h e trie d t o run awa y fro m bot h hi s purpos e an d a n overseer , a visio n directe d hi m to retur n t o th e plantation . Thi s cause d quit e a controvers y amon g th e slaves, who murmure d agains t hi m an d questione d hi s sense . The strug gle abou t hi s visionar y capacit y an d th e spiritua l destin y o f leadershi p was a tremendou s sourc e o f inne r conflic t fo r Turner , an d foun d it s resolution i n a famous vision . The climacti c visio n becam e th e impetu s drivin g Turne r ou t o f th e indecisiveness of inne r turmoil towar d insurrectionar y action . The visio n was o f warrin g whit e an d blac k spirit s engage d i n a battl e accompanie d by dramatic cosmi c events : and I saw whit e spirit s an d blac k spirit s engage d i n a battle , an d th e su n wa s darkened—the thunde r rolle d i n th e Heavens , and bloo d flowed in streams — and I heard a voice saying, "Such is your luck, such you are called to see, and let it come rough or smooth, you must surely bare it." (Sernet t 1985: 91) The intensit y o f thi s visio n cause d Turne r t o withdra w eve n mor e fro m daily livin g wit h othe r servants . I t suggeste d tha t h e wa s t o becom e a leader o f a violen t occurrenc e involvin g bloodshe d betwee n black s an d

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whites. I t als o suggeste d tha t i t wa s hi s destin y t o fac e thi s battle , com e what may . Turner's secon d visio n wa s o f light s i n th e sk y whic h ha d bee n misnamed b y "th e childre n o f darkness. " Thes e light s wer e reveale d t o Turner, i n his own words , by the "Hol y Ghost " standin g i n the heavens : "Behold me as I stand in the Heavens"—and I looked and saw the forms of men in different attitudes—an d ther e were lights in the sky to which the children of darkness gave other names than what they really were—for the y were the lights of th e Savior' s hands , stretche d fort h fro m eas t t o west , eve n a s the y wer e extended o n th e cross of Calvar y fo r th e redemptio n o f sinners . (Sernett 1985 : 9i) This visio n suggest s a conflation o f th e redemptiv e outreac h o f Chris t on Calvary' s cros s wit h th e redemptio n o f th e enslaved . Th e hand s o f the Savior , instea d o f bein g pinne d dow n o n a cros s an d subjecte d t o bodily torture , ar e reachin g ou t fro m on e en d o f humanit y t o another , "from eas t t o west. " 5 Ye t this visio n cause d Turne r suc h confusio n tha t he praye d fo r furthe r interpretiv e guidanc e an d understanding . Th e guidance cam e fro m dramati c natura l sign s whic h h e foun d i n th e field and wood s o f hi s plantation . Th e firs t sig n wa s o f drop s o f bloo d "o n the corn a s though i t were dew fro m heaven. " Th e second sig n was mor e enigmatic, o f "hieroglyphi c characters , an d numbers , wit h th e form s o f men i n differen t attitudes , portraye d i n blood , an d representin g th e figures I ha d see n befor e i n th e heavens " (Sernet t 1985 : 91) . Afte r th e two vision s an d th e tw o sign s Turne r finally ha d a thir d visio n whic h revealed th e meanin g o f thes e miracle s t o him : For a s th e bloo d o f Chris t ha d bee n she d i n thi s earth , an d ha d ascende d t o heaven for the salvation of sinners, and was now returning to earth again in the form o f dew—and a s the leaves on the trees bore the impression of the figuresI had see n i n th e heavens , i t wa s plai n t o m e tha t th e Savio r wa s abou t t o la y down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and the great day of judgment was at hand. (Sernett 1985 : 91-92) The impressio n thi s revelatio n ha d o n Turne r cause d hi m t o proclai m i t to whit e an d blac k alike . I t eve n ha d a transformativ e effec t o n a whit e man who m Turne r ha d told , causin g hi m t o pray , fast , an d blee d fo r nine day s befor e ceasing . Th e previou s cruelt y an d insensitivit y thi s white ma n ha d displaye d h e now forsook .

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 8 While apocalypti c imager y was a standard part of som e preaching, it is als o apparen t tha t Turne r believe d himsel f t o b e th e on e calle d t o proclaim th e imminen t End . Further, thi s End was intimatel y connecte d to a wa r betwee n whit e an d blac k i n whic h bloo d wa s t o b e she d i n great profusion . I t ough t t o als o b e note d tha t th e powerfu l imager y o f the Boo k o f Revelatio n i n th e Bibl e ha s alway s bee n attractiv e t o blac k preachers sinc e slavery . Notice , a s well , ho w th e viscera l imager y o f blood an d de w i s tangibl y connecte d t o th e redemptiv e activity o f a coming Christ . The Chris t wh o ha d "born e th e yok e o f sins " fo r al l persons was now abou t to return in blood-judgment. Ye t Turner did not act, waiting for other signs. Three years later Turner had a profoundly apocalypti c vision in which the Serpent was loosed an d social relationship s wer e reversed: On May 12th, 1828,1 heard a loud noise in the heavens, and the Spirit instantly appeared t o m e and said th e Serpent was loosened, an d Christ had laid down the yoke he had borne for the sins of men, and that I should take it on and fight against the Serpent for the time was fast approaching when the first should be last and the last should be first.(Sernett 1985: 92) This wa s th e momen t whe n th e vision s becam e connecte d t o wha t Turner kne w tha t h e mus t engag e himsel f t o do . Th e callin g t o "figh t against th e Serpent " becam e a symboli c representatio n o f Turne r vio lently confronting th e entire white system of slavery. The purpose of this fight was not bloodshed , bu t in order fo r th e role s of first and last to b e reversed. The struggle was agains t bodil y enslavement , an d for freedom . Turner's Serpent , a n imag e i n Christianit y o f evi l o r eve n th e Devi l himself, symbolize d whit e slaveholders . The Serpen t als o symbolize d what mus t b e defeate d i n orde r fo r freedo m t o b e attained . Thi s final vision becam e a way o f gatherin g togethe r th e meanin g o f al l th e previ ous ones, galvanizing Turner to realize that now h e had been summone d to physical combat i n order to attain liberation . Further, that the liberation h e sough t wa s a par t o f a n apocalypse , tha t th e Grea t Judgmen t was going to b e bodily combat with thos e who enslave d blac k bodies . It brought together biblical eschatologica l imager y with a perceived callin g to physical combat i n order to attain liberation . Turner waited another three years before an eclipse of the sun (August 1831) wa s take n t o b e th e sig n callin g fo r action . Callin g hi s closes t

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"disciples" together , the y partoo k o f a "las t supper " i n whic h Turne r re-called th e purpos e o f al l th e vision s an d o f thei r grea t callin g t o "strike a blo w fo r freedom. " 6 That midnigh t th e Judgment Da y began . While i t woul d b e muc h easie r t o simpl y dismis s al l o f th e previou s visions, signs , an d interpretation s a s indicativ e o f th e ranting s o f a dangerous fanati c (an d tha t i s what mos t people , especially whites , hav e done historically) , ther e i s mor e her e tha n meet s th e eye . Na t Turner' s plot faile d t o fre e th e slaves , an d eve n cause d a wav e o f repressiv e legislation t o be enacted acros s all Southern slaveholdin g states. Turner' s name becam e associate d wit h al l tha t th e slaveholder s feared , becaus e his act s mad e i t clea r tha t ther e wer e a t leas t som e black s wh o woul d rather di e fighting fo r thei r freedo m tha n liv e enslaved , thei r bodie s i n subjection. Turner' s uncompromisin g struggl e t o follo w hi s spiritua l destiny deserve s t o b e recognize d a s a propheti c sig n eve n now . I t suggests tha t th e On e wh o mad e th e Universe , al l creatures , an d al l human being s ha s inspire d som e brav e soul s t o fight fo r thei r freedo m against injustice . Fo r thes e kind s o f courageou s persons , th e violen t an d confrontational aspect s o f religiou s inspiratio n becom e embodie d i n action. Thei r vision s becom e th e impetu s fo r bodil y strivin g agains t subjection. The y will no t shir k usin g thei r bodie s i n th e struggle . The y will fight wit h thei r bodil y strengt h eve n unt o deat h rathe r tha n liv e under a syste m o f bodil y subjection . S o doing , suc h prophet s a s Na t Turner re-fashio n visio n awa y fro m privatize d experience s int o inspira tional call s fo r a n embodied , liberatin g struggle . Whil e other s preac h words describin g th e glorie s o f a disembodie d Heaven , prophet s o f th e order o f Turne r march , burn , and , i f need s be , tak e live s i n accordanc e with thei r heavenl y vision s o f freedom . Suc h prophet s ow n thei r bodie s fully, fo r i n th e physica l confrontatio n wit h oppressiv e forc e th e powe r of physica l subjectio n i s broken .

X O D U S Journeyin g It i s som e on e hundre d an d thirt y year s afte r th e officia l endin g o f slavery. We live almost three decades removed fro m th e agitation, blood shed, inspiration , an d dreamin g o f th e civi l right s revolutio n i n ou r ow n century. There i s a gigantic histori c lea p we are required t o take betwee n

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 89 Nat Turner , Hig h John , an d ourselves . Ye t mos t i n th e variou s Africa n American communitie s o f th e Unite d State s ar e stil l sufferin g fro m th e continuing effect s o f racial discrimination , clas s exploitation, an d gende r discrimination tha t hav e affecte d ou r existenc e sinc e the Middle Passage . There is a sameness to black existence that transcends th e specific histori cal difference s betwee n slaver y an d ou r time . I n th e mids t o f conflictin g voices—some callin g fo r accommodatio n an d socio-politica l retreat , others callin g fo r a separat e nation , an d man y other s demandin g eco nomic an d politica l empowerment—th e movemen t o f Africentricit y i s a call to XODUS. We might call it XODUS to honor th e X of the follower s of th e Natio n o f Islam , th e mos t famou s bein g Malcol m X . Malcol m X , newly rediscovere d her o o f ou r nihilisti c age , speak s th e word s o f blac k rage i n a voic e strangel y relevan t fo r on e slai n no w fo r s o man y years . Yet the thundering confidence an d searin g social critique of Malcolm X' s speeches hav e enthralle d a ne w generatio n o f youn g Africa n Americans . Africentricity i s a pan-Africa n struggl e t o remov e Europea n an d American cultura l imperialis m fro m it s ideological centrality . Cai n Hop e Felder (1993 ) ha s accuratel y name d "Afrocentricity " (whic h som e o f u s prefer t o cal l Africentricit y sinc e w e ar e speakin g o f "Africa " no t "Af roca") a s correctiv e historiographi c recover y o f th e piece s o f Africa n history tha t hav e bee n misnamed , neglected , stolen , o r white-washed . Felder question s whethe r ther e i s a common Africa n cultura l heritag e t o be appeale d to , an d condemn s a s outrigh t racis t thos e whos e blac k nationalism cast s African s a s superio r i n som e fashion . Africentricity , when understoo d t o b e a mov e towar d correctio n o f historica l errors , i s a firm basi s upo n whic h futur e creativ e wor k ma y b e done . I t i s pro active withou t vilifyin g an y othe r rac e o r grou p o f individuals , an d i s a movement towar d creatin g a space of ou r ow n outsid e o f th e dominanc e of Eurocentrism . Thi s spac e o f ou r ow n mus t includ e a ne w visio n o f African America n masculinit y an d embodiment . What wil l b e th e constitutiv e element s o f a n Africentri c visio n o f maleness an d embodiment ? This essa y name s fou r principle s base d o n a carefu l deconstructio n and re-constructio n o f bot h legendar y figures an d on e histori c Africa n American male . Th e fou r principle s ar e jus t th e beginnin g o f futur e work:

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i. Our Bodies for Our Communities (John Henry Reconsidered) The physical power an d seemingl y supernatural strengt h o f our bodie s are no t t o b e degrade d int o a n instrumen t fo r entertainmen t o r th e economic gai n o f othe r peoples . Primarily , Africa n America n mal e bod ies ough t t o b e committe d t o th e rebuildin g o f broke n humanity , fo r recapturing inspirin g model s o f manlines s fo r a los t generatio n o f youn g black males , and th e creation o f flourishing enterprise s fo r th e economi c uplift o f Africa n America n communities .

2. Humor Is Only One Means of Creatively Expressing Rage (Sambo New Revised Standard Version Absorbed in High John) Humorous gesture s an d bante r ar e bu t on e mean s towar d th e greate r goal o f creatively expressin g the rage that i s tearing u p African America n communities. Thi s rag e i s pervasive , fo r affluen t o r poor , becaus e th e racist cultur e whic h i s stil l operativ e i n Nort h America n cultur e denie s African American s way s o f directl y expressin g disapproval , frustration , or especiall y outrage . Outrag e denie d become s dangerou s rage , wherea s outrage expresse d ca n becom e healing . Blac k mal e bodie s whic h hav e internalized rag e suffe r disproportionatel y fro m hig h bloo d pressure , heart disease , ulcers, and othe r stress-relate d physica l disorders. 7 Africa n American male s o n th e averag e d o no t liv e t o se e thei r seventiet h birth day, bu t ar e ofte n dea d b y th e ag e o f sixty-two . To o youn g eve n t o collect Social Security! The internalization o f rage has a long-term delete rious effec t o n th e longevit y o f blac k mal e bodies . Th e traditiona l Sambo's antics might b e viewed as a way to alleviate such bodil y tension , but the cost to African America n mal e dignity was too high. Yet Sambo' s usage o f humo r shoul d b e given a secon d look . Perhap s w e ma y ye t find ways t o us e humo r i n suc h a wa y tha t rag e b e expressed . Humo r coul d be a wa y fo r racis m t o b e criticize d withou t sufferin g racis t punish ment—meant her e i n the sens e Michel Foucaul t spok e o f a s a mean s fo r disciplining erran t member s o f a n oppressiv e regime . Th e tale s o f Hig h John d e Conquer' s exploits , trickin g Ol d Mass a an d the n makin g hi m laugh, ar e legendar y example s o f suc h humor . Thi s kin d o f humor , which w e could cal l subversive humor , provide s African America n male s

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 9 with a wa y o f articulatin g rag e safely . In fact , subversiv e humo r ha s always bee n th e wa y tha t Africa n American s hav e entertaine d ourselves . Now w e ar e calle d t o discove r ne w way s t o articulat e subversiv e humo r as a means o f changin g oppressiv e socia l structures . Finally, humo r ough t no t b e th e onl y permissibl e mean s fo r u s t o express ou r rage . Blac k rag e i s a s dee p a s th e ocea n wher e slaveship s brought ou r chaine d bodies , a s wid e a s th e vas t Africa n motherlan d from whic h w e wer e stolen , an d a s ric h a s th e chocolate-cinnamon mocha-yellow color s tha t compris e ou r varie d skincoloring . Rag e wil l act, an d i t i s u p t o u s t o defin e ho w i t wil l act . I t ca n b e self-destructiv e or creative , transformativ e o r genocidal . Africa n America n male s mus t decide fo r ourselves , wit h th e wome n an d me n w e love , fo r th e sak e o f the children w e nurture, how our rag e will be expressed. Suc h expressio n of rag e canno t wai t fo r a tim e "acceptable " t o whites , bu t mus t flo w through ou r poetry , ou r singin g voices , ou r ra p an d hip-ho p rhythms , our sermons , an d ou r plan s t o buil d banks , corporations , an d malls . Humor i s bu t on e mean s fo r releasin g th e kin d o f rag e whic h mus t b e ultimately viewe d a s an impetu s fo r th e transformation o f African Amer ican communities . 3. Accessing Vision from Within (High John Conquering Power) The abilit y t o affir m one' s dreams , hopes , plans , an d vision s canno t be foun d outsid e o f ourselves , bu t mus t b e accesse d fro m within . Ye t our souls , minds , an d emotion s ar e no t divorce d fro m ou r bodies . W e are body-selves , joine d together , fuse d i n a fashio n tha t i n man y way s defies words . T o acces s ou r inne r "fin e clothes " an d "music, " a s Hig h John taugh t th e slave s t o do , i s a matte r o f re-claimin g somethin g tha t many hav e forgotte n i n Africa n America n communities . Ye t i t i s no t s o far awa y i n time that i t cannot b e remembered. Th e spiritual clothe s an d music ar e stil l resonatin g i n ou r churches , mosques , an d association s o f uplift. Th e vision s ar e stil l present , howeve r mute d the y sometime s hav e become, or los t i n mediocrity . Part o f accessin g Africa n America n body-sel f visio n i s to renounc e al l sexist attitudes , behaviors , an d traditions . Africa n America n male s d o not nee d t o imitat e an y othe r "model " o f masculinity , includin g man y of th e highl y patriarcha l Africa n models . Instead , w e mus t liv e int o thi s

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new ag e wit h th e wome n an d th e childre n w e love . W e ough t t o sor t through al l Africa n model s o f manhoo d an d tak e wha t w e ca n use , discarding wha t w e kno w t o b e harmfu l t o th e bodie s an d soul s o f women an d men . W e mus t com e t o a plac e o f realizatio n tha t accessin g our body-sel f powe r i s affirming th e body-sel f powe r o f wome n a s well . The liberatio n o f Africa n America n communitie s mus t b e inclusiv e o f men an d women , o r i t will fail . 4. Body-Selves Must Unite to Fight Oppression (Nat Turner for the Streets) Part of reconstructive Africa n America n manhoo d mus t b e the realiza tion tha t bein g a "man " doe s no t involv e violen t demonstration s a s a show o f "manly " force . Force , however , canno t b e avoide d i f w e ar e t o realistically fac e th e horror s o f lif e i n a worl d wher e w e ar e stil l no t considered human . Ou r body-selve s mus t lear n tha t th e rea l powe r o f physical forc e i s not i n it s careles s an d promiscuou s demonstration , bu t in it s abilit y t o restrai n destructiv e violence . Ou r body-selves , unite d t o stand wit h forc e restrainin g intracommuna l violence , will b e a powe r t o be reckone d with . Suc h forc e wil l b e impressiv e t o ourselve s an d othe r communities becaus e i t will revea l th e kin d o f self-lov e an d self-determi nation tha t al l peoples mus t hav e i n orde r t o b e free. Tha t i s the kin d o f self-love Malcol m X spok e about , an d no t a violenc e tha t i s suicidal . Our body-selve s fight oppressio n wit h al l tha t i s i n us . Ou r minds , ou r hearts, our emotions, and whateve r technologica l skill s we possess ough t to struggl e fo r liberation . Tha t i s ho w th e spiri t o f Na t Turne r ma y b e resurrected today . Suc h body-sel f powe r ha s alway s bee n perceive d a s a threat b y oppressors . W e mus t no t b e deterred , fo r th e stake s ar e to o high, an d th e gain to o precious .

NOTES 1. Bib b repeate d thi s phras e i n tw o o f th e five letter s no w extan t t o hi s former master . 2. Boski n 1986 : 79. This was a section o f a minstrel's speech fro m a n 185 5 show entitle d "Blac k Diamonds , or , Humour , Satir e an d Sentiment , Treate d Scientifically b y Professor Julius Caesar Hanibal in a Series of Burlesque Lectures Darkly Colored. "

Black Bodies, Whose Body? 9 3. Urke l i s a "ne w Sambo , a ne w accent , an d a slightl y differen t shuffle, " according to the Reverend George Lakes, Jr., in a conversation with the author. 4. Th e thre e step s of Kati e Cannon' s (1988 ) womanis t deconstructio n use d as social-critical tools for reconstructing the African America n community. 5. Muc h of this interpretation aros e in conversation with a colleague, Professor Lori Anne Ferrell (October 8 , 1993). 6. Wilmor e (1983 : 69-70) describe s this last meal as a "suppe r o f barbecu e and brandy" which took on overtones of a passover Last Supper. 7. Dat a cite d fro m 199 0 U.S . censu s i n Report on the State of African American Males, Commissio n o n th e Africa n America n Mal e (Indianapolis : Mayor's Office, 1993) . REFERENCES Blassingame, John , ed . 1977 . Slave Testimony: Two Centuries of Letters, Speeches, Interviews, and Autobiographies. Bato n Rouge : Louisian a Stat e University Press. Boskin, Joseph. 1986. Sambo: The Rise and Demise of an American Jester. Ne w York: Oxford Universit y Press. Cannon, Katie Geneva. 1988. Black Womanist Ethics. Atlanta: Scholars Press. Felder, Cain Hope. 1993 . "The Imperative for a Multicultural Christia n Educa tion Curriculum. " The BISC (Biblical Institute for Social Change) Quarterly 4:2. Hughes, Langston , an d Arn a Bontemps . 1959 . "Hig h John d e Conquer, " b y Zora Neale Hurston. In Book of Negro Folklore. Ne w York: Dodd, Mead & Co. Lott, Eric. 1993 . Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Working Class. New York: Oxford Universit y Press. Raboteau, Alber t J . 1978 . Slave Religion: The "Invisible Institution" in the Antebellum South. Oxford, England : Oxford Universit y Press. Sernett, Milton C. 1985. "Excerpts for the Confessions o f Nat Turner." In AfroAmerican Religious History: A Documentary Witness. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press. Wilmore, Gayraud . 1983 . Black Religion and Black Radicalism. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis.

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This chapter attempt s t o tal k abou t ga y religious identitie s a s they wer e develope d b y som e lesbia n an d ga y America n authors . Th e title use s the wor d "gay " i n a sens e no t know n thirt y year s ago . When I use th e ter m I refe r t o me n an d wome n wh o hav e arrive d a t a n accep tance of their same-se x sexua l orientatio n an d hav e integrated thi s orien tation an d preferenc e o f physica l sexua l expressio n int o th e whol e o f their lives . Compare d t o th e identit y o f nation s an d peoples , lik e Jews , Americans, o r Australians , th e self-identit y o f gay s an d lesbian s i s rela tively new. Because i t is so relatively new , a few note s abou t th e politica l context fo r ga y peopl e i n th e Unite d State s i s i n orde r befor e I procee d to th e mai n issu e of th e construction o f ga y religious identities . The Situatio n i n 199 3 Joint effort s o f ga y peopl e i n th e pas t twenty-fou r year s sinc e th e 196 9 Stonewall uprisin g i n Ne w Yor k Cit y hav e resulte d i n th e establishmen t of significan t freedom s fo r peopl e whos e sexua l orientatio n differ s fro m mainstream assumptions . Right s wer e claime d agains t oppositio n fro m religiously an d politicall y conservativ e circles . Socia l responsibilitie s were assume d b y ga y peopl e wit h particula r respec t t o Peopl e Livin g 94

Empowerment 95 with AIDS (PLWA). Of course, not everything that happened i n the past two decade s ca n b e described a s a bed of roses . There was the infamou s 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bowers v . Hardwick whic h uphel d the Stat e o f Georgia' s sodom y law . Th e U.S . Suprem e Court , i n fact , allowed states t o continu e t o criminaliz e al l kind s o f same-se x behavio r or encourage d other s t o thin k abou t lega l proscription s o f same-se x behavior. On e alway s ha s t o remembe r tha t i n th e las t decad e o f th e twentieth centur y nearl y hal f o f th e fifty states o f th e Unite d State s stil l have sodom y law s o n thei r books . Th e Distric t o f Columbi a mos t re cently repealed its version of the sodomy law and recent ballot initiative s in Oregon , Florida , an d Colorad o ai m a t reversin g affirmativ e stat e legislation o r municipa l ordinance s o f th e past . Despit e th e fac t tha t the stat e referendu m i n Orego n faile d i n th e 1992 , an d 199 4 genera l elections, an d i n Idah o i n th e 199 4 election , som e countie s an d munici palities wer e successfu l i n placin g rewritte n version s o f th e statewid e anti-gay constitutiona l amendmen t ont o loca l ballot s an d won electora l support. I n Colorado , th e anti-ga y constitutiona l Amendmen t z wa s passed i n the general elections , was subsequentl y challenged , an d place d under a n injunctio n b y a state judge . The cas e i s currently bein g playe d out in the Colorado courts. Politically conservative an d religiously fund amentalist group s hav e jointl y an d vigorousl y trie d t o und o wha t smal l gains have been made against sexual-orientation-based discrimination . A handfu l o f state s an d a number o f loca l administrativ e units , how ever, have t o b e pointed ou t fo r thei r recent affirmativ e legislativ e stan d against discriminatio n base d o n sexua l orientation . Eigh t states an d thirty-five countie s an d municipalities , amon g the m Wisconsin , Massa chusetts, Hawaii, an d New Jersey, have voted t o includ e sexual-orienta tion discriminatio n int o thei r civi l right s bills . I n Rhod e Islan d an d i n many othe r states , lesbian , gay , an d b i civi l right s activists ar e bus y trying t o writ e a n en d t o sexual-orientatio n discriminatio n int o thei r legislative agendas . Bu t a s an y lesbia n an d ga y perso n i n th e Unite d States knows, we still have a long way t o go. Parallel t o th e fight for ga y right s in state legislature s an d courts, bu t not radically disassociated from it, is the movement carried by individual lesbians, gays , an d bi-sexual s an d b y collectiv e unit s t o reflec t o n ou r beings an d ou r live s i n way s differen t fro m tha t o f th e citizen , th e civil persona, wh o i s activel y engage d i n th e makin g an d shapin g o f he r or hi s ow n socio-politica l destiny . Ther e ar e interestin g an d powerfu l

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manifestations o f a searc h fo r gay-specifi c religiou s an d spiritua l identi ties. Availabl e pattern s o f religiou s identit y wer e perceive d a s bein g rooted i n heterosexua l an d heterosexis t cultur e an d popula r religiosity . They wer e identifie d a s oppressiv e an d manipulator y manifestation s of religion . Rejectio n o f thes e pattern s becam e a n ethica l necessity , construction o f appropriat e ga y religiou s identitie s a challenge . Who ar e we , a s ga y people , i n additio n t o bein g sociall y consciou s and politicall y activ e citizen s an d denizen s i n ou r variou s biologica l an d local communities ? T o answe r thi s question , ga y peopl e mus t first an swer othe r question s o f thei r life-experiences : Ho w d o w e experienc e ourselves? Wher e an d whe n d o we experience th e limit s of ou r selves ? In what wa y doe s th e experienc e o f ou r selfhoo d transcen d ou r socio political identitie s an d mov e towar d th e formatio n o f gay-specifi c reli gious identities ? In th e followin g I will relat e som e basi c reflections o f lesbia n an d ga y writers o n thei r ow n experiences . Incidentally , mos t o f th e author s I a m relying o n i n m y wor k hav e ha d som e religiou s trainin g i n th e pas t o r have bee n closely associate d wit h organize d religion . T h e E x p e r i e n c e o f t h e G a y Sel f i n Societ y As ga y peopl e wrestl e wit h thei r specifi c ga y identity , the y ar e als o struggling wit h experience s o f inclusio n an d exclusio n i n th e socia l an d religious environment s i n whic h the y move . O f course , w e ar e citizens , permanent residents , o r temporar y sojourner s o f a particula r countr y and are , therefore, constantl y reminde d abou t wha t ou r dutie s as citizens are. W e ar e hel d responsibl e fo r ou r action s jus t a s non-ga y peopl e ar e in thei r socia l an d lega l environments . A t th e sam e tim e w e experienc e exclusiveness. Whe n i t come s t o constitutiona l protection , w e becom e aware tha t certai n right s d o no t exis t fo r u s an d tha t no t al l o f th e constitutional right s apply t o us. In the United State s there is no constitu tionally protecte d righ t t o privac y fo r tw o peopl e o f th e sam e se x wh o want t o engag e i n consensua l sexua l activity . W e canno t marr y ou r lif e partners—notwithstanding recen t challenges t o this discriminatory lega l practice i n Hawai i an d i n Washington, D.C.—an d w e hav e a har d tim e persuading court s tha t w e make a s good foste r parent s a s heterosexuals , that, i n fact , th e capacity fo r successfu l parentin g i s completely indepen -

Empowerment yy dent fro m ou r an d an y person' s sexua l orientation . Althoug h man y o f our relationship s ma y las t statistically longe r tha n th e average heterosex ual marriage , publi c recognitio n o f ou r lovin g an d sharing , carin g an d constructive relationship s i s radically denied . For man y ga y people i t can onl y soun d ironi c that mainstrea m societ y speaks an d behave s i n way s tha t ignor e ou r presenc e an d denie s ou r participation i n societ y in a meaningful manner . "Silenc e equal s Death, " the anti-AIDS butto n says . It also expresses the silencing of our existenc e by mainstream society . It reflects society' s often vaguel y concealed desir e to mak e u s disappear , neve r t o becom e a "problem " fo r it s middle-clas s self-sufficiency. However , te n percen t o f th e genera l populatio n (here , I am citin g th e conteste d 194 8 Kinse y statistic ) i s no t a numbe r tha t ca n be easil y disregarded . Ga y peopl e ar e alread y her e an d there , the y hav e been her e an d ther e i n the past, an d i t appears tha t the y ar e no t goin g t o go away either . Ga y people ar e the only minorit y tha t crosse s al l bound aries of race , class, gender, an d religiou s an d politica l orientations . Gay peopl e ar e integra l part s o f huma n societie s i n thei r socio-politi cal an d religio-spiritua l manifestations . A s th e battl e cr y o f th e radica l gay actio n grou p "Quee r Nation " goes : "We'r e here ! We'r e queer ! Ge t used t o it. " Th e sloga n point s ou t tha t i t i s nothing ne w fo r a societ y t o have homosexual members . Radica l newnes s ma y onl y b e discovered b y the heterosexua l majorit y a s the y liste n t o th e thir d par t o f th e battl e cry. Societies hav e t o come to realiz e tha t ga y people hav e been , are, an d will b e a par t o f thei r constituency . The y ar e involve d i n shapin g thei r social an d politica l environments . Religiou s communities , too , canno t avoid t o realiz e thi s basi c fac t abou t thei r memberships . Gay peopl e experienc e exclusio n i n al l area s i n whic h thei r right s t o full participatio n i n th e shapin g o f a community' s destin y ar e denied . Secular an d religiou s societie s brea k th e bond s o f communit y wit h thei r gay member s b y stigmatizin g the m a s outcasts , b y strictl y controllin g their live s an d b y demandin g stron g lega l restriction s fo r thei r sexua l expressions. Religiou s communitie s ad d pastora l car e an d a mora l an d theological paternalizatio n t o suc h stigmatization . Ga y peopl e ar e per ceived an d portraye d a s wea k o r sick , devian t o r sinister , crimina l o r psychologically arrested , o r al l o f th e above . Suc h characterization s provide th e socia l an d religiou s communitie s wit h a welcom e excus e t o affirm thei r assume d mora l superiority .

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N o n c o n f o r m i t y a s a Plac e t o S t a r t One o f th e earlies t experiences—i f no t the earlies t experience—fo r ga y people i s tha t w e d o no t see m t o belon g int o th e micro - an d macro societies int o whic h w e ar e born , raised , an d wher e w e tr y t o mak e a living. We sens e a differenc e betwee n ou r bein g a s suc h an d th e way s i n which w e want t o b e a part o f society . Instead o f discoverin g a harmoni ous environmen t i n whic h ever y huma n bein g ca n liv e in peace , develo p her o r hi s particula r potentials , an d wor k fo r th e socia l an d spiritua l benefit o f all , w e experienc e a hostil e socia l structur e whic h runs , fo r the mos t part , alon g th e line s o f a capitalist , market-oriented , highl y competitive, an d exploitativ e system . Writings b y lesbia n an d ga y authors , wh o addres s th e issu e o f non conformity wit h respec t t o it s religiou s an d ethica l implications , revea l that th e developmen t o f ga y peoples ' spiritual-religiou s identitie s i s fun damentally shape d b y experience s o f alienatio n fro m th e heterosexua l majority, a societ y whic h pervasivel y an d invidiousl y attempt s t o mar ginalize, exclude , an d sometime s eve n annihilat e it s lesbia n o r ga y "ele ments." Experiencing onesel f fundamentall y differen t fro m th e way s an d val ues of th e heterosexua l majorit y societ y can caus e tw o reactions . O n th e one hand , i t can thro w th e individua l bac k upo n her - o r himself . Differ ence i s experience d a s exclusion , separation , prohibition , an d persecu tion, an d ca n lea d t o suc h resigne d expression s as , "A m I th e onl y on e like tha t i n thi s world? " or , "Ho w ca n I surviv e whe n bein g shu t ou t and shu t of f o f al l th e relation s an d institution s tha t other s enjo y an d value s o much? " Th e mos t desperat e attitud e i s suicical : "I f thi s i s m y destiny, wouldn' t i t b e bette r t o b e dead? " Th e appallin g statistic s o n suicide amon g ga y teenagers tel l their ow n stor y (se e Maguen 1991) . On th e othe r hand , th e experienc e o f separatio n an d marginalizatio n can als o lea d t o opportunitie s tha t are , prima facie, hidde n b y suc h negative experiences . Suc h opportunitie s nee d t o b e discovere d b y th e individual ga y perso n an d mad e fruitfu l i n a n attemp t t o "find " oneself . Carter Heyward , lesbia n episcopa l pries t an d theolog y professo r a t Episcopal Divinity Schoo l a t Harvard, wrot e that th e coming ou t o f a lesbia n or ga y perso n ha s t o b e understoo d a s a n ac t o f resistanc e t o th e statu s quo (1989 : 28) . It i s an ac t designe d t o disrup t th e existin g orders . Th e

Empowerment 9 act o f resistanc e change s everythin g fo r th e ga y person . Nothin g i n th e world wil l remai n th e same . "Comin g out-as-resistance " t o whateve r i s experienced a s oppressiv e result s i n a restructurin g o f prioritie s i n a ga y person's world . The ac t o f comin g ou t doe s no t onl y rejec t th e way s an d value s o f a heterosexist cultur e an d society , bu t i s als o a radica l affirmatio n o f th e gay self . I t turn s th e experienc e o f separatio n an d exclusio n int o a creative proces s with previousl y unimagine d potentialities . In a n articl e entitle d "Hidin g I s Unhealth y fo r th e Soul, " Rache l Wahba (1989 ) regard s nonconformit y a s a startin g poin t fo r th e devel opment o f a lesbian - an d gay-specifi c religio-spiritua l identity . Sh e com pared comin g ou t i n a hetero-dominate d societ y t o th e experienc e o f a Jewish perso n i n a non-Jewish, Christian-dominate d society . As you al l know , hidin g i s very unhealth y fo r th e soul . We don't hid e as Jews when w e wea r ou r Mage n Davids , for m a n anti-defamatio n league , suppor t Israel, fail t o assimilat e an d remai n prou d t o b e Jews. We never sto p "comin g out" a s Jews ever y tim e w e spea k u p an d refus e t o disappear . A s Jews w e all know ho w importan t i t i s to hav e a voic e an d t o b e openly visible . And when you ar e ga y i n a heterosexua l society , it' s th e same : yo u neve r sto p "comin g out." (1989: 56) In he r ow n commentar y o n thi s passage , Wahb a compare s th e coming out proces s a s th e soul' s health y alternativ e t o "passin g throug h lif e i n various shade s o f invisibility " (1989 : $6). The experience o f nonconformity i s at th e beginnin g of a gay person' s journey fro m invisibilit y t o self-affirmin g visibilit y i n th e secula r an d religious environment s i n whic h h e o r sh e moves . Despit e th e fac t tha t the experienc e o f differenc e an d separatio n ma y i n th e en d bea r ver y positive results , arriving a t thi s point i s arduous psychologica l an d emo tional work . Ho w ca n w e com e t o term s wit h ou r experience s o f differ ence an d separation ? Ho w ca n thes e phenomen a b e integrate d int o th e whole o f one' s life ? Oftentimes , ga y peopl e hav e n o nam e fo r th e differ ence the y discover . Fo r socio-cultura l reasons , term s tha t ar e availabl e for ou r self-descriptio n see m unacceptable , i f no t repulsive . The y rang e from th e scientifi c "gemixtepickle " ter m homosexual 1 t o suc h prejudi cial term s a s faggots, dykes , and fairies . Not knowin g ho w t o nam e oneself , o r no t havin g a n appropriat e name availabl e t o expres s one' s being , i s a significan t obstacl e i n th e

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process o f leavin g th e variou s shade s o f invisibilit y behind. 2 Felic e Yeskel, a working-class lesbia n Jew, writes about th e initial inarticulabil ity of he r experienc e o f differenc e an d separation : One o f m y primary experience s o f growin g u p i s that o f bein g different , o r a t least o f feelin g different . Whil e th e "reason " tha t I felt differen t change d fro m year t o year , m y experienc e o f alienatio n remaine d th e same . Bein g a Jew, a lesbian, and not being middle class were three of the biggest reasons. —My sense that I was not lik e other girls grew into the knowledge that I was a lesbian.. . . Again, I found mysel f i n the position o f bein g different an d no t havin g a name for my difference. (1989 : 41) As soo n a s on e i s abl e t o expres s one' s experienc e o f difference , th e situation change s dramatically . Onc e a wor d become s available , th e human voic e ca n lear n t o spea k it , lear n t o describ e wit h it s hel p a person's innermos t existence , an d ca n assis t th e ga y perso n t o embar k on a qualitativel y differen t life' s journey . Th e possibilit y o f appropriat e self-description enable s th e actualizatio n o f liberatin g power s i n th e human being , powers whic h cal l for a n engagemen t t o change the world , rooted i n a position o f radica l knowledg e abou t th e self. The realizatio n o f ou r nonconformit y a s ga y peopl e i n ou r multipl e experiences o f difference , separation , rejection , alienation , an d persecu tion energize s us—fa r mor e s o than member s o f th e heterosexual major ity society . I t assist s u s to concentrat e o n action s leadin g t o self-affirma tion (Boy d 1987 : 78-87) . I t energize s u s t o d o s o becaus e w e hav e to . Psychologically, i t i s a surviva l strategy . Bu t i t i s mor e tha n mer e sur vival, fo r nonconformit y als o carrie s a stron g elemen t o f pride , a s i s manifest i n suc h action s a s rallie s o n Ga y Prid e Day , Christophe r Stree t Festival, or Halstea d Stree t Day . In ou r affirmatio n o f "queerness " w e affir m ou r differenc e an d sepa ration a s a creative chanc e towar d change . Malcolm Boyd , a gay episco pal pries t an d membe r o f th e Lo s Angele s AID S Tas k Force , sai d tha t being queer an d differen t "i s a part o f ou r God-give n creatio n an d gifts " (1987: 84) . I thin k tha t bot h ou r God/dess-give n creatio n an d th e gift s with whic h w e hav e bee n endowe d b y the creating powe r hav e t o b e pu t to appropriat e use . Fo r ga y people , thi s mean s t o nam e ourselves , t o celebrate ou r communities , an d t o develo p int o guidin g light s an d cor rective agent s fo r th e surroundin g heterosexua l societ y wit h it s exploit ative warrio r mentality . Ga y peopl e hav e th e chanc e an d th e obligatio n to develo p int o what Crai g Pilan t ha s terme d "wounde d healers " (1993 :

Empowerment 10 61-79). Ou r ow n experience s wil l serv e a s catalyst s i n th e healin g pro cess o f ourselve s and , subsequently , i n th e healin g o f th e homophobi c society in which w e live. One may als o draw o n th e biblica l imag e o f th e suffering servan t t o illustrat e th e powerfu l spiritua l rol e gay people hav e to play in th e correction o f societ y a t large . The image s o f th e wounde d heale r an d th e sufferin g servan t hav e both negativ e an d positiv e connotations . Th e notio n o f sufferin g an d woundedness i s negativ e insofa r a s i t limit s huma n being s i n thei r ful l actualization, degrade s people , an d belong s t o th e dar k sid e o f huma n nature. O n th e othe r hand , bein g a servan t an d heale r highlight s th e gratification an d wholenes s whic h ar e gaine d whe n ga y people an d thei r communities ge t involve d i n helping t o men d a broke n society . E m p o w e r m e n t a n d Divin e Presenc e Gay peopl e wh o hav e accepte d thei r particula r sexualit y ofte n complai n that the y ar e unabl e t o find a plac e fo r themselve s withi n organize d religious communities . W e experienc e ourselve s a s locate d o n th e mar gins. Eve n i f w e decid e t o remai n closel y affiliate d wit h organize d reli gion, eithe r professionall y o r privately , w e develo p a n existenc e fo r ourselves whic h i s essentiall y shape d b y th e experienc e o f wh o w e ar e and ho w w e se e ourselve s i n th e environment s tha t surroun d us . I n th e process, w e realiz e tha t fo r ga y peopl e theolog y an d theopraxi s fal l together (Clar k 1989 : 121) . Our tal k abou t God/des s a s compassionate , just, and mercifu l demand s actualizatio n o f exactl y thes e divin e qualitie s in the world i n which w e live. The prerogativ e o f ga y theolog y i s th e cal l fo r th e actualizatio n o f these qualities . Th e creatio n o f justic e an d liberatio n become s the tas k for ga y people . Ou t o f th e experienc e o f separatio n an d rejection , w e develop a desir e t o becom e "handmaids " i n th e realizatio n o f th e divin e imperative, callin g fo r th e creatio n o f a jus t an d fre e societ y fo r al l human beings . Wit h J . Michae l Clark , a forme r ministe r o f th e Unite d Methodist Church , ga y peopl e ca n sa y tha t the y themselve s ar e ulti mately responsible fo r seeking , demanding , an d creatin g justic e an d liberation . Con versely, our failures to assume responsibility, our fearful refusal s t o claim and to use our powe r t o effect liberation , no t onl y functio n t o forestal l ou r liberation ; such failures and refusals ma y actually undercut our very humanity. (1989: 121)

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Rage an d ange r whic h w e ma y fee l o r hav e fel t a t th e experienc e o f rejection an d ridicul e b y th e dominan t heterosexua l societ y canno t b e left untransformed . Ou r ange r abou t societa l rejectio n ha s t o b e trans formed int o liberatin g ange r fo r ourselve s an d ou r communities . Ou r rage abou t mainstrea m cultura l imperialis m ha s t o b e transforme d int o rage toward socia l and spiritua l change. Liberating and grace-fille d ange r empowers u s bot h t o abando n ou r oppressiv e pas t an d loo k towar d th e future wit h ou r demand s an d action s fo r liberatio n (Clar k 1989 : 126). 3 In manifestation s o f liberatin g an d transformativ e ange r an d rag e w e discover divin e empowerment , becaus e "w e realiz e th e righteousnes s o f our ange r an d th e consequen t nee d fo r prophetic , correctiv e activit y i n the face o f oppression " (Clar k 1989 : 126 ; also 1987 : 67). Liberating ange r reveal s compassion fo r al l creation . Th e experience s of ga y peopl e endo w u s wit h a sensitivit y fo r al l creation an d creation' s need fo r liberation . Her e i s wher e ga y peopl e ca n an d d o assum e pro phetic leadership . Ou r concern s fo r th e worl d an d ou r compassio n fo r the sufferin g creatio n empowe r u s to ste p forward i n a liberatin g an d re creating manner . I t i s th e discover y o f genuin e divin e presenc e i n ou r beings, our lives , and ou r action s (Clar k 1989 : 126-27) . As we transform ou r ange r int o compassion an d empathy , ga y peopl e experience thei r collectiv e spiritua l powe r whic h separate s the m fro m the "power-over " ideolog y o f th e patriarcha l an d heterosexis t society . Genuinely concerned abou t th e fello w lesbia n siste r an d ga y brother, ga y people realiz e thei r spiritua l powe r an d expres s i t b y focusin g o n thei r relationships wit h eac h othe r an d th e world . Th e divin e i s present i n th e concern fo r equalit y an d mutualit y i n ou r relationships . Carte r Heywar d describes th e interdependenc e o f equalit y an d mutuality , tw o concept s so dear t o scholar s an d activist s wh o ar e engaged i n liberatin g work : As a descriptio n o f ho w w e experienc e relationa l power , mutualit y doe s no t necessarily impl y equality, nor does equality assur e mutuality. Equality denote s a sameness of position o r status, while mutuality describe s a dynamic relational movement into a vision of ourselves together. (1989: 34) Heyward accuratel y describe s th e horizonta l presenc e o f th e divin e i n empowerment towar d mutuality . Ga y peopl e discove r th e relationa l power o f the divine in their anti-oppressiv e activitie s and as their engage ment fo r liberation . As individual s an d a s member s o f communities , ga y peopl e realiz e

Empowerment 10 that the y creat e themselve s an d thei r communit y i n eac h instanc e i n which they actualize the divine relational powe r o f mutuality an d justice . They creat e themselves , each other , an d th e community b y letting them selves b e guide d b y th e divin e relationa l spiri t whic h exhort s the m t o "speak th e truth " (Heywar d 1989 : 29 ) an d t o refuse "passiv e victimiza tion" (Clar k 1989 : 129) . Ga y peopl e ca n thu s becom e correctiv e instru ments t o th e victimization s an d untruth s o f th e majorit y cultur e whic h defines itsel f throug h "power-over " relationships . Wit h th e lesbia n acti vist an d poe t Jud y Grah n on e ca n sa y tha t "ga y peopl e hav e socia l purpose" (1987 : 5) . Gay-specific spiritua l consciousnes s o f empowerment , actualize d i n the struggl e towar d endin g oppression , affirm s an d secure s religiou s purpose fo r lesbian s an d gay s a s critically correctiv e element s i n society . John J . McNeill' s boo k Taking a Chance on God (1988 : 200-206 ) argues, for example , fo r a gay-specifi c spiritualit y tha t offer s th e huma n community a t larg e th e value s o f relationa l ethics . A liberating spiritual ity whic h ha s it s root s i n concret e ga y experience s i s subversiv e o f th e domination-dependent relationship s o f a heterosexist ethics .

Manifestations o f Empowermen t 1. In Faith and Hope Genuine divin e presenc e experience d a s empowermen t become s pub lic i n th e radica l expression s o f fait h an d hope . Ga y peopl e hav e som e intuitive sens e tha t th e societie s i n whic h the y liv e lac k genuin e hu manness towar d them , mainl y becaus e the y oppres s everyon e wh o doe s not pla y b y thei r rules . A syste m o f lie s perpetuate s suc h victimization , and ga y peopl e ca n experienc e th e oppressiv e weigh t o f thos e lie s i n themselves a s internalize d homophobi a an d self-hatre d (McNeil l 1988 : 203). Ga y peopl e als o kno w intuitivel y tha t th e physica l spac e the y inhabit o n eart h i s in nee d o f res t an d recovery , becaus e i t to o ha s bee n subjected t o oppression an d exploitatio n b y a profit-oriented, patriarcha l society. Ga y peopl e believ e tha t th e world , includin g themselves , need s healing. In orde r t o trul y evolv e a s a "gentle , lovin g people," ga y people mus t be energize d b y thei r fait h t o participat e i n actualizin g th e possibilitie s of healin g victimized individual s an d a destroyed nature . Harry Hay , th e

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founder o f th e Radica l Faer y Movemen t i n th e Unite d States , develope d a "creedal " statemen t focusin g o n wha t ga y peopl e ar e not . • The y ar e not, b y nature, territoriall y aggressiv e an d d o no t impos e their politica l claim s o n others . • The y are not, b y nature, competitive bu t ar e passionately intereste d in sharing wit h others . • The y ar e not intereste d i n conquerin g natur e bu t ar e intereste d i n harmonious livin g with al l o f nature . • The y ar e not intereste d i n denyin g bodilines s an d carnalit y bu t ar e passionately involve d i n celebratin g al l aspect s o f huma n sexualit y and valu e bot h bodilines s an d carnalit y a s "th e gatewa y t o th e growth o f spiri t an d mind " (Ha y 1987 : 280). 4 Possessing intuitiv e faith-knowledg e o f th e divin e a s relationa l power , gay peopl e engag e i n wor k towar d peac e amon g themselve s an d al l human beings , an d towar d justice , equality , an d mutualit y i n al l thei r relations. The Patter n o f th e Sacre d i n ou r lif e togethe r i s justice . Th e shap e o f Go d i s justice. The movemen t o f th e Hol y i n ou r commo n lif e i s toward justice . The justice of God is both with u s now and coming. . .. I n this realm, justice is right relation, and right relation is mutual relation. (Heyward 1989 : 22-23) Here, th e principl e o f hop e i s a t work . Simila r t o philosophe r Erns t Bloch's idea of "concret e Utopia " an d Gutierrez' s notio n o f the centralit y of hop e i n th e variou s strand s o f liberatio n theolog y (Gutierre z 1983) , gay peopl e ar e le d b y hop e a s th e guidin g principl e i n thei r activit y toward a radica l an d healin g change . Praye r an d contemplation , whic h are significan t part s o f ga y religiou s communities , seamlessl y connec t with th e practical wor k o f generatin g peace , justice, and mutuality . 2. In Love and Charity As indicate d i n Harr y Hay' s "negativ e creeda l statement " quote d above, ga y peopl e celebrat e th e sexua l content s o f thei r relationship s i n a wa y unknow n t o member s o f th e heterosexua l community . Gay s giv e their expressio n o f sexualit y a central plac e i n their lives . It i s importan t to remembe r tha t ga y peopl e hav e t o articulat e a fundamenta l huma n need (sexuality ) tha t i s take n fo r grante d b y th e majorit y culture . Th e non-gay worl d ofte n misunderstand s th e importanc e o f sexualit y i n th e

Empowerment 10 lives o f gay s an d lesbian s b y tryin g t o reduc e thei r entir e bein g t o sexuality an d sexua l expressions . I t onl y shows , however , tha t larg e parts o f th e non-ga y worl d hav e ye t t o com e t o term s wit h thei r ow n sexuality (se e Hey ward 1989 : 28). As the y physicall y expres s thei r love , ga y peopl e mak e th e relationa l power o f th e divin e blossom . Ou r physica l relationship s ar e "sexua l Godding," t o us e on e o f Heyward' s expression s (1989 : 34) . They mak e the sacre d palpabl e a t th e momen t o f a loving , physica l interactio n an d create i t ane w i n eac h instanc e o f sexua l physicality . J . Michae l Clar k expresses th e sam e sentimen t mor e dramatically , thoug h filled wit h un deniable jo y and pleasure : [W]e must affir m tha t Go d wa s a s present i n th e ooz e an d smell s o f th e bath s before AID S as he/sh e i s toda y i n th e stickines s o f non-oxynol-nin e lubricant s and the snap-tightness of condoms. God is invoked in the flesh on/in flesh of our sexual loving , i n th e ritual s o f S/m , an d i n th e archetypa l manifestation s en hanced b y alcohol o r drugs . —Go d comfort s th e lonel y whil e als o permeatin g all th e network s o f relationship s whic h exis t outside the ghettoe s an d bar s a s well. (1991: 41-42) Perhaps, th e spiritua l dimension s o f empowermen t becom e mos t visibl e to th e publi c i n th e charitabl e wor k don e b y man y lesbian s an d gays . Our experience s of marginalization, rejection , an d separatio n hav e sensitized u s to th e specia l obligatio n w e hav e towar d th e sufferin g member s of ou r community . I n th e las t sixtee n year s ou r brother s an d sister s living with AIDS have attracte d muc h o f ou r philanthropi c an d charita ble attention . Beginnin g wit h th e foundatio n o f th e Ga y Men' s Healt h Crisis networ k i n Ne w Yor k City , involvemen t i n al l type s o f AID S ministries an d service s ha s becom e ou r specia l mission . Ga y peopl e hav e counseled thos e o f u s who ar e HIV-antibody-positiv e an d thos e wh o ar e People Livin g wit h AIDS (PLWA) , educate d ou r communitie s abou t "safer sex " practices , an d tende d t o th e physica l an d emotiona l need s of PLWAs throug h th e "budd y system. " Despit e th e har d physica l wor k and emotiona l frustrations , ga y peopl e involve d i n AIDS ministrie s an d services have experienced a spiritual powe r i n their activities , strengthen ing their mutua l bonds . In thei r charitabl e labor , ga y peopl e lear n t o appreciat e eve n mor e who w e ar e an d wha t socia l purpose s w e ca n claim . Th e AID S Quil t project i s a good example . It came into existence i n San Francisco durin g the las t decade , a t a tim e whe n ou r knowledg e abou t AID S wa s stil l i n

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its infanc y an d th e syndrom e exude d a n ai r replet e wit h fatalism , mor bidity, an d mortality . Bu t th e healin g wor k b y thousand s o f ga y peopl e had a definite impac t o n the way the country a s a whole ha s improved it s ways in dealing with the health crisi s and i n coping with the monumenta l amount o f grief . Charitable wor k als o need s to b e done fo r th e environment an d earth . Gay me n participatin g i n the Radica l Faer y Movemen t an d lesbian s an d gays activ e i n Greenpeace , Sierr a Club , o r Robi n Woo d d o s o becaus e they ar e drive n b y a desir e t o exten d justice , harmony , an d "righ t relation" t o al l o f creatio n (se e Hun t 1991 : 87-114) . Th e divin e i s experienced no t onl y a s relationa l powe r betwee n ga y sister s an d broth ers bu t als o i n thei r relationship s wit h nature . Th e healin g o f wounde d nature i s a part o f th e spirituall y roote d activit y towar d th e creation o f a "whole" world . Creatio n o f "whole " selve s an d creatio n o f a "whole " world ar e intrinsicall y linke d i n gay spirituality . In conclusion , I woul d lik e t o rais e a question : Wha t wil l th e discus sion o f ga y spiritua l identit y soun d lik e thirt y year s fro m now ? I admit , it i s a somewha t rhetorica l question . Bu t i t point s t o th e fac t tha t regardless of what idea s we have as scholars and wha t intuition s w e ma y follow a s religiou s people , i n ever y ne w generatio n individual s mus t discover thei r sexua l orientatio n ane w an d mus t connec t thi s discover y to thei r spiritua l identit y an d commitmen t t o a liberatin g practice . NOTES 1. Fo r hi s explanation o f th e "gemixtepickle " ter m homosexual, see Harr y Hay (1987: 279-91). 2. Se e especially Malcolm Boyd's introduction t o his book Gay Priest (1986: 1-3)3. J . Michael Clark integrates into his thinking Rosemary Radford Ruether' s line of argumentation in her book Sexism and God-Talk (1983). 4. Fo r the entire "negative creedal statement," see Hay (1987: 279-91). REFERENCES

Boyd, Malcolm . 1986 . Gay Priest: An Inner Journey. New York : St . Martin' s Press. . 1987 . "Telling a Lie for Christ. " I n Gay Spirit: Myth and Meaning, ed . Mark Thompson. New York: St. Martin's Press.

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Clark, J. Michael. 1987. Gay Being: Divine Presence: Essays in Gay Spirituality. Las Colinas, Tex.: Tangelwuld Press. . 1989 . A Place to Start: Toward an Unapologetic Gay Liberation Theology. Dallas, Tex.: Monument Press. . 1991 . "Prophecy, Subjectivity , an d Theodic y i n Ga y Theology: Developing a Constructiv e Methodology. " I n Constructing Gay Theology, ed . Michael L . Stemmeler an d J . Michae l Clark . La s Colinas , Tex.: Monumen t Press. Grahn, Judy. 1987. "Flaming without Burning: Some of the Roles of Gay People in Society. " I n Gay Spirit: Myth and Meaning, ed. Mar k Thompson . Ne w York: St. Martin's Press. Gutierrez, Gustavo. 1983 . The Power of the Poor in History: Selected Writings. Trans. Robert R. Barr. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books. Hay, Harry. 1987 . "A Separate People Whose Time Has Come." In Gay Spirit: Myth and Meaning, ed. Mark Thompson. New York: St. Martin's Press. Hey ward, Carter . 1989 . Touching Our Strength: The Erotic as Power and the Love of God. San Francisco: Harper and Row. Hunt, Mary. 1991 . Pierce Tenderness: A Feminist Theology of Friendship. Ne w York: Crossroad. Maguen, Shira . 1991 . "Teen Suicide : The Government' s Cover-u p an d Ameri ca's Lost Children." The Advocate 586 (September 2.4 , 1991): 40-47. McNeill, John J. 1988 . Taking a Chance on God: Liberating Theology for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Lovers, Families, and Friends. Boston : Beacon Press. Pilant, Craig W. 1993 . " 'We Shine a Ferocious Light': The Gay Community as Wounded Healers." In Gay Affirmative Ethics, ed. Michael L. Stemmeler and J. Michael Clark. Las Colinas, Tex.: Monument Press. Ruether, Rosemar y Radford . 1983 . Sexism and God-Talk: Toward a Feminist Theology of Liberation. Boston: Beacon Press. Wahba, Rachel . 1989 . "Hidin g I s Unhealthy fo r th e Soul. " I n Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish, ed. Christi e Balk a an d And y Rose . Boston: Beacon Press. Yeskel, Felice. 1989. "You Didn't Talk about These Things: Growing Up Jewish, Lesbian, an d Workin g Class. " I n Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian or Gay and Jewish, ed. Christie Balka and Andy Rose. Boston: Beacon Press.

S IX

Bringing G o o d N e w s t o th Body: Masturbatio n an M a l e Identit

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SCOTT HALDEMA

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I masturbate . I d o i t ofte n an d i n a variet y o f ways . I d o i t most ofte n i n th e shower . A s wate r flows ove r m y body , rinsin g awa y the grim e o f Ne w Yor k Cit y an d awakenin g m e t o anothe r day , I fee l refreshed an d renewed . I touch m y body , al l o f it , t o wash , yes , but als o simply t o touch . Sometime s I linger . Sometime s m y touc h take s o n a n urgency tha t correspond s wit h a feelin g o f excitemen t insid e tha t mani fests itsel f i n a n erection . Then , I touc h mysel f quit e a bit . M y peni s catches my attention bu t I feel pleasur e al l over fro m th e water, fro m th e soap, an d fro m m y wandering hands . Sometimes I rus h t o orgasm , frustratin g mysel f wit h to o quic k a climax. Sometime s I poun d awa y unti l m y ski n i s raw . Sometimes , fantasies ar e no t enoug h an d I ach e fo r th e touc h o f another . A t thos e times I am luck y i f m y wif e i s home becaus e sometime s sh e wil l joi n m e in th e showe r o r jus t reac h i n t o touc h o r kis s me . Sometimes , though , when sh e i s home , I fee l lik e I hav e t o b e secretiv e an d spen d mor e energy worryin g abou t bein g caugh t tha n enjoyin g myself . Sometime s I build u p slowl y an d the n sto p t o rela x befor e buildin g again . Sometime s I find just th e right rhythm . Then, m y bod y tenses . M y pelvi s begin s t o rock . Th e muscle s i n my arms and leg s contract. Bloo d comes to the surface o f my body; my chest III

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and fac e redden . An d I come . Release . Endorphins . I stagge r a bit , feeling flushed. Th e fluid s tha t m y bod y create s com e out ; m y life-forc e overflowing. Then , I am calm , a t peace , happy , read y fo r th e day . I a m my body . M y bod y i s me. I am on e an d I am connecte d t o th e lif e forc e that le t me rest an d tha t awaken s m e now fo r my work . Masturbation, fo r me , i s a means : t o rela x whe n I a m tense , t o cal m down whe n I a m agitated , t o energiz e m e whe n I noddin g of f whil e trying t o work, t o satisf y a n urg e when m y wife isn' t i n the moo d o r to o tired, and t o allow me to feel lovabl e when I feel unattractive . Sometime s it's a n escape . Sometime s it' s a wa y t o dea l wit h tensio n b y no t dealing . Sometimes it' s a wa y t o avoi d th e har d wor k o f bein g i n a relationship . But als o sometime s it' s a wa y bac k int o relation—it' s a mean s o f self affirmation whic h make s m e fee l worth y o f askin g for , eve n fighting for , what I need . I t ca n als o b e a tim e fo r lettin g g o o f m y self-control ; o f falling int o freedo m wher e I find mysel f an d ta p m y creativ e energy . Masturbation i s a spiritual practic e fo r me , a way to express my yearnin g for lov e and life , even thoug h my desire i s rarely satisfie d an d eve n whe n it is, the satisfactio n i s temporary, ambiguous , an d fragile . Masturbation influence s man y aspect s o f my life , alway s wit h th e potential t o mov e m e toward mor e mutua l an d responsibl e relationship s with myself , others , an d m y God , o r o f allowin g m e t o sli p further int o isolation an d self-centeredness . M y experienc e reveal s th e richnes s o f masturbation a s a means to investigate men's lives but also the ambiguit y of it s practice . I t i s n o wonde r tha t man y culture s ar e skeptica l o f thi s practice tha t I woul d lik e t o cal l "self-loving " bu t whic h i s mor e com monly know n a s "self-abuse. " Mark Twain , i n a n 187 9 essa y entitle d "Scienc e o f Onanism, " illus trates th e ambivalen t attitud e towar d masturbatio n tha t stil l exist s to day. H e begins , I will continu e [m y predecessor's] goo d wor k i n th e caus e o f moralit y b y cautioning yo u agains t tha t specie s o f recreatio n calle d self-abuse , t o whic h I perceive you are too much addicted. (Neider 1987 : 58) After quotin g shor t line s from man y source s bot h praisin g an d criticizin g masturbation, Twai n concludes : As a n amusemen t i t i s to o fleeting . A s a n occupatio n i t i s to o wearing . A s a public exhibitio n ther e i s n o mone y i n it . I t i s unsuite d t o th e drawin g room . And i n the most cultured societ y it has long since been banished fro m th e social

Bringing Good News to the Body 11 board. It has at last, in our day of progress and improvement, bee n degraded t o brotherhood wit h flatulence . Amon g th e bes t bre d thes e tw o art s ar e no w indulged only in private. . . . My illustrious predecessor ha s taught yo u that al l forms o f "socia l evil " are bad. I would teac h yo u tha t som e of thos e form s ar e mor e t o b e avoided tha n others. S o in concludin g I say, "i f yo u mus t gambl e awa y you r live s sexually , don't play a Lone Hand too much." (Neider 1987 : 59-60) I share Twain's ambivalenc e abou t masturbatio n bu t no t fo r th e reason s he gives . I a m concerne d wit h th e relatio n o f mal e masturbatio n t o th e construction o f masculin e identit y i n an d b y ou r society . Masturbation , depending o n th e critica l awarenes s an d choice s o f practic e o f it s per formers, bot h reinforce s an d challenge s th e hegemonic definitio n o f mal e identity give n to an d reproduce d b y U.S. men. But her e I nee d t o mak e a fe w caveats . First , m y source s are , almos t exclusively, white , privileged , well-educate d U.S . me n (although , bot h gay an d straight) , an d som e women . M y researc h indicate s tha t mastur bation i s no t a topi c tha t ha s generate d muc h publi c discussio n outsid e this group . Perhap s practic e an d meaning s woul d b e differen t fo r me n from othe r racial/ethni c o r socio-economi c categories , perhap s not . A t this point , I canno t b e sure . I n addition , th e subject , a s i t i s relate d t o leisure activity (n o matter ho w necessar y I may want t o argue masturba tion i s fo r a health y identity) , ma y no t b e a priorit y i n th e da y t o da y survival struggle s whic h occup y me n fro m so-calle d minorit y o r poo r communities. Second, I will not revie w the history o f moral teaching s about mastur bation; tha t ha s bee n don e b y many— a goo d summar y o f Judeo-Chris tian teaching s i s provide d b y Jame s Nelso n i n hi s work , Embodiment (1978). The etymolog y o f th e wor d ma y suffic e here . "Masturbation " i s derived fro m th e Lati n word s fo r "hand " an d "defilement " (Allworth y in Wood s 1981 : 7) . Th e histor y o f repressio n i s significan t i n it s effec t on th e constructio n o f ou r experienc e o f separatio n o f ou r mind s fro m our body , wit h th e forme r bein g value d a s superior . Traditiona l teach ings als o magnif y ou r sens e o f guil t an d sham e i n givin g ourselve s pleasure an d "wastin g th e mal e seed. " Fortunately , notion s o f th e psy chological o r physica l har m resultin g fro m masturbatio n ar e bein g dissi pated b y new, an d les s biased, researc h (cf . Dodso n 1987 ; Woods 1981 ; Zilbergeld 1978) . But wha t i s this "mal e identity " tha t I claim masturbatio n influence s

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and challenges ? N o monolithi c "mal e identity " exists ; man y masculini ties are identifiabl e withi n an y give n culture. Fo r me n o f differen t racial , economic, educational , an d sexua l orientatio n classes , th e option s o f how t o ac t a s a ma n ar e variousl y ope n o r confined , supportiv e o r defiant o f th e socia l structure , an d conduciv e o r destructiv e t o thei r struggle t o develo p a healthy sens e of self-estee m an d relationa l identity . I do believ e that, althoug h th e identit y o f a given ma n woul d resul t i n different interpretation s o f th e sam e phenomenon , ther e ar e certai n facets o f men' s self-understandin g tha t ar e influence d b y thei r decision s about masturbation . Thes e are the relationship o f a man: to his physicality, t o hi s sexuality , t o hi s spirituality , t o thos e wit h who m a ma n finds himself i n intimat e relationship , and , finally, t o wome n i n general . I t i s not eas y t o dra w distinction s betwee n thes e areas ; overla p i s evident . However, th e delineatio n o f thi s structur e allow s u s t o identif y som e o f the problem s an d gift s o f th e practic e o f masturbation . Physicality Men lik e th e strengt h o f thei r muscles . The y lik e t o pla y sport s an d d o "man-ual" task s that pus h the m t o ne w limit s o f endurance . Me n lik e t o punish thei r bodies , t o confor m the m t o thei r control , t o "whi p the m into shape. " Bu t I don' t kno w i f me n lik e thei r bodies . Jame s Nelson , commenting o n professiona l football , addresse s th e ambivalenc e towar d the bod y o f mal e acculturation . H e writes , "Fo r al l it s celebratio n o f bodily toughness , i t depend s upo n dissociatio n fro m th e body—no t listening t o it s feeling s o f tirednes s o r pai n o r tenderness " (1988 : 68-9) . The bod y i n this culture i s less than th e mind an d s o our attitud e towar d the bod y i s on e o f instrumentality . I n othe r words , w e as k ho w ca n w e use our bod y t o th e greate r goal s o f th e mind , suc h a s victorious compe tition, economi c success , or emotiona l imperviousness . I believe , o n th e whole , me n ar e alienate d fro m thei r bodies . Mos t men are—t o us e Dodson' s phrasing—"ou t o f touch " wit h thei r ow n needs fo r touch , receptivity , an d a realisti c understandin g o f thei r physi cal limit s an d vulnerability . Thi s cut s me n of f fro m thei r ow n tru e strength, th e realit y o f thei r inter-dependenc e wit h othe r peopl e an d th e world (Nelso n 1988 : 101-5) . I n turn , thi s out-of-touchnes s shut s of f access t o thei r feeling s (Lowe n 1990 : 7off ) and , therefore , t o empath y with others . Marvin Elliso n writes :

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Disassociation fro m th e bod y an d fro m th e emotion s i s a t th e roo t o f thi s absence o f mora l sensitivit y t o th e sufferin g me n inflic t o n ourselve s an d o n others. Since we are connected to ourselves and to the world only in and through our bodies, when we no longer feel and experience our bodily connectedness, we literally lose touch with reality. As men who batter others give ample testimony, those no t abl e t o fee l thei r ow n pai n ar e mor e likel y t o inflic t pai n o n others . (1991: 192) Masturbation can , a t least , serv e t o pu t me n bac k "i n touch " wit themselves. Me n canno t jer k of f withou t som e physica l contac t wit their bodies . Unfortunately , masturbatio n ofte n reinforces , rathe r tha addresses, th e alienatio n o f me n fro m thei r bodie s whe n i t i s focuse solely on genita l stimulatio n an d release . Zilbergeld writes :

h h n d

Because of these feelings [guil t and shame], and also because men have had little permission an d practic e i n bein g sensual , man y me n d o no t deriv e a s muc h pleasure a s the y coul d fro m masturbating . I t i s usuall y don e ver y quickly , th e whole object bein g to achieve orgasm and to get it over with. Masturbating this way presents some problems. It develops a habit of coming quickly, which may carry ove r t o sex with a partner. An d i t also reinforces ou r tendenc y t o ignor e bodily sensations more subtle than orgasm an d reinforces ou r inability to linger over and prolong pleasure. (1978: 168) Orgasms, sometimes without pleasure , are the focus o f attention an d no t the variety o f physica l sensations , fantasies, an d feeling s tha t accompan y the basi c act o f touchin g oneself . On th e othe r hand , masturbatio n ca n b e a n attemp t t o mov e beyon d simple gratificatio n toward s self-knowledg e an d th e reintegratio n o f th e body, mind , an d heart . Dodso n write s o f th e powe r o f masturbatio n t o break throug h addictions , condition s which , I think , ar e relate d t o th e shutting of f o f feeling , lo w self-esteem , an d insecurity . Sh e writes : "W e can al l hea l ourselve s wit h massiv e dose s o f selflov e an d orgasm s b y designing an d practicin g ou r ow n individua l ritual s o f pleasure " (1987 : 129). I f on e ca n paus e t o le t th e feeling s com e a s wel l a s th e ejaculate , the deadened part s of ou r physica l an d emotiona l selve s may come forth . Sexuality The renewa l o f a man' s relationshi p wit h hi s bod y i s relate d to , an d a part of , a man' s imag e o f hi s sexuality . Me n thin k o f thei r peni s a s th e definitive sig n o f thei r identit y a s men . And, of course , it is not jus t thei r

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penis bu t thei r erec t penis—har d an d straigh t an d read y fo r actio n (Monick 1987) . Bu t suc h a definitio n i s on e o f exclusion . W e ar e als o our large r selve s and th e res t o f ou r bodies . To defin e ourselve s a s thos e people wit h penise s i s t o equat e wome n wit h thos e wh o don' t hav e penises, clearly a n identificatio n fe w wome n ar e willing to accept. Dwor kin writes : Men renounce whatever the y have in common wit h wome n s o as to experience no commonality with women; and so what is left, according to men, is one piece of fles h a few inche s long, the penis. The penis i s sensate; the peni s is the man; the penis is human; the penis signifies humanity. (1989: 53-54) Men's sexualit y i s forme d b y thi s in-grou p an d out-grou p mentalit y (cf. Stoltenber g 1991) . Thei r sexualit y i s tie d u p wit h violenc e agains t those wh o ar e no t men , or no t "rea l men. " [T]he continuing urge to masturbate mus t mea n that th e bo y is attracted t o the male body—hi s own . Thu s th e psychi c anxietie s o f defendin g himsel f agains t homosexuality ar e attache d t o masturbatio n an d becom e anothe r sourc e o f resentment projected outward . However, in this instance the projection i s aimed not only at homosexual males, who symbolize what the boy fears in himself, but also at women, who represent bodiliness itself. (Nelson 1988 : 77) Within thi s complex socia l constructio n o f gender , th e peni s i s separate d from th e res t o f th e bod y a s a n independen t entit y whos e desire s excus e men fro m th e brutalit y o f rape . Th e dynamic s o f se x becom e thos e o f dominance an d submissio n rathe r tha n mutua l pleasure . Malenes s i s identified wit h havin g powe r over , an d fea r tha t thi s powe r i s no t rea l leads to act s of violenc e agains t wome n an d ga y men . Men ar e alienate d from thei r sexuality , runnin g fro m thei r homophobia , unabl e t o escap e from th e deadly equatio n o f se x with violence . Masturbation, again , ca n reinforc e o r challeng e thes e aspect s o f mal e identity. Masturbation ca n b e the worship o f phallu s a s weapon: a ritua l of witnes s t o it s power , th e equatio n o f it s pleasur e wit h domination , and practic e fo r comin g quickl y an d har d withou t regar d fo r another' s feelings. Whe n connecte d t o pornography , masturbatio n ca n reinforc e the objectification o f other s fo r one' s ow n pleasure . But masturbatio n ca n als o mov e u s towar d les s destructiv e way s o f being. Nelson writes : To experienc e th e height s o f sexua l pleasur e I mus t le t loos e o f m y nee d t o control. I must let go, giving myself over to the delicious moment. It is a paradox

Bringing Good News to the Body 11 known i n other way s i n the gospel bu t applicable her e a s well: losing the self means finding the self. Sexual pleasure nurtures the reunion o f the self with the self. M y body s o often alie n an d disconnecte d become s m e again. I not onl y experience myself , I experienc e lov e fo r mysel f an d recove r a sens e o f th e goodness of being alive. (1988: 59 ) Masturbation ca n expan d ou r sexua l vocabulary , reawake n ou r eroti c imaginations, help us recognize our enjoyment o f our penises and reevaluate ou r understanding s o f ou r sexua l orientatio n beyon d homophobi a and toward s acceptanc e o f the variety o f bodie s an d body part s w e find exciting. It may even hel p u s participate i n creative socia l change . Our cultural denial of masturbation sustain s sexual repression. From childhood through adulthood , w e feel guil t an d shame ove r masturbation . Deprive d o f a sexual relationshi p wit h ourselves , w e are easier t o manipulat e an d mor e accepting o f th e statu s quo . I believ e masturbatio n hold s th e ke y to reversin g sexual repression. (Dodson 1987 : 4) Experiencing pleasur e i n our bodie s awaken s a desir e fo r pleasur e wit h others, a desire tha t move s u s beyond a lust fo r dominance an d toward s more jus t relation s wit h all. Spirituality The spiritualit y o f ou r Christia n cultur e i s commonly believe d t o den y the powe r o f the body t o tell u s about God . It denies tha t ou r desire for pleasure, fo r touch , fo r connectio n wit h huma n ski n i s as importan t a s connection t o a n invisibl e god . It condemn s sexua l pleasuring , b y our selves o r wit h others , fo r purpose s othe r tha n pro-creatio n a s "unnat ural." However, i t i s als o tru e tha t th e bod y an d it s sense s ar e th e onl y means o f connectio n betwee n ourselve s an d al l realit y beyon d us , whether sacre d o r profane . Som e Christia n theologian s argu e fo r a spirituality base d i n bodily experience . Driver writes : [The theologian ] kne w enoug h t o know tha t th e gospel was not an idea bu t a deliverance. It was therefore a n act. No act, not even a n act of the mind, was conceivable bodiless. The gospel would brin g good news to his body or it would liberate nothing. (1977: 4) Spirituality, ou r living ou t of our sense o f connectedness t o all life, is mediated b y th e body . I n keepin g wit h thi s latte r sens e o f spirituality ,

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male masturbatio n focuse s o n tw o particularl y significan t phenomena : phallus an d orgasm . Men o f ever y tim e an d plac e hav e know n a religiou s qualit y t o thei r phalli c experience. T o adap t Rudolp h Otto' s words , i t i s th e mysterium tremendum. Such encounter s wit h th e numinou s produce s response s o f fascination , awe , energy, an d a sens e o f th e "wholl y other. " Throug h phallus , me n sens e a resurrection, the capacity o f the male member to retur n t o lif e agai n an d agai n after depletion . An erection make s a boy feel lik e a man an d make s a man fee l alive. It brings the assurance and substantiation of masculine strength. Yet, a s with othe r experience s o f th e holy , males fee l ambivalen t abou t th e phallus. Erection s mus t b e hidde n fro m genera l view . The y ar e a n embar rassment whe n the y occu r publicly . Me n jok e abou t erection s wit h eac h othe r but canno t spea k seriously . The secre t i s exposed onl y wit h anothe r perso n i n intimacy or when a male permits himself t o experience his potency alone . (Nelson 1988 : 92; cf. Monick 1987 ) Monick writes : "Phallic worship today , as a man's personal an d tangibl e homage t o hi s inne r lif e force , take s th e for m o f masturbation " (1987 : 113). Th e phallu s i s a mysterium tremendum, appearin g a s i t wills , no t when w e wil l i t t o (an d sometime s no t appearin g whe n w e wil l i t t o come). I t grab s ou r attention , ofte n embarrassin g u s an d sometime s calling u s t o action . Erection s com e an d go—perhap s bein g th e on e male connection t o th e cycles of life . And, i n orgasm , a s we le t ourselve s go, life-giving fluid i s released int o th e world . In additio n t o th e potentiall y spiritua l dimensio n o f a man' s relation ship t o hi s erec t penis , orgasm s ca n b e numinou s occasions . Orgas m i s an experienc e o f unificatio n o f sel f (mind , body , an d spirit ) an d o f unification (som e migh t us e th e wor d "transcendence" ) o f sel f wit h world/cosmos/god. "Meditativ e se x [is ] using sexua l energ y t o brin g m y body, mind , an d spiri t int o perfec t alignmen t wit h orgasm— a cosmi c moment o f joy" (Dodso n 1987 : 120). I know tha t immediately followin g orgasm, I feel full y alive , fully male , centered an d grounded . The orgasmic sexual experience bring s its own revelation . The hard an d explosive phallic achievement become s i n an instan t th e soft, vulnerabl e tear s of th e penis. Bot h ar e full y male . Bot h ar e deepl y grounde d i n men' s bodil y reality . (Nelson 1988 : i n ) Masturbation ca n b e relationship-denying , frustrating , self-centered . I t can als o b e centering , creativ e o f creativ e energy , a n expressio n o f ou r desire t o touc h th e life-forc e insid e an d se e i t manifest . O n th e connec -

Bringing Good News to the Body 11 tion betwee n masturbation an d creative energy, Woods writes : "love fo r the self can be translated into a means of achieving energy relief, spiritual growth, an d a metho d o f plumbin g ne w artistr y i n thinking , feeling , writing, and growing" (1981 : 10). Masturbation ca n b e a cursor y exercis e o f tensio n releas e o r a n intentional ritua l o f worshi p o f th e goodnes s o f fles h an d o f ou r desir e to b e whole . A ritua l o f self-lov e ca n b e a n entr y int o th e lan d o f th e erotic, the deep power of ou r sensual life . Audre Lorde writes: that deep and irreplaceable knowledge of my capacity for joy comes to demand from all of my life that it be lived within the knowledge that such satisfaction is possible, and does not have to be called marriage, nor god, nor an afterlife. This is one reason why the erotic is so feared, and so often relegate d to the bedroom alone, when it is recognized at all. For once we begin to feel deeply all the aspects of our lives, we begin to demand from ourselves and from our lifepursuits that they feel in accordance with that joy which we know ourselves to be capabl e of . Ou r eroti c knowledg e empower s us , become s a len s throug h which w e scrutiniz e al l aspect s o f ou r existence , forcin g u s t o evaluat e thos e aspects honestly in terms of their relative meaning within our lives. (1984: 57)1 Men wil l masturbat e an d the practic e wil l shap e th e men . Masturba tion ca n serv e a s devote d an d uncritica l worshi p o f a go d o f wa r o r a god o f peace . Masturbatio n ca n b e a n exercis e i n self-glorificatio n o r a ritual o f self-pleasur e tha t ca n lea d t o a renewe d awarenes s o f one' s sacred embodiment , one' s inter-dependenc e wit h other s an d one' s com mitment to the betterment of al l life . Relationality No matte r i f h e ha s on e partne r o r many , o r i f th e partner s ar e me n o r women, a ma n ma y hav e troubl e sharin g intimacy . I n hi s discussio n o f the relatio n betwee n gende r role s an d variou s conception s o f power , Nelson describe s th e incompatibilit y o f th e "mal e role " wit h rela tionality. The "masculine" has been under attack because it suggests the urge to dominate others without bein g at the same time influenced b y them.... Th e "feminine " fears self-dependence, while the "masculine" fears inter-dependence. Such fear is born out of insecurity. It is the absence of authentic power. (Nelson 1988: 102) Masturbation ca n dissipat e o r exaggerat e thes e fears . Nelso n write s elsewhere: "[Masturbation ] ca n b e pleasurable , comforting , vicariousl y

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adventuresome, an d entertaining—o r i t can b e a neuroti c escap e fro m a relationship an d a frustratin g solutio n t o inne r problems " (1978 : 170) . On th e on e hand , masturbatio n ca n b e a n isolate d an d isolatin g practice, don e t o fulfil l a man' s desire s beyon d wha t hi s current partne r can agre e t o an d servin g a s a wal l o f secrec y betwee n himsel f an d th e other. "Man y adult s ar e onl y vaguel y (i f a t all ) awar e tha t the y like t o feel naught y whe n the y masturbate . Th e ide a tha t masturbatio n ca n b e openly enjoye d withou t guil t ma y b e unwelcom e and , a t leas t initially , anti-erotic" (Mori n 1980 : 96). On th e other hand, masturbatio n ca n function a s one more expressio n of a mutual sexua l vocabulary : a vehicle for learnin g ne w sexua l skills , a way o f reducin g pressure s t o ge t on e anothe r of f o r whatever . Dodso n relates th e sens e o f freedo m an d deepenin g intimac y tha t occurre d i n a relationship onc e sh e an d he r partne r bega n t o perfor m masturbatio n i n each other' s company . The y foun d the y wer e the n abl e t o b e mor e honest wit h eac h othe r abou t thei r desire s i n the are a o f sexua l pla y an d subsequently i n other aspect s o f thei r relationship . Becoming responsible for our own orgasms was a basic statement about individuality and equality. It established u s as people who had a choice when it came to lovemaking. W e wer e movin g awa y fro m romanti c se x towar d th e infinit e delights of erotic loving. (Dodson 1987 : 24) Masturbation ca n help a man find his authentic power , which i s based on a robus t lov e o f sel f tha t i s no t incompatibl e wit h inter-dependenc e on others . Throug h self-touc h on e build s self-estee m an d increase s th e capacity t o fee l bot h pleasur e an d pain , reversin g th e cycle s o f isolatio n and repressio n tha t separat e u s from on e another . Experiencin g pleasur e alone make s i t possibl e t o shar e pleasur e wit h someon e els e an d share d pleasure, whil e certainl y no t th e onl y way , doe s allo w intimac y t o b e continually deepened . Gender Equalit y Finally, masturbatio n influence s th e large r questio n o f th e relationshi p between me n an d women . Masturbatio n meet s misogyn y a t th e intersec tion know n a s pornography. Me n us e pornograph y regularl y whe n the y masturbate. Pornographi c image s com e t o defin e wha t me n thin k i s

Bringing Good News to the Body 12 sexually stimulating , whic h include s image s o f th e degradatio n o f women. Porn i s a comple x subjec t no t onl y becaus e o f th e numerou s level s which nee d t o b e addressed b y a n analysis : the portraya l o f women ; th e lived experienc e o f thes e women ; th e production , sale , and consumptio n of thes e images ; the us e b y me n an d it s impact o n thei r behavio r towar d women; the relation o f gay and straigh t porn , etc. Even if we could com e to som e consensu s abou t a definitio n o f pornograph y an d it s meanin g for thi s culture , w e woul d stil l hav e t o argu e abou t wha t strateg y t o adopt i n orde r t o respond t o thi s pervasive phenomenon. 2 Porn ma y b e the mos t accessibl e sourc e o f informatio n abou t sexual ity fo r men . Fo r ga y men , th e rol e o f por n i n helpin g t o com e t o a sens e of comfor t wit h one' s identit y canno t b e underestimate d (cf . Tucke r 1990). Fo r straigh t men , an d i n som e ga y material , however , porn' s educational functio n migh t b e bette r though t o f a s a perpetuation o f th e ideology o f gende r domination . Here , porn an d th e masturbatio n tha t i s associated wit h i t reinforces th e lessons men get about associatin g sexua l pleasure wit h th e subjugatio n an d violen t treatmen t o f women . Stolten berg writes: Pay your money and jerk off. Tha t kind of sex helps the lie a lot. It helps support an industry committe d t o makin g people with penises believ e that people without penise s ar e slut s wh o jus t wan t t o b e ravishe d an d reviled—a n industr y dedicated to maintaining a sex-class system in which men believe themselves sex machines an d me n believ e wome n ar e mindles s fuc k tubes . (Stoltenber g 1991 : 153) While agreein g tha t mos t por n support s patriarcha l cultura l norms , I do no t thin k por n ca n b e equated simpl y wit h tha t whic h teache s sexua l domination. Ther e i s "feminist " por n no w an d growin g number s o f women ar e buyin g an d usin g por n themselves . Additionally , th e ten dency t o cal l wha t yo u lik e "erotica " an d wha t someon e els e like s "porn" reveal s th e subjectivit y an d ofte n th e clas s bia s o f suc h distinc tions. However, I would prefe r t o encourag e masturbatio n withou t porn . I would lik e people t o challeng e themselve s t o imagin e thei r ow n excitin g erotic encounter s an d t o develo p a n expandin g sexua l vocabulary , in stead o f uncriticall y consumin g th e image s presente d t o the m b y th e

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multi-national conglomerate s whic h toda y hav e th e powe r t o mol d eve n our mos t intimat e thoughts . Masturbation i s a doo r int o th e worl d o f fantasie s an d desire s tha t each o f u s ha s withi n an d tha t lead s u s t o lif e an d lif e abundan t i f w e will simpl y tur n of f th e ol d tape s an d fre e ou r bodie s t o speak . Eve n th e most insensitiv e person , I believe , yearn s fo r som e sor t o f bette r way — some escap e fro m th e deadnes s o f violen t existence , a space where touc h is truly fel t an d feeling s trul y known . We can begi n t o lear n o f thi s plac e by followin g th e wisdo m o f ou r body , whic h w e begi n t o kno w a s w e touch it . Here, we return agai n t o the possibility fo r self-knowledge , self integration, an d health y self-estee m whic h ca n benefi t fro m practicin g masturbation. A critica l praxi s o f masturbatio n bring s goo d new s t o men' s bodies . The goo d news , th e centra l messag e o f th e Christia n religion , i n my interpretation, i s no t a n uncritica l celebratio n o f th e wa y w e liv e ou r lives. Rather , i t i s a cal l int o mutualit y an d communit y wher e on e ha s a sense o f sel f an d honor s th e integrit y o f th e other . If masturbation i s practiced a s a conscious ritua l o f celebratio n o f th e goodness o f one' s flesh a s a gif t fro m God , on e ca n regai n th e sens e o f bodily connectednes s whic h lead s t o a renewe d sensitivit y t o one' s ow n feelings an d th e feeling s o f others . If masturbatio n i s practice d wit h a n ope n awarenes s o f one' s sexua l desires an d fantasie s s o tha t the y d o no t encourag e furthe r repressio n but serv e a s a doo r int o greater self-knowledge , i t can serv e a s a liberat ing too l fro m th e confine s o f patriarcha l image s o f malenes s an d th e falsity o f dualisti c gende r rol e models—an d thereb y int o mor e jus t relations wit h other s wh o canno t mak e themselve s confor m t o suc h destructive identities . If masturbatio n i s practice d a s a consciou s ritua l tha t celebrate s th e unpredictable an d miraculou s forc e o f lif e withi n ou r bodies , i t can fre e us (through , an d no t outsid e of , direc t bodil y experience ) int o onenes s with ourselves , our huma n lovers , and ou r goddesses/gods . If masturbatio n i s practice d a s on e o f man y eroti c pathway s i n a relationship, i t can serv e to bolste r one' s own responsibilit y fo r pleasure , which can free everyon e to relate in equal and mutuall y pleasurin g ways . If masturbation i s practiced with awarenes s of the power o f pornogra phy t o legitimat e relation s o f socia l dominatio n o f me n ove r women , i t can serv e a s a wa y t o fre e u s fro m eroti c addiction s an d hel p u s t o fal l

Bringing Good News to the Body 12 into th e freedo m o f pleasurin g fo r alivenes s instea d o f a s a n escap e fro m deadness. I t ca n b e empowerin g i n raisin g ou r consciousnes s abou t th e connections betwee n mal e pleasur e an d violenc e agains t women . I t ca n be the basi s fo r pleasur e throug h life-givin g touch—one' s ow n an d tha t of others—whic h ca n fre e u s fro m th e nee d t o objectif y an d violat e i n order t o fee l alive . Masturbation i s ambiguous . I t ca n resul t i n th e deadenin g o f sense s and th e destructive narcissis m o f th e worship o f the self. Or i t can pu t u s back i n touc h wit h ou r bodil y reality , throug h whic h al l trut h i s know n and whic h i s the basi c locatio n o f th e exten t o f ou r justice , the concrete ness o f ou r lov e an d th e mutualit y o f ou r relationships . Touc h bring s life. An d s o I say , returnin g t o Twain' s words , "i f yo u mus t gambl e away you r live s sexually, " pla y th e "Lon e Hand, " pla y i t knowingly . Unless you r pla y bring s goo d new s t o you r ow n body , i t wil l no t brin g good new s to thos e wit h who m yo u ar e i n relationship . In , or rather , o n the othe r hand , goo d new s to yo u mean s liberatio n an d tha t ca n onl y b e contagious.

NOTES 1. I quot e Lord e tentatively . I n thi s work , sh e consider s thi s capacit y fo r deep feeling , th e erotic , a specia l possessio n o f women . Bu t I kno w th e dee p yearning for , an d fleeting experiences of , bette r way s o f relatin g t o other s an d the world; an d I can find no bette r languag e tha n wha t sh e ha s provided wit h which to name it. 2. Th e pornography debate within feminist circles and between feminists and others is raging. I follow Marian a Valverd e who does not concentrate on defin ing pornography narrowl y enoug h t o creat e lega l standard s fo r censorship , a s do Dworkin an d others . Instead, she seeks to identify cultura l norm s which ar e degrading to women and then to empower women to mobilize for mor e sweeping an d les s government-dependen t reforms . Sh e define s por n a s a "comple x cultural process." She writes: "Pornography is not an aberration in an otherwise civilized and egalitarian culture. It is part and parcel of the cultural industry that gives u s sexis t advertising , racis t wa r movies , an d classis t soa p operas . M y contention her e i s tha t it s specifi c rol e i n thi s cultura l industr y i s t o eroticiz e social domination, an d mos t notabl y gende r domination... . I f th e main problem with por n i s that i t eroticize s mal e sexua l dominatio n an d othe r form s o f social domination, the n th e only real solution i s to empower wome n an d othe r oppressed group s s o tha t w e ca n begi n t o redefin e wha t i s eroti c an d wha t i s not" (1985 : 12.5* i3*> 144)-

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REFERENCES Davies, Susan E. and Eleanor H. Haney, eds. 1991. Redefining Sexual Ethics: A Sourcebook of Essays, Stories and Poems. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press. Dodson, Betty . 1987 . Sex for One: The Joy of Selfloving. Ne w York : Crow n Trade Paperbacks. Driver, Tom . 1977 . Patterns of Grace: Human Experience as Word of God. Lanham, Md: University Press of America. Dworkin, Andrea . 1989 . Pornography: Men Possessing Women. Ne w York : E. P. Dutton. Ellison, Marvin. 1991 . "Refusing t o B e a Good Soldier. " I n Davies and Hane y 1991. Kimmel, Michael S. , ed. 1990 . Men Confront Pornography. Ne w York: Crown Publishers. Lorde, Audre. 1984 . Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Trumansburg , N.Y.: Crossing Press. Lowen, Alexander. 1990 . The Spirituality of the Body. New York: Macmillan. Monick, Eugene. 1987. Phallos: Sacred Image of the Masculine. Toronto : Inner City Books. Morin, Jack . 1980 . Men Loving Themselves: Images of Male Self-sexuality. Burlingame, Calif.: Down There Press. Neider, Charles , ed. 1987 . The Outrageous Mark Twain: Some Lesser Known but Extraordinary Works. New York: Doubleday. Nelson, James . 1978 . Embodiment: An Approach to Sexuality and Christian Theology. Minneapolis: Augsburg Press. . 1988 . The Intimate Connection: Male Sexuality, Masculine Spirituality. Philadelphia: Westminster Press. Stoltenberg, John. 1991 . "How Men Have (a) Sex." In Davies and Haney 1991. Tucker, Scott. 1990. "Radical Feminism and Gay Male Porn." In Kimmel 1990. Valverde, Mariana. 1985 . Sex, Power, and Pleasure. Toronto: Women's Press. Woods, Margo . 1981 . Masturbation, Tantra, and Self-Love. San Diego : Mh o and Mho Works. Zilbergeld, Bernie. 1978. Male Sexuality. New York: Bantam Books.

SEVEN

Facing th e B o d y o n th e Cross A G a

y M a n ' s Reflection s o

Passion a n d Crucifixio ROBIN HAWLE

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n

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He stretche d ou t hi s arm s upo n th e cross , an d offere d himself , i n obedience to your will, a perfect sacrific e for the whole world. — The Book of Common Prayer The death that Jesus suffered o n the cross was of his body. —Arthur Evans, The God of Ecstasy The body in the mirror force s m e to turn an d fac e it. And I look a t my body, which is under sentence of death. It is lean, hard and cold, the incarnation of a mystery. —Jame s Baldwin, Giovanni's Room We are what we look upon and what we desire. —Plotinus

, Ennead

I have a complicate d histor y o f bodil y relatednes s wit h Jesu s which inform s my gaz e upo n th e ma n Jesu s fro m th e foo t o f th e cros s where hi s naked , dea d bod y hangs . M y relatio n wit h Jesus—bod y t o body—is a curiou s mixtur e o f desir e an d violation , o f friendshi p an d exclusion, o f worshi p an d fear . Thes e ambivalence s als o ar e centra l 125

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components o f my relationships—body t o body—with othe r gay , bisexual, an d transgende r men . I wan t t o explor e som e way s i n whic h th e very complicate d relation s betwee n th e bodie s o f me n an d th e bod y o f Jesus ar e reflection s o f th e equall y complicate d relation s amon g u s her e and now , and I will do so by reflecting upo n enactment s an d structuring s of desir e b y som e me n towar d Jesus . I shar e Audr e Lorde' s vie w tha t "The eroti c i s a measur e betwee n th e beginning s o f ou r sens e of sel f an d the chao s o f ou r stronges t feelings " (1984 : 54) . My reflection s upo n thi s embodied desir e i s a homoeroticize d gaz e toward , an d respons e to , visual image s o f Jesus , usin g thos e image s a s mirror s o f ou r desire . I hope tha t on e resul t o f thi s wor k wil l b e a greater appreciatio n o f visua l images a s source s fo r theologica l reflection , especiall y fo r me n workin g for fundamenta l socia l change . By focusin g o n th e bod y an d thu s th e malenes s o f Jesu s I inten d t o contribute t o the unmasking o f th e theological constructio n o f masculin ity i n Jesus ' da y an d ou r own . Som e feminis t theologian s ar e decon structing an d decenterin g th e malenes s o f Jesus b y developing Christolo gies whic h expan d th e meanin g o f Chris t t o b e mor e inclusiv e o f th e wider community , o f whic h wome n ar e th e majority . Other s hav e advo cated a greate r focu s o n Jesus ' doin g rathe r tha n hi s mal e being . M y own wor k a s a profeminis t ma n owe s muc h t o lesbia n feminis t theolo gian Carte r Heywar d (1982 , 1984 , 1989a , 1989b) , womanist theologia n Delores S . Williams (1993) , feminist theologian s Joanne Carlso n Brow n and Rebecc a Parke r (1989) , an d Rit a Nakashim a Broc k (1989 , 1991) , as wel l a s th e ethica l exploration s i n Christolog y o f To m F . Drive r (1981). Th e wor k o f profeminis t an d prowomanis t me n is , i t seem s t o me, t o exten d thi s deconstructio n an d decenterin g b y bringin g th e male ness o f Jesu s int o prope r scale , i.e . removin g i t fro m th e real m o f th e divine an d placin g i t i n th e real m o f th e mundane . M y focu s o n desir e by som e me n fo r Jesu s i s intende d t o facilitat e thi s mov e towar d th e mundane. I hop e tha t th e reappreciatio n o f image s o f th e embodie d Jesu s ca n help en d violenc e amon g men . On e o f th e mos t culturall y centra l enact ments o f male-over-mal e violenc e i s th e crucifixio n o f Jesus , an d thi s essay ma y b e understoo d a s a reflectio n upo n an d critiqu e o f th e tradi tional Christia n doctrin e o f th e atonement , th e belie f tha t "sinfu l hu mankind ha s bee n redeeme d becaus e Jesus die d o n th e cross i n th e plac e of humans , thereb y takin g huma n si n upo n himself " (William s 1993 :

Facing the Body on the Cross 12 161-62). M y focu s o n male-over-mal e violenc e i s no t intende d t o elid e violence against women an d children, but rather to put accountability t o the well-bein g o f wome n an d childre n an d othe r marginalize d person s (e.g., me n o f colo r i n a white-supremacis t world ) a t th e ver y cente r o f our live s a s men . I n som e way , then , thi s i s a Christo/anthropo-logica l exploration—a meditatio n o n the body o f Jesus on the cross as it serves as a mirror of othe r bodie s on other crosses. One o f th e primar y component s o f male-over-mal e violenc e i n ou r culture i s whit e supremacy , th e belie f tha t whitenes s i s preferabl e t o blackness, an d tha t i t reign s suprem e ove r blackness . O f course , black ness is not the only color ove r which whiteness claims to rule . But in the United States, white supremacy is structured historically and foundation ally i n anti-blackness. Whit e supremac y i s not onl y a matter o f prejudi cial feeling s whit e peopl e hav e agains t blac k people , bu t also , a s bel l hooks says , " a syste m tha t promote s dominatio n an d subjugation " (1992: 15) . Whit e supremac y i s dominatio n structure d b y color , an d white men , eve n th e well-meanin g liberal s an d liberationist s amon g us , routinely resor t t o i t a s a wa y t o exer t socia l contro l over me n an d women o f color . Whit e gay/bi/transgende r me n ar e no t automaticall y excluded from ou r shared white supremacy . Violence amon g me n i s grounde d i n competitio n amon g me n fo r control o f an d powe r ove r wome n an d children . Violenc e amon g me n also i s grounde d i n structure d racis m which , i n th e Unite d States , sus tains an economic syste m of neo-colonialism a t home and abroad. Thus, engaging i n critical analysi s o f ou r relation s a s me n i s t o brin g feminis t and womanis t critique s righ t int o th e cente r o f th e whit e supremacist , patriarchal "beast " where , a s men , w e live . The inter-structurin g o f oppressions i s no t onl y visible amon g thos e affecte d bu t als o amon g those whose social locations gives them greater opportunity to oppress— but onl y i f me n wh o posses s birthrigh t privilege s ar e willing t o unmas k themselves and their privileges. M y Desires , M y Identitie s My particular standpoint i s that of a mature, white man who earlier as a devoutly Episcopalian , sexuall y represse d adolescen t develope d a highl y spiritualized an d eroticized relatio n wit h th e image s o f a handsome, ye t eventually violated , Jesus. At one tim e married to a woman, I am a gay-

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identified, bisexua l fathe r o f thre e intelligent , sensitive , an d beautifu l daughters. Whil e retainin g considerabl e emotiona l an d theologica l con nection wit h th e Episcopa l Church , I als o find a denominationa l hom e in Unitarian Universalism . The Radica l Faeries , a far-flung, intentionall y decentralized networ k o f politicall y radical , counter-cultura l (almos t exclusively white ) ga y me n an d a fe w lesbians , comprise m y communit y of spiritua l activism . I no w positio n mysel f a s a n Anglica n Unitaria n Universalist Radica l Faeri e an d companio n o f Jesus. Although I remai n whit e i n colo r an d thu s retai n considerabl e whit e privilege, m y researc h an d writin g abou t th e liberatin g theologica l re sources i n th e live s an d work s o f Jame s Baldwi n an d Audr e Lord e lea d me int o a n increasingl y activ e "i n th e life " collaboratio n wit h blac k brothers an d sisters . "Me n o f difference " ar e m y primar y spiritua l com munity: me n o f al l color s wh o ar e gay/bi/transgende r o r "queer " an d who valu e bot h ou r commonalitie s an d ou r difference s a s source s o f th e holy. The criteri a b y which I choose mal e companion s i s the strengt h o f their commitmen t t o th e well-bein g o f women , children , an d margin alized men , wh o usuall y ar e th e leas t value d i n an y group . The y ar e m y primary communit y o f accountability . I choos e Jesu s a s a companio n fo r tw o reasons : h e wa s a "ma n o f difference" an d h e was committe d t o th e well-bein g o f women , childre n and marginalize d men . However , my relationshi p wit h Jesu s i s compli cated. Quee r performanc e artis t Ti m Mille r speak s fo r m e whe n h e writes: The first ma n I was ever in love with wa s Jesus. He was sweet. He was strong. He didn't play football o r scream at me and he wore great clothes. This feeling I had fo r hi m fro m a ver y early age is part o f m y love for othe r men . I imagine him a s a generous an d sensitiv e lover , ready t o give and receiv e pleasure. I see him ther e fo r th e othe r person . Rubbin g tire d muscle s wit h al l thos e sweet smelling balm s an d ointment s tha t the y kee p talking abou t i n th e Ne w Testa ment. M y relationshi p wit h Jesu s i s i n a direc t heartbea t t o m y ga y identity . (1991:63-64) I ca n recal l adolescen t fantasie s abou t Jesu s whe n thinkin g abou t a classroom i n m y paris h churc h whic h I use d a s a plac e t o stud y an d ponder theologica l issues . That classroo m ha d a picture o f th e blue-eye d Jesus lookin g quit e sensua l i n hi s agon y o n th e cross . I a m no t accus tomed t o thinkin g o f mysel f a s intereste d i n sado-masochisti c eroticism ,

Facing the Body on the Cross 12 yet th e mergin g o f sensualit y an d violenc e i n tha t pictur e i s hauntingl y clear t o me . Moreover, whe n I wa s a marrie d homosexua l man , strugglin g t o fi t the heterosexist mold , I felt connected no t onl y to the beautifu l Jesu s bu t also the sufferin g Jesu s o n th e cross . The dying/dea d Jesu s fel t mor e rea l to me becaus e I was dying, too—emotionally an d relationally , bu t dyin g nonetheless. Feelin g th e agon y o f th e cross , wallowin g i n it , wa s a wa y to mas k th e pai n o f m y deepl y conflicte d existence . Whil e stil l closete d as a layperso n i n a paris h an d late r a s a n Episcopa l seminarian , I foun d preaching Chris t crucifie d a satisfactor y outle t fo r m y internalize d pai n and anger .

Erotic Desir e a n d th e Visua l Representatio n of J e s u s Many ga y me n experienc e Jesu s a s lover , no t jus t th e cosmi c love r o f humanity, bu t real , embodied , sweaty , sexy , passionat e love r betwee n the sheets , o r o n th e beach , perhap s eve n o n th e cross . Whe n I wa s a newly-come-out seminaria n i n th e Bosto n area , I spen t man y a lon g evening i n ga y bar s listenin g t o Iris h Catholi c me n wh o ha d wante d t o be priests, confessing thei r lov e fo r Jesu s an d thei r hur t an d ange r a t th e church's rejectio n o f them. On e evening, a man, quite sober, brok e dow n in sobs , relatin g t o m e ho w h e ha d alway s bee n "faithful " t o Jesus, hi s first an d stil l onl y tru e love . I n hushe d tones , punctuate d b y furtiv e glances t o reassur e himsel f n o on e els e was listening , h e tol d m e ho w h e masturbated frequentl y t o hi s favorit e pictur e o f Jesus—th e blonde , blue-eyed, soft-skinne d boy-ma n starin g "longingly " fro m th e cross. Another experienc e o f desire , tha t o f a youn g blac k mal e fo r a whit e Jesus, is recorded i n Guy-Mark Foster' s short story , "Th e Book o f Luke " (1991). The twelve-year-old Africa n America n bo y lives with hi s mother , a "full-tim e praye r woman, " wh o ha s lef t hi s fathe r afte r a violen t quarrel. Th e bo y misse s hi s father , wh o ha s bee n harshl y judge d b y hi s mother, muc h a s h e think s Jesus wa s harshl y judge d an d abandone d b y his "father. " Th e centra l actio n o f th e stor y occur s i n th e showe r roo m of a publi c swimmin g poo l wher e th e protagonis t i s viewin g th e nake d body o f a slightl y older , whit e bo y remindin g hi m o f th e pictur e o f th e

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white Jesu s o n hi s mother' s wall . Watchin g thi s boy , an d other s lik e him, wit h shoulder-length , wav y hai r bring s th e pictur e o f Jesu s t o life . Ordinarily, th e whit e boys , whos e bodie s h e stare s a t wit h ope n desire , beat hi m u p an d cal l hi m names , bu t thi s tim e th e whit e bo y respond s positively. In the hea t o f thei r share d desire , the protagonist wonder s Can i t b e possibl e tha t I'v e pulle d Hi m dow n fro m th e wal l o f on e religion , stolen hi s uncla d bod y int o th e roo m o f anothe r . .. an d bolte d th e door ? I cannot tel l wher e I am, o r i f th e dat e o f m y daddy's birt h ha s passe d an d it' s another day , a bran d ne w year , o r whethe r I a m olde r tha n m y ag e now , o r younger. Al l I know i s that So n o f Go d i s smiling upo n m e and I am jackin g Him off wit h my huge smile of a body. This has to make my mother happy, too, I think: this sudden conversion t o a worshiping faith. And if it doesn't, so what. I'm happ y enough fo r th e bot h o f us . I am so happy I might le t myself explod e into a zillion particles of blinding white light. . . Oh,/£££sus! (Foster 1991 : 27 ) Margaret Mile s observe s tha t visua l image s "ar e primaril y addresse d to comprehendin g physica l existence , th e great , lonely , ye t universa l preverbal experience s of birth , growth, maturation, pain , illness, ecstasy, weakness, age , sex , death. " Historically , sh e says , visua l image s recor d "the ways b y which th e nonprivileged understoo d an d cope d wit h physi cal existence " (1985 : 36) . For som e contemporar y ga y men , i n a societ y where male-mal e lov e i s prohibited fro m achievin g ful l an d fre e expres sion, variou s visua l image s o f Jesu s functio n i n nontextual , nonverba l ways t o assis t ou r comprehensio n o f an d integratio n int o physica l an d erotic existence . Feminist literar y criti c Ev e Kosofsk y Sedgwic k argue s agains t th e usual assumptio n tha t th e mai n impac t o f Christianit y o n men' s desir e for th e mal e bod y i s prohibitive . Instead , sh e contend s tha t prohibitio n serves t o stimulat e desir e (desir e fo r tha t whic h i s forbidden) , an d tha t many Christia n practice s serv e directl y t o articulat e an d promot e male male desire . Catholicism i n particula r i s famou s fo r givin g countles s ga y an d proto-ga y children th e shoc k o f th e possibilit y o f adult s wh o don' t marry , o f me n i n dresses, o f passionat e theater , o f introspectiv e investment , o f live s filled with what could , ideall y withou t diminution , b e called th e work o f th e fetish . Eve n for th e man y whos e ow n achieve d identit y ma y a t las t includ e non e o f thes e features o r ma y b e define d agains t them , th e encounte r wit h the m i s likel y t o have a mor e o r othe r tha n prohibitiv e impact . And presiding over all are the images of Jesus. These have , indeed , a uniqu e positio n i n moder n cultur e a s images of th e unclothed o r unclothabl e mal e body , often i n extremis and/o r i n

Facing the Body on the Cross 13 ecstasy, prescriptively mean t t o b e gazed a t an d adored . The scandal o f suc h a figure within a homophobi c econom y o f th e mal e gaz e doesn' t see m t o abate : efforts t o disembod y hi s body , fo r instanc e b y attenuating , Europeanizing , o r feminizing it , only entangle it the more compromisingly amon g various modern figurations o f the homosexual. (Sedgwick 1990 : 140, emphasis mine) Images o f Jesus re-presen t a n actua l man , allowin g th e me n t o who m he i s thus presente d t o ente r int o a relationshi p wit h Jesus a s lover . Th e relation o f thes e lover s t o Jesus ' image s ma y b e unlik e thei r relatio n t o other image s o f sexuall y allurin g me n (suc h a s eroti c picture s o f me n i n overtly sexua l pose s o r eve n milde r picture s o f movi e idols ) i n tha t th e men wh o gaz e lovingly , adoringly , lustil y apprehen d th e image s o f Jesu s from a place grounded i n a fait h relatio n wit h on e wh o save s them fro m sin/death an d give s the m ne w life . Th e images , o f course , canno t b e understood apar t fro m theologica l text s an d ecclesiastica l teachings . However, visua l image s are , as Mile s contends , "representationa l rathe r than discursiv e an d a s inherentl y multivalent , ca n offe r formulatio n an d expression simultaneousl y t o a wid e variet y o f person s wit h differen t perspectives" (1985 : 37-38) . Thi s mean s tha t th e relatio n o f th e lover s of Jesu s t o hi s image s als o ca n b e eroti c o r "pornographic, " tha t is , overtly sexua l an d orgasm-producing . Differen t me n respon d t o thes e images differently, an d thei r response s ar e conditioned no t onl y b y fait h but als o b y desire . Miles als o suggest s tha t unlik e wome n wh o experienc e physica l exis tence as constituted bodil y i n irreversibl e chang e an d discontinuity , "th e implicit mode l o f th e histor y o f idea s an d th e predictabl e continuit y o f male physica l existenc e hav e permitte d an d encourage d mal e intellectu als t o ignor e th e absolut e dependenc e o f huma n being s o n th e body , it s exigencies, an d it s natura l environment " (1985 : 36-37) . I see k t o over come the neglect of male physicality b y focusing attentio n o n the particu larities o f men' s bodil y experience , especiall y thos e experience s whic h contradict th e usua l view s o f Jesu s an d men' s relationship s wit h him . The activity of surfacin g contradiction s is , as Jonathan Dollimor e writes , "enabled b y an d contribute s t o transgressiv e o r dissiden t knowledge. " Transgression, i n Dollimore's view , does not lea d automaticall y t o socia l change, bu t i t ma y subver t establishe d though t pattern s b y wa y o f "th e dangerous knowledg e i t bring s wit h it , o r produces , o r whic h i s pro duced in and by it s containment i n th e cultural sphere " (1991 : 88-89). Many ga y men , an d certainl y som e whit e ga y mal e theologians , ap -

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pear t o believ e homosexualit y (o r ga y identity ) constitutes , prima facie, an oppositiona l stanc e towar d whit e supremacist , patriarcha l construc tions o f masculinity . Th e realit y i s considerabl y mor e complex . Dolli more an d Sedgwick , amon g others , hav e pointe d t o th e centralit y o f male homosexualit y i n th e constructio n o f socia l meanin g i n th e twenti eth century , a centralit y whic h i s maintaine d withi n a compulsoril y heterosexual cultur e whic h obsessivel y denounce s homosexualit y and — when necessar y t o maintai n heterosexis t domination—silence s o r kill s those wh o ac t o r appea r t o ac t homosexually . Clearly , man y cultura l activities i n contemporar y Wester n culture , especiall y advertising , film, and theater , ar e heavily lade n with gay and homoeroti c conten t an d styl e which contribut e muc h t o th e marketabilit y o f product s i n a consumer oriented society . Thus , homosexuality , ga y identity , an d homoeroticis m do no t necessaril y constitut e transgressiv e knowledge . One o f th e way s i n whic h ga y mal e cultur e doe s no t produc e trans gressive knowledg e i s th e exclusio n an d invisibilit y o f me n o f color , going han d i n han d wit h th e invisibilit y o f women . B y an d large , th e homosexuality a t th e cente r o f construction s o f socia l meanin g i s su premely white , and thu s can hardl y contribut e t o th e deconstruction an d elimination o f structure s o f whit e domination . I agre e wit h th e assess ment o f man y blac k me n tha t th e adjectiv e "gay " largel y connote s "white gay. " Th e pictur e o f Jesu s o n th e wal l i n tha t classroo m i n m y parish churc h year s ag o i s a fals e an d racis t imag e o f Jesus; it is unlikel y any Palestinia n Je w eve r looke d s o Aryan . Nonetheless , thi s imag e helped m e stay i n touch wit h som e measur e o f m y desire, keeping i t alive until I could acknowledg e an d ac t upo n i t i n relation t o othe r men . D e s i r e fo r L i b e r a t i o n a n d t h e I m a g e of t h e Blac k C h r i s t That imag e hardl y serve s me well today , an d I rather recal l th e imag e o f a black , beautiful , sensua l Jesus crowned b y a ring o f thorn s i n a funera l home on 131s t Stree t i n Harlem. A s I attended a wake fo r th e brothe r o f a seminar y friend , I gazed o n tha t Jesus an d praye d deepl y an d earnestl y for m y mourning frien d an d he r family , fo r he r dead brothe r an d fo r ou r brother Jesus . In tha t momen t I accepte d existentiall y fo r th e firs t tim e what I ha d com e t o understan d intellectually , namel y th e realit y an d power o f th e "Blac k Christ " who m James H . Con e ha d begu n t o articu -

Facing the Body on the Cross 13 late mor e tha n twenty-fiv e year s ago . I wa s fac e t o fac e wit h th e Blac k Christ no t onl y becaus e th e imag e o n th e wal l wa s tha t o f a ma n wit h African features , bu t als o becaus e tha t blac k Jesu s stoo d watc h wit h u s and ove r u s at th e wake fo r a n African America n ma n kille d i n his prim e by an unknown person . In the funeral hom e I was in a space of mournin g unlike an y othe r I ha d eve r encountered . Deat h wa s a s palpabl e i n th e peeling paint , ricket y chairs , an d cramped , tin y roo m a s i t wa s i n th e body lyin g i n state ; an d ye t lif e wa s mor e palpabl e tha n i n man y livin g rooms i n which I have lived . Con e writes : Christ's blacknes s i s bot h litera l an d symbolic . Hi s blacknes s i s litera l i n th e sense that he truly becomes One with the oppressed blacks, taking their sufferin g as his suffering an d revealing that h e is found i n the history of our struggle , the story of ou r pain , and th e rhythm o f ou r bodies... . Chris t i s black, therefore , not because of some cultural or psychological need of black people, but because and onl y becaus e Chris t really enters int o ou r worl d wher e th e poor , th e de spised, and the black are, disclosing that he is with them, enduring their humiliation and pain and transforming oppresse d slaves into liberated servants. Indeed, if Christ is not truly black, then the historical Jesus lied. (1975: 136) For Cone , the importanc e o f th e Blac k Chris t i s that "i t expresse s th e concreteness o f Jesus' continued presenc e today. " Jesus stands befor e us , beside us, behind u s today as a fully embodie d blac k man wh o is engaged in th e struggl e t o overcom e th e sufferin g o f th e poo r an d th e oppressed . Cone indicate s tha t th e ski n colo r o f Jesus i s irrelevant i n on e sense , bu t goes o n t o sa y tha t "Jesus was not white i n an y sens e o f th e word , literally o r theologically. " Recognizin g tha t mos t whit e peopl e (an d some blac k people , too ) becom e quit e distraugh t a t th e though t o f a Black Chris t o r th e non-whit e Jesus , Con e asks : "I s i t possibl e t o tal k about sufferin g i n Americ a withou t talkin g abou t th e meanin g o f black ness? Ca n w e reall y believ e tha t Chris t i s th e Sufferin g Servan t pa r excellence i f h e i s no t black? " (1990 : 123) . Con e ask s whit e me n an d women t o becom e black , no t b y changing thei r ski n colo r bu t changin g the "colo r o f you r heart , soul , an d mind . T o b e blac k mean s tha t you r heart, you r soul , you r mind , an d you r bod y ar e wher e th e dispossesse d are" (1989 : 151) . Con e i s asking whit e Americans , includin g whit e gay / bisexual/transgender men , t o remov e fro m ou r churche s an d ou r heart s the image of Jesus a s white, replacin g i t with a man o f color . Fe w white dominated churche s an d whit e peopl e hav e bee n willin g t o tak e thi s latter step .

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Black theolog y challenge s u s t o choos e ou r object s o f desir e wit h great car e becaus e the y ca n kee p u s boun d i n relation s o f dominatio n and oppression : bu t the y equall y ca n hel p u s t o mov e towar d a mor e egalitarian socia l order . The appearance of Jesus as the black Christ also means that the black revolution is God' s kingdo m becomin g a realit y i n America. . .. Th e kingdo m i s no t a n attainment of material security, nor is it mystical communion wit h the divine. It has t o d o wit h th e quality of one' s existenc e i n whic h a perso n realize s tha t persons are more important than property. (Cone 1990: 124) Jesus ca n b e full y transgressiv e fo r whit e ga y me n onl y i f hi s person , the bod y i n whic h w e desir e him , transgresse s th e whit e supremacis t racial code s whic h stil l gover n America . However , I have experience d a personal struggl e betwee n a willingness t o re-imag e Jesus a s blac k an d a fear tha t i n doing s o I am objectifyin g blac k men . The white supremacis t gaze, th e gaz e o f a touris t o n th e prow l amon g "exotic " me n o f colo r for a chea p thrill , i s deepl y ingraine d i n man y ga y whit e U.S . me n (cf . hooks 1992 : ijii ). Sensitivit y t o tha t gaz e i s one ste p towar d overcom ing it , bu t overcomin g whit e supremac y require s breakin g th e whit e theological silenc e abou t blackness . An d tha t mean s takin g side s b y crossing th e socio-politica l colo r lin e while remainin g i n one' s ow n skin . Crossing an d re-crossin g th e colo r lin e constitute s a ne w situatio n fo r many whit e people , even a s it is an everyda y occurrenc e fo r mos t peopl e of color . I have experience d interna l conflic t abou t takin g side s a s "dis loyalty" t o whit e people , an d thes e feeling s hel p m e understan d th e power o f structure d whit e supremacy , whic h reache s int o th e mos t intimate area s o f life . I have begu n t o spea k o f m y struggle t o challenge whit e supremacy t o black friends . Non e o f the m ha s le t m e of f m y ow n whit e supremacis t hook an d eac h ha s helpe d m e clarif y ho w I wis h t o embod y tha t chal lenge. On e o f m y friend s ha s helpe d m e envisio n desir e whic h oppose s domination b y tellin g m e abou t th e pictur e o f a blac k Jesu s besid e hi s bed, a sensual , bare-chested , dreadlocked , brown-skinne d ma n wit h a rope aroun d hi s nec k an d hi s hand s boun d b y ropes . Aroun d th e cente r are smalle r image s o f thi s blac k Jesu s i n variou s stage s o f hi s lif e an d death: Jesus i n th e manger , a t th e Garde n o f Gethsemane , bein g beate n by Roma n soldiers , hangin g o n th e cross , and, finally, "risen, " standin g and bathe d i n light . My frien d tol d m e that i n many year s o f theologica l

Facing the Body on the Cross 13 training an d spiritua l seekin g h e ha d neve r felt , i n hi s body , draw n toward an y image s o f th e whit e Jesus. His mos t enfleshe d experienc e o f God cam e whe n h e hel d hi s love r i n hi s arms . When hi s lover die d fro m AIDS-related complication s h e fel t Go d ha d died . Th e pictur e o f thi s black Jesus , however , enable d hi m t o se e th e fac e o f hi s love r a s Jesu s and th e fac e o f Jesus as his lover . During ou r conversatio n I decided t o get a picture o f a black Jesus fo r myself. I wen t fo r a wal k amon g th e stree t vendor s o n 125t h Stree t i n Harlem an d foun d th e ver y pictur e m y frien d ha d described . I wa s amazed b y how muc h th e image of Jesus resembled m y friend. A s I write this, tha t Jesu s an d I gaz e a t eac h othe r wit h fondnes s an d love . M y friend an d I ar e joine d throug h thi s Jesus . Speakin g o f ou r respectiv e desires (fo r Jesu s an d othe r men) , and thu s als o o f ou r fears , ha s helpe d us forge a ne w allianc e fo r deepe r inter-persona l lov e and socia l change . To spea k o f desir e fo r Jesus , then , i s alway s a matte r o f embodiment , and i t matter s whic h bod y o f Jesu s w e desire . However , I a m no t suggesting tha t sexua l desir e o r th e desir e fo r liberatio n i s dependen t upon ski n color . Rather , th e ke y issu e i s how Jesus serve s a s a n elemen t of dangerou s o r politicall y transgressiv e embodie d knowledge . To desir e the Jesus wh o i s no t white , th e Jesus wh o i s black , i s t o plac e desir e i n the service of overcomin g domination .

E m b o d i e d Desir e a n d th e " Q u e e r " Jesu s Embodied desir e fo r Jesu s form s a kerne l o f transgressiv e knowledg e which ca n contribut e t o destabilizin g dominan t view s o f Jesus , becaus e it i s on e for m o f relatio n th e churc h ha s bee n a t grea t pain s t o deny . Denial o f th e desir e fo r Jesu s i s predicate d o n th e church' s denia l o f Jesus' ow n embodie d desire . Th e biblica l silenc e abou t Jesus ' sexualit y may o r ma y no t reflec t hi s actual lif e situation . Whethe r h e was celibat e or sexuall y active , the celibate priesthoo d eventuall y enshrine d a histori cal "picture " o f Jesus' non-eroti c existenc e whil e emphasizin g hi s male ness an d insistin g tha t hi s priest s b e male. Eve n Protestan t objection s t o clerical celibacy have never overcom e th e underlyin g vie w that Jesus wa s asexual. Insisting that Jesus was bot h sexuall y male and sexuall y inactiv e contributes t o erasin g desir e a s a categor y o f experienc e share d betwee n him an d th e peopl e wh o follo w him . Relatin g t o Jesu s a s lover , a s

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beloved body , a s objec t o f desire , ma y alte r one' s vie w o f Christia n teachings, including thos e abou t th e crucifixion . Some year s ago , when stil l fairl y ne w t o m y identit y a s a n "out " ga y man, I referre d t o th e "ga y Christ. " A frien d aske d m e ho w th e ga y Christ differe d fro m th e regular on e (whateve r that is) . I described a ma n on th e cros s completel y nake d wit h a cut e face , well-develope d "pecs " and larg e penis , wearin g a n earrin g i n hi s lef t ear , whic h wa s a custo m for ga y me n bac k then . Th e imag e wa s o f a sex y ma n stil l i n th e throe s of death : Chris t crucifie d wit h th e earrin g i n th e correc t ear . Clearl y a mixed message . What i s clea r t o m e toda y i s tha t ther e i s n o ga y Chris t bu t a quee r Jesus—that is , a ma n wh o like d me n an d wome n sensuall y an d wh o acted contrar y t o th e gender , racial , an d religiou s norm s o f hi s day . Robert Goss' s (1993 ) impassione d argumen t fo r a quee r Jesu s follow s my ow n vie w i n som e ways , althoug h I a m les s certai n tha n Gos s tha t seeing Jesus as queer i s really a sufficiently radica l response to the curren t situation o f lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgende r peopl e o r othe r oppresse d people. The definitio n o f "queer " i s fluid . Ga y me n an d lesbian s contes t no t only th e appropriatenes s o f "queer " bu t als o wha t i t means . Man y would argu e tha t a quee r ma n i s a ga y or bisexua l ma n wh o i s political, works fo r th e liberatio n o f al l people , an d flout s genderize d an d ra cialized conventions . Sinc e I cannot asser t tha t Jesu s like d me n sexuall y or tha t h e enjoye d genita l se x wit h anyon e mal e o r female , i t seem s unwarranted t o cal l hi m ga y (jus t a s i t i s unwarrante d t o cal l hi m "straight"). However , h e appear s t o hav e live d i n a hig h degre e o f intimacy wit h member s o f bot h sexes . He appreciate d sensualit y an d h e continually confounde d th e gender , racial/ethnic , an d religiou s conven tions o f hi s day . In Jesus' context , suc h attitude s an d behavior s see m t o have bee n a s ou t o f th e ordinary , i.e. , strang e o r "queer, " a s i t i s in ou r own. When AC T UP invaded St . Patrick's Cathedra l severa l year s ag o t o protest th e homophobia o f Cardina l O'Conno r an d th e Roma n Catholi c hierarchy, I realized the y wer e doin g a s Jesus ha d don e whe n h e angril y overturned th e tables o f th e money changer s i n th e temple. That wa s th e moment I bega n t o se e ho w quee r Jesus ha d been . Gos s correctl y draw s a connectio n betwee n Jesus ' "Sto p th e Temple " actio n an d AC T UP' s "Stop th e Church " action s (1993 : 147-56) . We wh o ar e whit e mus t no t los e sigh t o f th e centra l importanc e o f

Facing the Body on the Cross 13 which Jesus w e desire . Who, then , i s th e "quee r Jesus? " I n ou r contem porary whit e supremacis t socia l order , i t i s no t quee r t o imag e Jesu s a s white. Jesus is "queer" i n our society , in part, becaus e h e was not white . For white men, queerness require s an awarenes s tha t th e men most likel y to b e crucifie d i n ou r cultur e ar e me n o f color , an d i t require s a n activ e commitment t o endin g th e violenc e agains t them . Fo r whit e ga y mal e theologians, queernes s demand s tha t w e ceas e th e invisibilit y o f lesbian / gay/bisexual/transgender peopl e o f color . I agree with Elia s Farajaje-Jones wh o advocate s a n "in-the-life " theol ogy. H e assert s tha t "in-the-life " i s a n historicall y accurat e ter m t o describe blac k theolog y whic h include s lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgende r or quee r peopl e becaus e it has been used in our African-American traditio n fo r generation s to connote a broad spectru m o f identitie s an d behaviors , an d becaus e o f th e ric h spiritua l connotations o f th e wor d "life, " especiall y fo r peopl e continuall y confronte d with suffering an d death. "In-the-life " als o shows inclusivity, shows that we are all included in-the-life. Therefore , a n in-the-life theolog y of liberatio n woul d b e one that grows out of the experiences, lives and struggles against oppression and dehumanization o f those in-the-life. (1993 : 140) Imaging Jesus a s on e wh o wa s in-the-lif e acknowledge s th e widenes s o f his ministry , th e diversit y o f th e peopl e h e served , an d th e fac t o f hi s non-whiteness. A n emphasi s o n "life " i s consonant wit h Jesus' repeate d focus o n bringin g abou t lif e i n abundance fo r all . While i t is inappropri ate for thos e o f u s who ar e white t o clai m t o b e "in-the-life, " w e ma y b e followers, o r companions , of Jesus who was . Re-Imaging th e Crucifixio n "Bodily integrit y i s centra l t o th e liberatio n struggle. " Whe n I wrot e those word s som e year s ago , I was referrin g t o rap e an d attempte d rap e in th e Hebre w Scripture , especiall y i n th e stor y o f th e destructio n o f Sodom. I als o wrot e the n tha t "W e mus t insis t tha t th e authorit y o f scripture b e viewed criticall y an d tha t th e numerous act s that undermin e bodily integrit y b e unmaske d an d disentangle d i n orde r t o overcom e their gruesom e effects " (Gorslin e 1991 : 48-49). Unexamine d anti-Semi tism surel y playe d a rol e i n m y thinkin g whe n I proposed t o searc h onl y the Hebre w Scripture s fo r th e man y instance s o f bodil y violations . To -

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day, I se e tha t th e pivota l poin t o f traditiona l Christia n belief , Jesus ' death o n th e cross , i s base d upo n bodil y violatio n a s well . W e cannot , nor shoul d we , deny th e realit y o f hi s crucifixion, bu t solidarit y wit h th e queer Jesu s an d al l th e other s whos e bodil y integrit y ha s bee n an d i s being violate d ever y day , require s sayin g n o t o th e ide a o f glorifyin g suffering an d death , sayin g n o t o th e violatio n o f bodil y integrit y a s a means to achiev e a godly o r a huma n wa y t o salvation . Interpretations o f the crucifixion depen d o n the context. Fo r example , among th e sufferin g masse s i n Lati n America , Chris t crucifie d o n th e cross i s a highl y liberatin g an d redemptiv e symbol . Fo r man y Africa n Americans, th e sufferin g Jesu s i s profoundl y redemptive . However , t o raise critical question s abou t doctrines , symbols, and image s whic h hav e been problemati c wit h respec t t o liberatio n fo r a particula r communit y is a s muc h th e wor k o f liberatio n a s affirmin g doctrine s o r symbol s which sustai n th e liberatin g work fo r anothe r community . I f our curren t social an d politica l contex t i s analogous t o thos e wh o erecte d th e cros s on Calgary—th e rulin g class , includin g th e religiou s an d politica l au thorities—we nee d t o dives t ourselve s fro m overidentifyin g wit h th e victim o n th e cross . Writin g abou t religiou s images , Margare t Mile s contends tha t whethe r the y ar e experience d "a s dangerou s o r emancipa tory wil l b e a functio n o f th e interes t o f th e viewer. . . . The viewe r o f a historical religiou s imag e ca n ignor e th e [intended ] messag e an d substi tute a meanin g quit e differen t i n accordanc e wit h hi s interest " (1985 : 30). Thei r plasticit y ma y b e precisel y th e valu e o f visua l images . I n contrast t o a traditional Christia n theologica l syste m which i s built upo n the idea s an d precis e theologica l system s o f a fe w grea t thinker s an d church councils , attitudes, values and concepts can also be based on physical existence; Christianity, understood not primarily as a nexus of ideas but as concrete participation in a body—the "bod y of Christ"—provides a strong formulation o f the centrality and significance of physical existence, in which human life itself is understood as given in physical existence—creation—and fulfille d onl y in physical existence— resurrection of the body. (Miles 1985: 36) Miles i s no t suggestin g tha t w e abando n th e stud y o f religiou s text s or grea t theologian s bu t tha t w e improv e ou r skill s i n "reading " an d interpreting image s in order t o bring them int o dialogue with ou r writte n language.

Facing the Body on the Cross 13 I woul d lik e t o mov e beyon d Miles' s historica l projec t an d propos e we conceiv e ne w images whic h ca n alter ou r old views. The crucifixio n image i s on e o f thos e image s w e ca n re-rea d an d re-imagine . Suc h re reading require s a willingness t o move beyon d th e narratives a s they are recorded i n th e synopti c gospel s t o a n imaginativ e re-tellin g an d re seeing o f th e crucifixio n stor y base d o n value s o f carin g an d justice , values which ar e present i n Jesus' lif e an d which w e also embody, i n our better moments , in our own lives today . Miles i s righ t t o stres s th e physicalit y o f image s an d thei r primar y task t o reflect ou r physical existence . Our re-imaging an d our re-readin g of thes e image s shoul d b e centere d i n ou r physica l existence , i n ou r embodiment. Mor e specifically , fo r quee r men , the re-imaging begin s in our eroti c desire , for it is here tha t man y o f us have bee n mos t draw n t o Jesus an d at the same tim e mos t repulse d b y the church. W e have muc h work t o d o t o reclai m th e Jesus wh o loved an d stil l love s u s int o self love and love of other men . That wor k require s tha t we leave behind the ecclesiastical Jesus who only loves us without ou r bodies and our desires. But w e must als o b e attentive t o th e bodies whic h w e shun , th e bodie s we clai m no t to desire becaus e o f som e physica l characteristic , lik e ski n color, whic h w e define a s alien o r less than full y human . We mus t di g deepl y int o wha t feminis t liturgis t Jane t Walto n call s our body-memory . Fo r gay/bisexual/transgender men , our body-memor y includes ou r bodie s whic h hav e bee n beate n o n th e "playgrounds " o f our childhood s an d bashe d b y homophobi c brothers , fathers , uncles , strangers, an d (male ) bishops . Ou r ever-presen t memor y include s self hating homosexua l bodie s whic h hav e bashe d quee r bodie s i n fea r an d loathing, and those for whom H.I.V . i s the latest (an d for many, the last) form o f male-over-mal e violence— a wa y o f killin g women , children , and me n b y th e willfu l neglec t o f th e me n wh o ru n th e governments , scientific laboratories , an d medical-industria l complex . Bu t our bodie s also ma y have bee n soothe d b y a male friend' s gentl e touc h o r vigorou s kneading o f ou r tire d muscle s (a s Tim Miller's Jesu s does) . W e can go deeply int o ou r body-memor y fo r th e ecstasy o f se x with anothe r ma n (or woman , o r men , or both) , th e soothin g o f massage , th e deligh t o f dancing, an d th e life-givin g o f casua l touc h an d elaborat e ritual s o f connection. We can remember th e pleasure o f heavy gazes while cruisin g and bein g cruised . W e ca n di g deepl y int o ou r body-memor y o f th e

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"high" o f physica l exertio n an d th e contentmen t an d ache s whic h fol low. We can reliv e the embodied pleasur e o f lif e wit h ou r children . The purpos e o f diggin g int o ou r individua l an d corporat e bod y mem ories i s t o allo w ou r bodie s t o infor m ou r image s a s muc h a s image s inform ou r bodies . I f w e ar e fortunate , body-memor y bring s jo y an d pleasure. Just a s often, body-memor y touche s dee p places of sadnes s an d anger. A t othe r moments , body-memor y bring s repentance . A s a gay identified bisexua l man , a s a queer , a s a whit e ma n o f considerabl e privilege, I ca n remembe r Jesus , an d othe r righteou s brother s kille d t o make th e worl d saf e fo r erotophobi c patriarchy , wit h affectio n an d esteem an d tears , and eve n call on thei r name s fo r sustenanc e an d powe r in m y ever-presen t nee d fo r both . Bu t thi s i s no t sufficien t groun d o n which t o glorif y thei r suffering s an d deaths . Latin a theologia n Teres a Delgado tol d m e onc e tha t anger , finely hone d an d transforme d int o a passion fo r justice , i s a healthy , embodie d respons e t o th e murde r o f Jesus. I agree. Anger ca n b e directed , first, a t th e Roma n civi l authoritie s whos e system o f state-sanctione d violenc e ende d hi s life . Moreover , w e ar e angry a t thos e religiou s authoritie s wh o di d no t interven e i n a n attemp t to sto p th e execution . However , ange r als o i s righteousl y du e towar d church an d secula r authoritie s who , fo r centuries , scapegoate d th e Jew ish leader s an d thu s perpetuate d th e crucifixio n o f th e on e Jew, Jesus, in pogroms, crusades , inquisitions , an d a Holocaus t whic h murdere d mil lions o f hi s people , jus t a s th e Inquisitio n scapegoated , tortured , an d murdered wome n an d free-thinkin g an d differentl y actin g men. Ange r i s due towar d churc h an d secula r authoritie s wh o helpe d sustai n th e bru tally attempte d extinctio n o f Nativ e American s an d th e force d enslave ment an d wholesal e butcher y o f million s o f Africans . An d i t i s justl y directed a t thos e wh o hav e portraye d Jesu s a s white , blonde , an d blue eyed. Thes e authoritie s ar e amon g th e me n wh o ar e complici t i n th e actual an d repeate d ritualize d murde r o f Jesus a s wel l a s the murder s o f millions o f hi s brother s an d sister s i n death . The y hav e helpe d t o creat e a cultur e o f death , indee d a cul t o f mal e killin g an d dying . W e ma y recognize ourselve s amon g thos e wh o hav e helpe d t o sustai n thi s cult , either b y active complicity o r th e complicity o f silenc e i n the fac e o f evil . Let u s loo k a t th e scen e o f th e cros s a t Calvary . Wh o i s there ? Th e women. Wh o i s no t there ? Th e men , wit h th e exceptio n o f th e discipl e whom Jesu s love d (Joh n 19:25-27) . W e commonl y sa y "th e disciples "

Facing the Body on the Cross 14 were afrai d an d confused , bu t w e mea n th e me n aroun d Jesu s wer e absent. Wh o woul d no t b e afrai d an d confuse d i n th e fac e o f state sanctioned murder ? Bu t whe n ou r frien d dies , shoul d w e no t a t leas t offer som e comfor t an d visi t th e widow , th e parents , an d th e children ? When ou r frien d i s dying, do we not kee p vigil, do we not, as Bonhoeffe r says, "thro w ourselve s completel y int o th e arm s o f God , takin g seri ously, not ou r ow n sufferings , bu t thos e o f Go d i n the world—watchin g with Chris t i n Gethsemane " (1972 : 370) ? D o w e no t hol d ou r friend' s hand an d wip e hi s fevere d bro w an d sin g softl y t o sooth e hi s fevere d brain? D o w e no t pray , weep , an d rai l agains t Go d fo r "allowing " ou r friend t o di e an d simultaneousl y prais e Go d fo r ou r friend' s goodness , asking Go d fo r forgivenes s fo r al l who ar e dying , dead, an d living ? Some me n d o thes e things . They ma y b e saviors i n ou r world , savin g us on e perso n a t a time . Joseph o f Arimathe a insiste d o n buryin g Jesu s in hi s ow n tom b i n accor d wit h rabbini c traditio n tha t a dea d bod y should no t remai n unburie d afte r th e da y o f death . Scholar s debate , a s the gospe l account s disagree , abou t Joseph' s motive : Wa s h e a secre t sympathizer wit h Jesus an d hi s disciples ? Wa s h e a discipl e himself ? O r was h e a n observan t Jew ? Th e poin t ma y b e no t s o muc h hi s motiv e a s his action . H e care d fo r th e dea d body , treatin g i t wit h respect . H e di d not forsak e Jesus, who wa s hangin g o n a cross a s a criminal . Today, fe w quee r me n i n th e Unite d State s hav e avoide d vigil s a t th e bedsides o f friend s an d lover s dyin g o f AIDS . Young an d youngis h me n learn abou t deat h throug h thei r ow n dying , an d ol d me n comfor t the m and thos e the y leav e behind . Me n wit h H.I.V . wh o retai n thei r visibl e health ar e supporte d i n whateve r processe s the y requir e t o sustai n an d extend life . Me n danc e wit h th e "well-sick " an d the y shar e i n sexua l pleasures. Dying men ar e read to , fed, take n t o th e hospita l an d hospice , bathed, hel d up , carried , praye d for . Dea d me n ar e burie d wit h respec t and affection , th e mourners weeping and laughing , sometimes simultane ously. Marchers , poster-makers , chanters , an d activist s resis t th e silenc e which threatens t o envelope all persons living with H.I.V./AIDS i n death . In th e fac e o f a societ y whic h ha s ye t t o wee p fo r th e dyin g an d dead , yet t o ris e u p t o deman d an d obtai n th e necessar y focu s o n a cure , an d which stil l harbors i n man y place s the belie f tha t thes e me n hav e cause d their ow n deat h b y lovin g on e another , thes e me n (an d women , t o b e sure) stan d a t th e foo t o f th e contemporary crosse s caring fo r th e bodie s with a tendernes s an d toughnes s whic h ca n mov e u s t o tear s an d t o

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action. Thei r actions, thei r live s o f carin g an d resisting , tel l u s who an d what is missing from the gospel accounts of Jesus' death: his male friend s responding t o hi s dyin g wit h tende r affectio n an d toug h action . Ou r aching, sorrow-laden , angr y body-memorie s remin d u s what hi s friend s might have done. Our new visio n require s tha t hi s friend s a t least stan d vigil , tha t the y bring hi s bod y dow n fro m th e cros s t o wip e hi s brow , giv e hi m drink , tell him of their love, and spread healing balm on his awful wounds . The soldiers might hurt or kill them , the crowds migh t stone them . Bu t what we nee d ar e me n wh o dar e t o sa y n o t o patriarchs , an d wh o embod y resistance a t th e poin t o f greates t tensio n wit h patriarcha l domination . Jesus' male friends have left to us the task of relieving his body, of caring for hi s wounds, o f givin g hi m th e kis s o f peac e whic h signal s resistanc e and liberation an d which intend s to distur b the peace of thos e i n power. To car e fo r th e despise d i s no t onl y a n ac t o f lov e bu t als o a n ac t o f political resistance . Traditionally, th e period betwee n the Las t Supper and the crucifixio n of Jesus is referred t o a s his passion. A s Carter Heyward says , it was " a time durin g whic h Jesu s bor e th e passio n o f hi s time , hi s culture , hi s religious heritage . . . [and his] passion was a challenge, a threat, to those around him who were willing to settle for less than passion" (1984 : 20). I a m suggestin g tha t men , quee r an d non-queer , creat e ne w image s i n which th e passio n o f Jesu s b e matche d b y ou r ow n passion , a passio n that ther e b e a n en d t o violenc e amon g me n and , therefore , agains t women and children. Such passion is grounded in a passionate desire for men—which ca n b e sexual o r not, bu t through i t we mus t b e willing t o see men as embodied friend s rather than disembodied enemies . My visio n require s that white me n must not onl y remov e th e bod y o f Jesus from the cross and care for it but also accept the fact that the bod y we ar e lovin g i s no t white . Jesus wa s no t white , jus t lik e mos t o f thos e bodies which have hung an d are hanging fro m crosse s today. White gay male theology , quee r theologizin g b y whit e men , i f i t trul y mean s t o overcome th e violation of men's bodies, must repent and lead the way in recognizing tha t dominan t Europea n an d America n theologica l tradi tions hav e falsifie d ou r image s o f Jesus . Thes e tradition s hav e resiste d the claims of Black Theology for the Black Christ because a man of color on th e cros s woul d forc e u s t o fac e al l th e othe r bodie s o f me n (an d women) o f color on the crosses erected b y white supremacist patriarchy .

Facing the Body on the Cross 14 To remov e th e blac k Jesus , ou r brothe r wh o wa s in-the-life , fro m th e cross mean s refusin g t o nai l an y mor e black , Latino , Asian , an d Nativ e American bodie s t o crosses today . H e wh o was/i s in-the-lif e shal l di e n o more forever . Seeking t o fre e u s fro m a Christocentris m whic h devalue s humanity , Gary Davi d Comstoc k urge s u s t o acknowledg e Jesu s a s a dea d frien d with whom we are in a relationship of autonomy . Comstoc k als o argues that we do not need to image Jesus at all because doing so makes a hero out of one man "a t the expense of the particular experiences an d lives of the man y i n ou r midst—th e ver y live s Jesus himsel f attende d t o i n hi s own time" (1993: 97). Comstoc k i s both right and wrong. Conclusion The effec t o f imagin g Jesu s a s Lor d an d Savio r wh o die d i n a burs t o f bloody glory to save us all from si n serves the interests of patriarchs an d their churc h t o th e exclusio n of , an d damag e to , th e live s o f ordinar y people, especiall y thos e wh o ar e oppresse d b y sex , race , o r class . Th e problem o f images , however , i s no t havin g the m bu t insistin g tha t the y be limited . T o ceas e imagin g ou r friends , t o ceas e allowin g ou r image s of the m t o b e reflecte d i n us , an d t o ceas e imagin g ourselve s throug h images other s reflec t bac k t o us , i s t o ceas e livin g relationally . Devel oping image s o f ne w friend s expand s ou r circl e o f friends , companions , and comrades, includin g thos e differen t fro m ourselves , who migh t lov e us i f w e sho w signs o f lovin g them . "W e ar e wha t w e loo k upo n an d what we desire," Plotinus remarked, and that includes the images shaped by our gaz e upo n ou r ow n an d othe r bodies . Fo r many o f us , ou r gaz e remains focuse d o n Jesus ' bod y becaus e i t mirror s ou r ow n an d thos e we desire, as it also mirrors those whom w e fear and refuse t o see. James Baldwin' s Giovanni's Room is , fo r quee r men , on e o f th e important novel s o f thi s century . A t th e conclusio n o f th e novel , th e protagonist David , who ha s tried t o den y hi s homosexuality, i s alone i n a rente d hous e i n a Frenc h village . H e ha s abandone d hi s forme r love r Giovanni wh o is , tha t ver y day , bein g guillotine d fo r pett y thef t an d trumped-up charge s o f sexua l advance s towar d a n agin g ba r owner . Giovanni i s being executed o n a cross of denie d desire—th e rejectio n o f his own desir e fo r Davi d an d the rejection o f th e desire o f th e agin g ba r owner fo r Giovanni . Davi d imagine s Giovanni' s execution, th e bucklin g

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legs, th e jellyin g thighs , th e quiverin g buttocks , th e secre t hammerin g inside, the shame of uncontrolled urination , the sweat, the tears. He the n removes hi s clothe s an d see s i n th e mirro r th e reflectio n o f hi s nake d body whic h i s th e sourc e o f hi s ow n trouble s an d als o th e ke y t o hi s salvation. Bot h hi s salvation, ultimatel y unabl e t o sav e his body , an d hi s corruption, whic h bega n th e da y h e wa s born , ar e hidde n i n hi s fles h which i s reflected bac k t o hi m i n the mirror. In that sense , David's nake d body i n th e mirro r als o i s on a cross: the cross fro m whic h h e ha s faile d to fre e Giovann i i s now hi s own . The imag e Baldwi n draw s o f Giovanni' s executio n floats i n an d ou t of m y image s o f Jesus o n th e cross . When Davi d look s i n th e mirror , h e does wha t eac h o f u s mus t do : fac e th e bod y a t Calvar y an d othe r crucified bodies . Facing ou r ow n crucifixio n an d ou r participatio n i n th e crucifixion o f others , we can sto p nailin g the bodie s o f women, children , and me n on th e crosses, where we know non e belong , and begi n t o brin g them down .

REFERENCES

Baldwin, James. 1956. Giovanni's Room. New York: Dell Publishing. Bonhoeffer, Dietrich . 197Z . Letters and Papers from Prison. Ed . Eberhar d Bethge. New York: Macmillan. Brock, Rita Nakashima. 1989 . "And a Little Child Will Lead Us." In Christianity, Patriarchy, and Abuse: A Feminist Critique, ed. Joanne Carlso n Brow n and Carole R. Bohn. New York: Pilgrim Press. . 1991 . Journeys by Heart: A Christology of Erotic Power. New York : Crossroad. Brown, Joann e Carlson , an d Rebecc a Parker . 1989 . "Fo r Go d S o Love d th e World?" I n Christianity, Patriarchy, and Abuse: A Feminist Critique, ed. Joanne Carlson Brown and Carole R. Bohn. New York: Pilgrim Press. Comstock, Gar y David . 1993 . C#y Theology without Apology. Cleveland : Pilgrim Press. Cone, James H. 1975 . God of the Oppressed. Ne w York: Seabury Press. . 1989 . Black Theology and Black Power: Twentieth Anniversary Edition. San Francisco: Harper. . 1990 . Black Theology of Liberation: Twentieth Anniversary Edition. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books. Dollimore, Jonathan . 1991 . Sexual Dissidence: Augustine to Wilde, Freud to Foucault. Oxford , England : Oxford Universit y Press. Driver, Tom F. 1981. Christ in a Changing World: Toward an Ethical Christology. New York: Crossroad.

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Evans, Arthur. 1988 . The God of Ecstasy: Sex-Roles and the Madness ofDionysius. New York: St. Martin's Press. Farajaje-Jones, Elias . 1993 . "Breakin g Silence : Towar d a n In-the-Lif e Theol ogy." I n Black Theology: A Documentary History, 1980-1992, vol . 2 , ed. James H. Cone and Gayraud S. Wilmore. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books. Foster, Guy-Mark . 1991 . "Th e Boo k o f Luke. " I n Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, ed . Esse x Hemphill . Boston : Alyso n Publica tions. Gorsline, Robin. 1991 . "Let Us Bless Our Angels: A Feminist-Gay-Male-Liberation View of Sodom." I n Redefining Sexual Ethics: A Sourcebook of Essays, Stories, and Poems, ed. Susa n E . Davies an d Eleano r H . Haney . Cleveland : Pilgrim Press. Goss, Robert. 1993 . Jesus Acted Up: A Gay and Lesbian Manifesto. San Francisco: Harper. Hey ward, Carter. 1982 . The Redemption of God: A Theology of Mutual Relation. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America. . 1984 . Our Passion for Justice: Images of Power, Sexuality, and Liberation. New York: Pilgrim Press. . 1989a . Touching Our Strength: The Erotic as Power and the Love of God. San Francisco: Harper & Row. . 1989b . Speaking of Christ: A Lesbian Feminist Voice. Ed . Elle n C . Davis. New York: Pilgrim Press. hooks, bell . 1992 . Black Looks: Race and Representation. Boston: Sout h En d Press. Lorde, Audre. 1984 . Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Trumansburg , N.Y.: Crossing Press. Miles, Margare t R . 1985 . Image as Insight: Visual Understanding in Western Christianity and Secular Culture. Boston : Beacon Press. Miller, Tim . 1991 . "Jesu s an d th e Quee r Performanc e Artist. " I n Amazing Grace: Stories of Lesbian and Gay Faith, ed. Malcol m Boy d an d Nanc y L . Wilson. Freedom, Calif.: Crossing Press. Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. 1990 . Epistemology of the Closet. Berkeley : University of California Press . Williams, Delores S. 1993. Sisters in the Wilderness: The Challenge of Womanist God-Talk. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books.

EIGHT

M e n an PHILIP L

d Christia n Friendshi . CULBERTSO

p

N

Now i f Ev e was no t mad e fo r Ada m t o b e hi s helper i n begettin g children, wha t goo d wa s sh e to him ? Sh e was no t t o til l th e eart h with him , for ther e was not ye t any toil t o make help necessary. If there wer e an y suc h need , a mal e helpe r woul d b e better , an d th e same coul d b e sai d o f th e comfor t o f another' s presenc e i f Ada m were perhap s wear y o f solitude . How muc h mor e agreeabl y coul d two male friends, rathe r tha n a man an d a woman, enjoy compan ionship and conversation in a life shared together. —St. Augustine, The Literal Meaning of Genesis

We live in complex societies , interweavings o f bloo d relation ships, marita l relationships , extende d famil y relationships , busines s an d professional relationships , formalize d fraterna l relationships , an d a whole hos t o f informa l relationship s loosel y referre d t o unde r th e head ing o f "friendships " (cf . Cicer o 1913 : 57) . Julian Pitt-River s (1968 ; cf . Herman 1987 : 32 ) ha s attempte d t o systematiz e a portio n o f thi s com plex spectru m o f relationship s withi n whic h w e liv e an d work , under standing social relationships suc h a s kinship an d friendshi p t o b e expressions o f th e commo n principl e o f "amity. " I n Pitt-Rivers' s schema , godparents woul d b e on e exampl e o f "ritua l kinship" ; college fraternit y

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"Real" Adoptiv Kinship Kinshi

Kinship Friendshi e Ritua p Kinshi

"Amiable Relations" l Ritualize p Friendshi

p d Unritualize p Friendshi

p

d

brothers an d fello w Rotarian s woul d b e a n exampl e o f "ritualize d friendship." "Unritualize d friendship " i s suc h a broa d categor y tha t i t defies schematization , rangin g fro m thos e wit h who m w e carpool , t o those w e mee t regularl y i n th e pub , t o mos t o f thos e who m me n woul d term "m y bes t buddy. " While the contemporary literatur e o n "unritualize d friendship " seem s plentiful, mos t o f th e researc h ha s bee n don e withi n th e fields o f sociol ogy, psychology , o r cultura l anthropology . Muc h les s ha s bee n writte n on friendshi p withi n th e Christia n o r Jewish traditions . Fo r example , i n neither th e Encyclopedia of Early Christianity no r th e recen t encyclope dic Anchor Bible Dictionary wil l on e find an y entr y unde r th e heading s of "Friend " o r "Friendship. " I n th e Encyclopedia Judaica, "friendship " merits onl y on e hal f o f on e column . M y tas k i n thi s chapte r i s t o track selectivel y th e subjec t o f friendshi p i n Christia n literatur e fro m th e patristic perio d (roughl y th e first si x hundre d year s o f churc h history) , particularly a s i t echoe s classica l Gree k an d Roma n writer s o n th e subject; t o point t o the possibility tha t friendshi p betwee n me n i s considered t o b e homosexuall y dangerou s b y many , al l th e whil e maskin g a homosocial attractio n betwee n heterosexua l men ; an d t o se t fort h a hypothesis abou t certain influence s o f Christia n theolog y which continu e to keep friendship betwee n som e men a near-impossibility, eve n with th e increasing influenc e o f th e men' s movement . *

Analyzing Mal e Intimac y As I explained i n my book New Adam (1992) , I understand th e relation ship betwee n Jonatha n an d Davi d ( 1 Samuel 1 3 to 2 Samuel 1 ) to b e a n intimate friendship unjustl y doome d t o end becaus e of external suspicio n

Men and Christian Friendship 15 about whethe r i t wa s homosexua l i n character . Patristi c writer s strug gled wit h th e same issue : how could tw o adult me n develop a n intimat e friendship tha t wa s beyond al l taint o f suspicion, al l the while enjoying , in earl y Christia n thought , a relationshi p fa r superio r i n virtu e t o th e marital relationship betwee n a man and a woman. Though the Scriptures contain n o example s o f suc h friendshi p beyon d tha t o f Jonatha n an d David, mal e friend s wer e expecte d b y the early Christia n writer s t o be so intimat e tha t the y coul d thin k eac h other' s thoughts , t o tur n dow n career advancement s i n orde r t o sta y together , an d t o exemplif y th e ancient sayin g that "tw o friends hav e one soul," for each i s the alter ego of the other. Quickly severe d fro m it s Jewis h origins , earl y Christianit y i n th e Greek an d Roman worl d wa s ripe fo r th e shaping o f its intellectual an d theological traditio n b y the classical literature of the great pagan writers . As i t was nearly de rigueur fo r th e classical writer s t o produce a n essa y or tw o on friendshi p betwee n men , the intellectual shaper s o f Christia n tradition produce d derivativ e essay s o n friendshi p betwee n me n as the highest expressio n o f God' s lov e acte d ou t in public . A certain numbe r of Biblica l text s wer e appropriate d an d interprete d a s equivalent t o the classical proverb s concernin g friendship . Variou s stylisti c formulation s of mal e friendship-value s eve n find thei r wa y int o th e Ne w Testa ment epistles . Reciprocally , classica l proverb s abou t mal e friendshi p seem occasionall y t o hav e bee n accorde d th e authorit y usuall y du e a Biblical text . Fo r example , i n th e fift h centur y St . Augustine o f Hipp o reverenced Cicero' s definitio n o f friendshi p a s bein g bot h correc t and spirituall y inspired . Augustine' s admiratio n o f classica l insight s is s o grea t tha t h e eve n claim s Cicero' s elegan t literar y styl e a s bein g superior t o Scripture's cruder expressio n {Confessions 1.5. 9 in Augustine 1955: 66). Three classica l proverb s i n particula r ar e repeate d agai n an d agai n in patristi c literature , a s thoug h thes e proverb s wer e divinel y inspire d extensions o f the foundational principl e to "lov e one's neighbo r a s one's self" (Lev . 19:18). The three ar e "Friend s ar e one soul i n two bodies, " "A frien d i s a secon d self, " an d "Friend s hol d al l thing s i n common. " The lac k o f concer n b y th e patristi c writer s ove r whethe r th e thre e proverbs originate d i n classical o r Biblica l though t ca n be illustrated b y a surve y o f some of the sources quotin g th e three:

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P L . CULBERTSO N TABLE 2 "Friends Are One Soul in Two Bodies"

Classical Sources • Cicero , De officiis I.xvi (1913: 59; 1947: 850). • Cicero , "Laelius, " xxi.81, xxv.92 (1946 : 189 , 199) . • Plutarch , "O f the Plurality of Friends, " Moralia (1911:313). • Horace , Ode I, 3:8 (1967:4). • Aristotle , Nicomachean Ethics IX.S, 1168a3 3 (1925:234). • Diogene s Laertius , Lives of the Eminent Philosophers V.1 9 (1925:1.463) .

Biblical and Patristic Sources • Psal m 55:13. • Act s 4:32. • 1 Corinthians 5:3 . • Philippian s 1:27 . • Colossian s 2:5 . • 1 Thessalonians 2:17 . • Ambrose , "O n the Duties of th e Clergy, " 111.22.133(1990:149). • Synesius , Epistles 14 0 and 15 2 (1926 : 233, 249). • Augustine , Confessions IV.6.11(1955:82). • Minuciu s Felix, The Octavius 1: 3 (1974 : 51). • Gregor y of Nazianzus , Oration 43.20 (1968 : VII.402). • Gregor y of Nazianzus , Epistle 53 (1968 : VII.477). • Gregor y of Nazianzus , De vita sua, line s 223-3 1 (1987: 83). • Gregor y th e Great, Hom ily 27 o n John 15:12-1 6 (1990:215). • Paulinu s of Nola , Epistle s 11.4-5,13.3(1966:1.9294,119). • Cassian , Conferenc e XVI.3(1968:XI.451).

Subsequent Sources • ib n Zabara, Sefer HaSha'ashuim XI I (1914: 138 ; 1932 : 156) . • ib n Ezra, Sefer Halyyunim vehaDiyyunim 97 a (1975 : 183) . • Shakespeare , Polonius t o Laertes in "Hamlet, " Ac t I, Scene III. • Ralp h Waldo Emerson , "Friendship," (1990: 119).

The origi n o f thes e thre e proverb s i s obscure . Cicer o (1913 : 61 ) attributes th e ide a tha t friend s for m on e sou l t o Pythagora s (sixt h century B.C.E.), as does Diogenes Laertius (1925: II.329). Also to Pythagoras wa s attribute d th e proverb , "friend s hav e al l thing s i n common " (koina ta ton philon), perhaps growing out of the practice of the Pythagorean communit y i n whic h everythin g wa s apparentl y share d (Whit e 1992: 19) . Th e classica l sourc e o f th e frien d a s anothe r sel f i s Zeno , according to Diogenes Laertius (1925: II.135), though Philo attributes it

Men and Christian Friendship 15 TABLE 3

"A Friend Is a Second Self" Classical Sources

Biblical and Patristic Sources

Subsequent Sources

• Cicero , De officiis I.xvii (1913: 59; 1947: 850). • Cicero , "Laelius," xxi.80 (1946: 189). • Aristotle , Nicomachean Ethics IXJ, 1169b 3 (1925:228). • Plutarch , "Of the Plurality of Friends," Moralia (1911:306). • Diogene s Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers VIII.23 (1925: 11.135). • Philo , Questions and Answers on Genesis 1.17 (1961,11).

• Deuteronom y 13:6. • 1 Samuel 18. • Proverb s 18:24. • Be n Sira 6:11 an d 17. • Ambrose , "On the Duties of the Clergy," 111.22.133 (1990: 149). • Augustine , Confessions IV.6.11(1955:82). • John Chrysostom, Second Homily on Thessalonians 2(1968:XIII.380-81). • Synesius , Epistle 100 (1926: 187) . • Jerome, Epistle 130.12 (1968:VI.267). • Paulinu s of Nola, Epistle 11.6(1966:1.94). • Cassian , Conference XVI.6 (1968: XI.452).

• Maimonides , Avot 1.6 (1961: 14). • ib n Aqnin, Sefer ha-Mussar (1967: 11). • ib n Zabara, Sefer Hasha'ashuim XII (1914: 138; 1932: 155). • Shimo n b. Zemach Duran, Magen Avot 1.6 (1961:22). • Ralp h Waldo Emerson, "Friendship," (1990: 122).

TABLE 4 "Friends Hold All Things in Common' Classical Sources

Biblical and Patristic Sources

• Cicero , De officiis I.xvii (1913: 59; 1947: 849). • Cicero , "Laelius, " xxvii.103 (1946 : 211). • Euripides , Orestes, 73 5 (1958:51). • Aristotle , Nicomachean Ethics IX.8 , 1168a33 (1925 : 235). • Diogene s Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers VII.2 4 (1925:11.229 ; but see X.l 1,11.539).

• Act s 2:44. • Act s 4:32. • Galatian s 6:2. • Clemen t of Alexandria, "Stromateis" 2:19. • Valeriu s Maximus, "De amicitia," (1888:201-10). • Gregor y of Nazianzus, Oration 43.20 (1968:VII.402). • Gregor y of Nazianzus, De vita sua, lines 223-31 (1987: 83). • Jerome, Epistle 130.12 (1968: VI.267). • Maximu s the Confessor, "Four Centuries on Charity" 111.79 and IV.93 (1955: 188 , 207).

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to Pythagora s (1961 : 11) . Gregor y o f Nazianzu s (1968 ) use s th e ter m homopsychoi t o indicat e th e "secon d self " whic h unite s tw o mal e friends; th e Lati n i s alter idem o r alter ego. St . Augustin e (1982b ) use s the Latin ex pluribus unum facere t o indicat e the "on e soul" ; the similar ity to th e America n nationa l mott o i s obvious.

Friendship an d th e Ultimat e G o o d With thi s sor t o f historica l weight , i t i s n o wonde r tha t adul t mal e friendship wa s considere d th e primar y crucibl e withi n whic h wer e bor n the mora l foundation s o f an y society . Indeed , Aristotl e wrot e tha t with out friendship , lif e wa s worthless , an d "n o on e woul d choos e t o live " (1925: 192) . Gregor y o f Nazianzu s observe d tha t friendshi p betwee n adult male s wa s "Mor e t o b e desire d tha n gold , eve n muc h fine gold ; sweeter als o tha n honey , an d dripping s o f th e honeycomb " (Psal m 19:10; quote d i n Whit e 1992 : 51) . Fo r Gregory' s intimat e frien d Basil , the bond s o f divinely endowed friendshi p betwee n me n wa s the basi s fo r ecclesiology: communitie s o f th e faithfu l wer e forme d b y interlockin g networks o f me n wh o wer e generou s an d loya l t o eac h other . Th e shapers o f earl y Christianit y woul d agre e wit h Euripides , wh o observe d in hi s dram a Orestes tha t "On e loya l frien d i s wort h te n thousan d relatives" (lin e 804 , 1958 : 59 ; cf. Cicero , "Laelius, " v . 20 , 1946 : 129) . The concurrence betwee n classica l and patristi c writers, that male friend ship i s th e crucibl e i n whic h a society' s moral s ar e born , ca n als o b e charted:

TABLE 5

Classical Sources Biblica • Xenophon , Memorabilia II.4 and 6 (1903: 100,105). • Cicero , De officiis I.xvii, par. 55-56(1913:59). • Aristotle , Nicomachean Ethics VIII. 1, 1155(1925:192-93).

l and Patristic Sources • Ambrose , "On the Duties of the Clergy," 111.22.132(1990:148). • Augustine , Confessions IV.8.13 (1955: 83). • Basil , Epistle 2.2 (1968: VIII.110). • Gregor y of Nazianzus, Oration 8.1 (1968:VIL238).

Men and Christian Friendship 15 For th e earl y Christia n writers , Go d wa s th e sourc e o f al l good . Society was presumed t o b e good, including its ordering int o hierarchica l structures o f powe r an d privilege . If these structure s wer e the expressio n of God' s goo d will , the n ho w muc h mor e s o wer e th e friendshi p net works upo n whic h societ y wa s constructed . Friend s wer e understoo d a s gifts o f God , an d indee d Go d directe d specifi c people' s path s t o cros s i n life s o tha t the y migh t hav e th e opportunit y t o develo p a n intimat e friendship. Carolinn e Whit e (1992 : 122 ) point s t o tw o Ne w Testamen t verses often cite d i n suppor t o f thes e beliefs : John 15:1 4 i s of course one text which i s often referre d t o b y Christian writer s on friendship, pointin g as it does to a correlation betwee n lov e of Go d and ou r duty t o lov e ou r neighbor ; me n ar e joine d wit h other s i n friendshi p an d ar e thereby als o friend s o f Christ . This i s not somethin g emphasize d b y Ambrose. Instead h e make s th e interestin g observatio n tha t Go d gav e u s th e pattern o f friendship fo r u s to follo w s o that we might d o our friend' s will , reveal all our innermost thought s t o ou r frien d an d lear n hi s secret s too . H e support s thi s prescription by a reference to John 15:15. Other patristi c writer s wh o develope d th e though t tha t ou r friend s ar e God's intentiona l gift s includ e Augustine , i n Confessions IV . 10.15 (1955: 85 ) an d On Christian Doctrine I.xxvii-xxi x (1982a : 23-25) ; John Cassian , Conferenc e XVI.1 3 (1968 : XI.454, citing John 4:16) ; an d Paulinus o f Nola , Epistle s 3.1 , 11.1 , 11. 5 (1966 : I.44 , 90) . Th e sam e thought i s echoe d muc h late r i n Ralp h Wald o Emerson' s 184 1 essa y entitled "Friendship " (1990 : 112-13) .

T h e D a r k Sid e o f F r i e n d s h i p According t o Be n Sir a 6:7 , "Whe n yo u gai n friends , gai n the m throug h testing, an d d o no t trus t the m hastily. " Classica l an d patristi c writer s were als o no t unawar e tha t friendshi p ca n hav e it s dar k side . Certai n caveats were noted throughou t th e literature , cautioning on e not t o hav e too man y friends , fo r th e huma n capacit y t o lov e i s limited ; t o mak e friends selectivel y an d slowly , testin g possibl e friend s befor e makin g weighty commitment s t o them ; an d t o wor k t o prov e one' s lov e fo r another perso n throug h deeds . Words were not enough t o try friendship ; it mus t b e show n repeatedl y throug h act s o f generosit y an d loyalty . According t o Arthu r Adkin s (1963 : 34 , 41) , mal e friendshi p i n th e

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P H I L I P L . CULBERTSO N TABLE 6 Friendships Should Be Limited in Number and Developed Slowly Classical Sources

Biblical, Patristic, and Later Sources

• Hesiod , Works and Days, lines 713-14 (1959: 103). • Aristotle , Nicomachean Ethics VIII.6, 1158a (1925: 201). • Plutarch , "Of the Plurality of Friends," Moralia (1911: 306-8). • Theognis , "Maxims," lines 31-128 (1914:219-24). • Xenophon , Memorabilia II.6 (1903: 105). • Cicero , De officiis I.xvi, par. 60 (1913: 61). • Cicero , "Laelius," v. 18, xxi.79, xxii.85 (1946:129,187,193).

• Be n Sira 6:7 • Be n Sira 9:10. • Shakespeare , Polonius to Laertes in Hamlet," Act I, Scene III.

classical literatur e (an d t o a larg e degre e continuin g int o th e patristi c literature) "i s a n act whic h create s o r maintain s a co-operativ e relation ship an d it need not be accompanied by any friendly feeling at all: i t i s the actio n whic h i s al l important. " Loyalt y ofte n wa s expecte d t o tak e TABLE 7

Friends Prove Their Loyalty through Deeds and by Remaining Together Classical Sources

Biblical and Patristic Sources

• Aristotle , Nicomachean Ethics. IX. 12, 1172(1925:246). • Xenophon , Memorabilia II.6, line 73 (1903:110). • Cicero , De officiis III.x, par. 43 (1913: 311). • Cicero , "Laelius," xvii.65 (1946: 175) . • Plutarch , "Of the Plurality of Friends," Moralia (1911: 309 • Solon , 1.60 in Diogenes Laertius, Lives of the Eminent Philosophers (1925:1.61)

• Rut h 1:16-17. • Psal m 68:7. • Psal m 133:1. • Proverb s 17:17. • Proverb s 27:10. • Qohele t 4:9-10. • Be n Sira 29:10. • Galatian s 6:2. • Valeriu s Maximus, "De amicitia," (Kempf 1888:201-210). • Gregor y of Nazianzus, Epistle 6 (1968: VI.447-48). • Gregor y of Nazianzus, De vita sua, lines 223-31 (1987: 83). • Basil , Epistle 71 (1968: VIII.167). • Cassian , Conference XVI.3 (1968: XI.451).

Men and Christian Friendship 15 the dutiful for m o f turning down opportunitie s fo r professiona l advance ment, i n orde r t o sta y i n th e sam e locatio n a s one' s bes t friend . I n fact , when possible , i t wa s bes t tha t friend s liv e together , maximizin g thei r intimacy throug h th e frequenc y o f share d dail y contact. 2 Of course , i t wa s no t alway s possibl e fo r friend s t o declin e advance ments, o r neglec t th e nee d t o mov e i n orde r bette r t o suppor t thei r families. Lette r writin g becam e the way tha t friend s staye d i n touch wit h each othe r whil e separated . Th e formula e use d i n suc h letter s betwee n intimate friend s becam e quit e stylized , bu t eve n throug h th e formality , the word s expresse d a n intimac y whic h wa s judge d t o b e a "mirro r o f the soul. " Throug h letters , friend s wer e unite d a s thoug h the y wer e stil l together i n on e place , tw o bodie s sharin g on e soul . These formula e ha d a particula r impac t o n th e Ne w Testamen t epistles , employe d b y th e authors a s proo f o f thei r extrem e affectio n fo r th e congregation s t o which the y were writing. 3 An E x a m p l e o f Patristi c Intimat e M a l e Friendshi p One o f th e mos t celebrate d suc h friendship s i n patristi c histor y i s tha t during th e fourt h centur y betwee n St . Basil , wh o becam e bisho p o f Caesarea, an d St . Gregor y o f Nazianzus , late r patriarc h o f Constantino ple. Th e primar y source s ar e thei r letter s t o eac h other , Gregory' s auto biographical poe m De vita sua, an d hi s Oratio n 43 , th e funera l speec h which h e wrot e fo r hi s frien d afte r Basil' s deat h i n 37 9 (cf . Basi l o f Caesarea 1962 , 1968 ; Gregor y o f Nazianzu s 1968 , 1987). 4 Nazianzu s in particula r wrot e severa l essay s o n th e subjec t o f mal e friendship . H e was heavil y influence d b y Gree k an d Roma n philosophers , bu t claime d such relationship s a s logica l extension s o f a tru e fait h i n Christ . I n thei r younger years , Gregor y an d Basi l live d togethe r a s intimat e roommates , shared everything , and eac h considered himsel f th e alter ego of the other . In Epistl e 5 8 (1968 : VI.454) , Gregor y write s t o Basil , "Th e greates t benefit whic h lif e ha s brough t m e i s you r friendshi p an d m y intimac y with you. " I n Epistl e 5 3 (1968 : VI.477) , Gregor y crie s ou t tha t h e ha s always love d Basi l mor e tha n himself . I n hi s oratio n a t Basil' s funeral , Gregory expresse s hi s sens e o f bein g bu t half-alive , cu t i n two , haunte d by thoughts o f hi s dead friend . Yet , there i s a dar k sid e to th e friendshi p between th e tw o me n a s well . Whe n Basi l becam e bisho p o f Caesarea , he no t onl y abandone d hi s frien d fo r a distan t city , bu t h e di d no t eve n

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draw hi s intimat e Gregor y int o consideratio n o f whethe r t o accep t th e election. Essentially , Gregor y neve r forgav e Basi l fo r havin g lef t him . Among th e man y expression s o f hi s yearnin g fo r Basil , Gregor y als o writes vitriolicl y o f hi s betrayal , hi s loss , hi s incredulit y a t bein g s o summarily droppe d b y Basil . The brea k i n thei r friendshi p wa s perhap s Gregory's mos t bitte r blow , even i n a life ful l o f theologica l an d politica l controversy (cf . "Laelius " x.34 , Cicer o 1946 : 147) . The proble m betwee n the m ma y b e understood a s a differing philoso phy abou t th e ultimat e purpos e o f friendship . Gregor y an d Basi l seem t o recapitulate th e differences betwee n Plat o and Aristotl e over the philoso phy o f friendship . A t questio n i s whethe r friendshi p shoul d mov e fro m particular t o universal , o r universa l t o particular . Gilber t Meilaende r (1981: 8 ) summarizes th e tw o differin g point s o f view : Plato and Aristotl e offe r u s representative expression s o f wha t ma y be the two most importan t competin g theorie s o f friendship . Fo r Plato , friendshi p i s a universal lov e whic h grow s ou t o f mor e particular , affectiv e attachments . Fo r Aristotle (an d fo r th e majorit y o f classica l thinker s who , on thi s point , follo w him rathe r tha n Plato ) i t i s a narrowin g dow n o f th e man y towar d who m w e have good will to a few friends whom we especially choose. Plato's theory begins with a particular attachment , whic h the n grow s towar d a more universal love. Aristotle's moves in precisely the opposite direction. Plato grounds friendship i n sentiment; Aristotle in choice. Basil's philosophy, particularly a s revealed i n his "Rule, " seem s to mimi c Plato's, wherea s Gregory' s mimic s Aristotle's . T o Basil , i n hi s Aesceti c Sermon I citin g Matthe w 5:45 , perfec t lov e mus t b e impartia l i n it s imitation o f God' s lov e fo r humanity . Gregor y seem s t o hav e wante d a particular friendshi p wit h Basil , bu t Basi l refused , an d s o embittere d Gregory.

T h e Particularit y o f Homosocialit y For approximatel y on e thousan d year s fro m 50 0 B.C.E . t o 50 0 C.E. , and wel l beyon d i n mor e isolate d instances , intimate friendshi p betwee n adult males was valued a s the ultimate expression o f human relationship . But a t th e sam e time , ther e ha s bee n a sens e o f competitio n betwee n friendship an d marriage , th e othe r commitmen t expecte d o f adul t men . This competitio n to o ha s a Biblica l basis : accordin g t o Be n Sir a 40:23 ,

Men and Christian Friendship 15 "A friend o r companion i s always welcome , bu t a sensible wife i s bette r than either. " Onl y onc e i n th e Bibl e i s a wif e referre d t o a s a friend — Malachi 2:14—an d muc h subsequen t Christia n an d Jewis h literatur e takes pain s t o contradic t tha t clai m (see , e.g. , ib n Zabar a 1914 : 138) . The competition betwee n friendshi p an d marriage finds clear expressio n in th e patristic literature . Meilaende r (1981 : 2 ) point s ou t th e powerfu l attraction of marriage : the erotic relationship betwee n a man and a woman—crowned a t one time, if no longer , i n Christia n marriage—becam e th e bon d o f lov e i n whic h peopl e invested themselve s mos t deeply... . I f the bond o f friendshi p los t it s pride of place it is partly because the roots of Christian culture go very deep into a man who i s reporte d t o hav e said : "I f you lov e thos e wh o lov e you , wha t reward have you? . .. An d if you salute only your brethren, what more are you doing than others?" (Matt. 5:46f) . Peter Brow n (1985) , Rosemar y Radfor d Ruethe r (1983) , Jame s A . Brundage (1987) , and others hav e traced the process b y which marriag e came t o replac e mal e friendshi p a s th e highe r goo d withi n Christia n thought. Eac h raise s th e issu e o f ho w muc h thi s reversa l o f valuatio n was the result of th e increasing hold upo n emergent-European societ y o f powerful whit e males , fo r who m marriag e functione d a s a malleabl e form of social control an d barter. Anthropologists Claud e Levi-Straus s (1969 ) an d Gayl e Rubi n (1975 ) have define d thi s socia l contro l an d barte r eve n mor e sharply , a s "th e male traffi c i n women." Accordin g t o thei r theory , eac h adul t mal e ha s a limited number of powers, but wishes to accrue more power or greater powers. He can do this only b y entering int o over t or covert agreement s with other men who also wish to trade or improve their limited number s of power . The tradeabl e commodit y i n th e improvemen t o f one' s ow n power is women. Women thus serve to mask the fact that power remains a man' s game , i n whic h unequall y powere d me n see k mor e powe r b y entering int o (usuall y unconscious ) agreement s wit h othe r men . Me n "court" each othe r b y hiding thei r nee d fo r eac h othe r behin d women' s skirts (Tige r 1984) . Recent literar y criticism, includin g th e work o f Mar y Jacobus (1982 83) an d Ev e Kosofsky Sedgwic k (1985) , ha s examined ho w thi s proces s is reflecte d i n th e histor y o f Englis h literature . Sedgwick , fo r example , describes th e proces s whereb y me n attemp t t o establis h som e intimac y with eac h other , usuall y i n a triangulate d relationshi p wit h a woma n

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who function s t o disguis e th e gesture s betwee n th e men , a s "homosoci ality": "Homosocial" i s a wor d occasionall y use d i n histor y an d th e socia l sciences , where i t describes socia l bond s betwee n person s o f th e sam e sex; it i s a neologism, obviousl y forme d b y analog y wit h "homosexual, " an d jus t a s obviousl y meant to be distinguished fro m "homosexual. " (Sedgwic k 1985 : 1) Sedgwick's theor y i s directly relate d t o famil y system s theory, presumin g that huma n being s relat e t o eac h othe r withi n triangula r structure s (se e Bowen 1985 ; Friedman 1985) . In the triangl e o f tw o me n an d a woman , the attractio n betwee n th e tw o me n mus t b e take n a t leas t a s seriousl y as th e attractio n betwee n eac h ma n an d th e woman . Th e attractio n i s heightened whe n eithe r ma n realize s that h e can gai n inflate d powe r an d influence b y forming a n allianc e with anothe r o f the tw o member s o f th e triangle. Since women rarel y hav e power, th e obvious choice with who m to for m th e allianc e i s the othe r man . Th e allianc e ma y tak e th e for m o f cooperation o r competitio n o r eve n aggression . Whateve r it s form , th e alliance's powe r canno t b e denied . Thi s desir e t o unit e power s wit h another ma n i s on e possibl e non-genita l for m o f eros , thi s desir e an d attraction creatin g th e exaggerate d impuls e t o homosociality . In Joh n Cassian's Conferenc e XVI , fo r example , Abb a Josep h describe s certai n male friendship s a s follows : In the case of others some bargain or agreement to give and take something has joined the m i n the bond s o f love . Others a similarity an d unio n o f busines s or science or art or study has united in the chain of friendship, b y which even fierce souls becom e kindl y dispose d t o eac h other , s o tha t those , who i n forest s an d mountains deligh t i n robber y an d reve l i n huma n bloodshed , embrac e an d cherish the partners of their crime. (1968: XI.450) This patristic sourc e reflects o n th e theory o f homosociality : The "some thing" bargaine d ca n wel l b e a woman , howeve r covertly , whil e th e description o f rival robber s captures succinctl y th e erotic bondin g withi n overt competition . Sedgwic k (1985 : 21 ) describe s th e homosocia l at traction a s "intens e an d potent. " Mos t me n operat e thi s wa y o n occa sion, though fe w ar e awar e o f it . Sedgwick writes : "fo r a ma n t o b e a man' s ma n i s separated onl y b y an invisible , carefull y blurred , always-already-crosse d lin e fro m bein g 'interested i n men ' " (1985 : 89) . Crossin g th e lin e i s controlled b y ideo logical homophobia , whic h allow s tw o me n t o rela x i n thei r intimat e

Men and Christian friendship 161 bartering o f power , sinc e neithe r o f the m ha s t o worr y tha t thei r inti macy wil l b e misunderstood, issuin g i n a confusing ac t o f sexua l aggres sion b y th e other . Ala n Bra y (1982 ) date s th e ris e o f thi s for m o f ideological homophobi a t o th e Restoratio n perio d o f th e late-seven teenth century . Unti l tha t point , socia l powe r reste d withi n th e church , which ha d interprete d Scriptur e an d traditio n a s th e sufficien t control s to preven t homogenita l activity . Whe n powe r bega n t o shift t o th e secular world, suc h as the state an d th e sciences of medicin e an d individ ual psychology , thi s transfe r o f assignmen t entaile d a n increasingl y stressed an d invasiv e homophobic divisio n o f th e male homosocia l spec trum. A s homosocialit y an d homophobi a move d ou t o f th e churc h int o the secula r world , the y brough t wit h the m thei r predictabl e attendan t baggage o f gynephobi a an d anti-feminism . Theological Control s o n Mal e Intimac y Little analysi s ha s bee n don e o n th e rol e o f Christia n theolog y i n pro moting th e marrie d heterosexua l paradig m a s a disguis e fo r men' s con flicted feeling s ove r thei r innat e homosocia l character . Me n desir e t o spend tim e wit h othe r men . The y kno w the y nee d i t fo r emotiona l and spiritua l health . Bu t me n toda y als o see m confuse d whe n the y ar e abandoned b y thei r wives . Ofte n thes e me n fee l tha t the y hav e under taken painfu l persona l change s i n respons e t o women' s deman d fo r justice an d equality , an d ye t the y canno t kee p their wive s happ y enoug h to stay . Wha t remain s insufficientl y examine d i s men' s complicit y i n homosociality, particularl y whe n homosocialit y masquerade s a s friend ship. Women continu e to feel tha t the y are being bartered b y homosocia l men whe n me n us e their marita l statu s a s a n excus e t o fee l secur e abou t participating i n th e men' s movement . Unti l me n ca n lear n t o for m intimate friendship s wit h othe r me n i n a manne r whic h doe s no t us e women a s a proo f o f thei r masculinity , th e lin e betwee n friendshi p an d women-bartering homosocialit y wil l remain destructivel y blurred . Whil e today homosocialit y operate s largel y i n secula r society , it s historica l source i s withi n th e church , a s i s th e sourc e o f it s attendan t baggage : homophobia, gynephobia , an d th e reification o f women a s commodity . Because men hav e bee n taugh t t o b e uncomfortable wit h mal e friend ship, me n mas k thei r fea r b y makin g sur e thei r heterosexua l statu s i s clearly proven i n public, by reaffirming marriag e a s more important tha n

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friendship, an d eve n b y justifyin g th e cover t barterin g o f wome n a s a prerequisite fo r men' s retentio n o f persona l power . Christia n though t and theolog y hav e contributed t o thi s masking i n a t leas t fou r ways : i. Making Friendship Look Dangerous and Untrustworthy The Biblica l traditio n take s adul t mal e friendshi p seriously , offerin g supportive maxim s an d aphorism s i n th e book s Proverb s an d Be n Sira ; extended friendshi p stories , suc h a s Davi d an d Jonathan , Rut h an d Naomi, o r th e friend s o f Job; an d a handful o f Ne w Testamen t parable s structured aroun d th e interactio n betwee n friends . Bu t paradoxically , the Bibl e als o make s friendshi p loo k dangerou s b y reflectin g upo n th e bitterness o f betraya l b y friend s o r th e danger s o f bein g swaye d i n th e wrong directio n throug h pee r pressure . Th e correctiv e t o thes e danger s is t o sprea d friendshi p thinner . Eugen e Borowit z (1971 : 195 ) writes , "The Bibl e seem s t o emphasiz e prope r concer n fo r one' s neighbo r a s a means fo r th e creation o f a sacred society , rather tha n intens e person-to person relationships . Thi s ma y b e a safeguar d agains t homosexuality , which was so much a part o f the Greek conceptio n o f friendship." Whil e Borowitz i s correc t tha t th e Gree k ide a o f friendshi p di d approv e o f what w e woul d no w cal l pederast y amon g th e uppe r classes, 5 i t di d no t approve o f wha t w e toda y cal l homosexuality , no r doe s th e Bibl e muc h concern itsel f wit h th e subjec t a t all . Among th e Biblica l passage s whic h cautio n tha t friend s ma y betra y or woun d us , an d thu s ar e no t t o b e easil y trusted , ar e Psalm s 41:9 ; Proverbs 14:20 , 19:6 , 27:6 ; Micah 7:5 ; Ben Sir a 6:8-13 , 12:8-9 , I 3- 2 I > 22:26, 37:1-5 ; Matthe w 5:46 ; an d Luk e 14:12 . Rabbini c traditio n i s equally cautious about friendship . Th e friendshi p o f Jonathan an d Davi d is hel d u p a s th e suprem e exampl e o f self-sacrificin g lov e a t Mishna h Avot 5:19 , an d B T Taanit 23 a crie s ou t "Friendshi p o r Death! " 6 Con trarily, whe n th e sag e Ra v praise d Job' s friend s fo r visitin g hi m i n hi s distress, th e sag e Rabba h replie d sarcastically , "Eithe r a frien d lik e th e friends o f Jo b o r death " (B T Bab a Batr a 16b) . Eve n mor e interestin g i s the wa y Biblica l passage s ge t interprete d t o sho w cautio n abou t friend ship. Fo r example , whe n Deuteronom y 13: 6 speak s o f one' s mos t inti mate frien d a s "you r frien d wh o i s lik e you r ow n soul, " th e Sifre Devarim, Pisk a 8 7 (Hamme r 1986 : 138 ) re-interpret s "you r friend " a s meaning one' s consanguin e brother , an d "you r ow n soul " a s meanin g

Men and Christian Friendship 16 one's biologica l father . Th e tex t thu s reveal s a significan t discomfor t with intimat e adul t mal e friendship , erasin g th e Biblica l approva l b y arguing a n alternativ e reading . 2. Raising the Specter of Homosexuality within Intimate Friendship In general , th e patristi c literatur e praise s intimat e adul t mal e friend ship withou t worryin g abou t it s homosexua l possibilities . St . Basil , i n his "Lon g Rules " (1962 : 220) , i s on e o f th e fe w wh o caution s agains t prospatheia (feeling s o f partiality ) withi n a monasti c communit y o n th e grounds tha t the y migh t temp t me n t o b e genitall y intimat e wit h eac h other. Th e wor d "homosexuality " wa s coine d b y K . M . Benker t i n 1869 (Mone y 1988 : 9) . Ala n Bray' s excellen t stud y Homosexuality in Renaissance England reveal s tha t lega l circle s i n Englan d di d no t distin guish homosexua l behavio r fro m th e catch-al l crim e o f "buggery " (in volving eithe r me n o r women ) unti l th e 1860 s (1982 : 134) . Carefu l reading o f th e patristi c literatur e reveal s tha t th e earl y writers ' rea l concern wa s wit h an y lac k o f discipline , rathe r tha n singlin g ou t homo sexuality a s a particula r danger , fo r indisciplin e suggeste d a lac k o f proper focu s o n God . Fo r example , i n hi s Epistle 366 , Basil writes: "W e should no t loo k upo n continenc e a s of onl y one kind, in regard t o sexua l things, for example , bu t als o in relation t o al l the othe r thing s which th e soul wrongl y desires , no t bein g satisfie d wit h th e bar e necessitie s fo r it " (Culbertson an d Shippe e 1990 : 122) . Continenc e an d disciplin e wer e expected i n ever y aspec t o f a person' s life , s o tha t huma n energ y woul d be maximized an d the n directe d Go d ward. I n relation t o homosexuality , we mus t questio n whethe r a cultur e reall y fear s somethin g fo r whic h i t does not eve n hav e a name . Recent studie s i n cultura l anthropolog y sugges t tha t homophobi a i s part o f th e inheritanc e carrie d t o th e end s o f th e eart h b y Christia n missionaries i n th e eighteent h an d nineteent h centuries . Toda y mos t non-Christian societie s continu e t o accep t "institutionalize d bisexu ality"—that certai n type s o f homosexua l activit y ar e a par t o f th e requisite maturatio n proces s fo r males—a s th e norm , failur e t o engag e in occasiona l same-se x genita l activit y indicatin g a n arreste d socia l de velopment (Mone y 1988 : 9) . This wa s als o th e cas e prio r t o th e arriva l of Christia n missionarie s amon g th e Nativ e Americans , th e Hawaiians ,

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and th e Maor i o f Aotearoa/Ne w Zealand . Definin g homosexualit y a s either a crim e o r a si n is , then , a t leas t culture-specifi c o r ethnocentric , and i s probabl y Christocentric . Th e mora l judgmen t o f homosexua l behavior ha s littl e t o d o wit h Scriptur e o r th e earl y patristi c tradition . According t o Joh n Boswel l (1980 : 124 , 172) , th e first perso n pu t t o death o n th e deman d o f th e churc h fo r a n ac t relate d t o homosexualit y was kille d i n 39 0 fo r sellin g male s int o prostitution ; th e first perso n pu t to deat h fo r homosexua l genita l act s wa s Bisho p Alexande r o f Diospoli s in Thrace, c. 550 , who died b y castration. The classification o f homosex uality a s a morta l si n become s a Christia n obsessio n du e t o th e late r complicated interactio n betwee n force s i n Europea n societ y an d th e needs o f powe r an d contro l i n institutionalize d Christianity . Th e seed s of homophobi a ma y hav e lai n i n the patristic theolog y o f friendship , bu t it took th e subsequent developmen t o f ecclesiastical powe r an d authorit y for thos e seed s t o overwhel m th e positiv e evaluatio n o f intimat e mal e friendship a s the highest expressio n o f Christia n love . The poin t i s tha t sinc e mos t me n ar e sociall y conditione d t o behav e heterosexually, same-se x genita l activit y i s of littl e "danger " i n intimat e friendship betwee n adul t male s anyway . T o attac h th e specte r o f homo sexuality t o male friendshi p say s more abou t thos e who d o the attachin g than i t doe s abou t behavio r betwee n friends . C . S . Lewi s remarks , "Those wh o canno t conceiv e Friendshi p a s a substantiv e lov e bu t onl y as a disguis e o r elaboratio n o f Ero s betra y th e fac t tha t the y hav e neve r had a Friend " (i960 : 91) . Christianity' s obsessio n wit h homosexualit y (perhaps mor e exaggerate d toda y tha n eve r befor e i n history ) serve s t o inflate th e importanc e o f heterosexua l marriag e b y makin g me n fea r male friendship . Sinc e same-sex genita l activit y hold s littl e attractio n fo r the majorit y o f me n wit h a Western enculturation , t o persis t i n promot ing this fea r suggest s tha t a different agend a i s at work . 3. Spiritualizing Men's Friendship, Thereby Disassociating It from Their Bodies Echoing thei r classica l heritage , th e earl y patristi c writer s spok e o f friendship i n ver y physica l terms . Livin g together , a s mal e friend s wer e expected t o d o unles s married , i s a ver y physica l process . Th e phras e "one sou l i n tw o bodies " suggest s th e importanc e o f th e bod y a s tha t which allow s men to bin d themselves to each other. Bu t Christianity als o

Men and Christian Friendship 16 bought int o a body-sou l dualis m whic h argue d fo r the disassociation o f higher good s fro m th e confines o f mortal limitation . Thi s disassociatio n became eve n mor e exaggerate d wit h th e developmen t o f th e doctrin e that th e human bod y wa s by nature sinful . Th e human bod y neede d not only disciplining . Eve n mortificatio n o f the flesh implies a certain atten tion to and awareness of biological needs . The ultimate goa l in Christia n thought becam e ignorin g th e body altogether , concentratin g o n the disembodied immorta l soul , whic h coul d the n unit e wit h a disembodie d risen Christ . Augustine develope d thi s doctrin e systematicall y i n relationshi p t o male friendship . T o lov e someon e a s a "secon d self " wa s not onl y th e appropriate living-ou t o f Leviticus 19:1 8 ("you shall lov e your neighbo r as yourself") , bu t i t als o expresse d th e Divin e economy , i n tha t Chris t was a "secon d self " o f God the Father (se e also Cassia n [1968] , Confer ence XVI.6 , XI.452 , citin g Joh n 6:38) . T o lov e anothe r ma n wa s a Christian act , and a s such , mus t b e free fro m al l tain t o f sin , includin g any appreciatio n o f another' s physica l body . Friendshi p a s tw o soul s knit togethe r i n one disembodied whol e wa s not unlike Jesus' comman d concerning heterosexua l marriage , "th e tw o shal l becom e on e flesh" (Matthew 19:5 , Mark 10:8) . Th e ironi c reversa l o f friendshi p a s "on e soul i n two bodies" wit h marriag e a s "tw o souls i n one flesh" seem s t o have escaped Augustine' s careful theologica l gaze. In this way, Augustin e and other s spiritualize d friendshi p b y disassociating i t from huma n par ticulars an d partiality, makin g friendshi p a Christian responsibilit y t o be extended t o all . When on e can overloo k th e vicissitude s o f th e huma n body, almos t anyon e become s loveable , jus t a s God' s lov e know s n o partiality. Onc e friendshi p wa s spiritualized, i t was easily universalized . Once universalized , i t was essentially emasculated . Augustine an d other s coul d argu e thei r doctrin e onl y b y makin g sharp an d innovativ e distinction s amon g agape, philos, an d eros, thre e common Gree k term s fo r love . The distinctions see m no t to b e as shar p in th e original Gree k a s more recen t interpreter s wis h t o suggest. 7 In a recent essay , Ne w Testamen t schola r Robi n Scrogg s correct s thi s mis taken differentiation : "Th e distinctio n w e shoul d mak e . . . i s no t be tween agap e an d eros bu t between a dehumanized eros , drive n b y a sad lack o f self-acceptance o f the self, an d a n eros tha t i s able t o liv e ou t of fullness becaus e i t live s ou t of a self-acceptin g self " (1993 : 154) . Citing the wor k o f Brow n an d Marcus e o n eros , Scrogg s (1993 : 163 ) show s

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that ero s an d agape , particularl y a s discusse d i n th e Paulin e epistles , have thre e qualitie s i n common: (a ) th e presence o f non-aggressiv e char acteristics; (b) enjoyment an d appreciatio n o f others ; and (c ) the mutual ity o f loving . Wha t distinguishe s "good " ero s fro m "bad " ero s i s tha t the eros/agap e interchang e contain s n o nee d fo r anyon e t o dominat e o r possess another. Bu t this distinction wa s not usefu l fo r Christia n though t as it sought t o separat e itsel f fro m a "perverse " world . To emphasiz e th e Christian disdai n fo r debauchery , ero s wa s relegate d t o th e physica l world an d agap e t o th e spiritual , thereb y constructin g a n artificia l dis tinction whic h no t onl y violate d Scriptura l tradition , bu t serve d th e church's purpose s o f maintainin g contro l an d conformity . 4. Developing Muscular Christianity The lat e Victoria n er a (th e mid-i8oos ) sa w th e ris e o f a movemen t known a s Muscula r Christianity . Thi s movemen t to o ha d it s root s i n patristic Christia n thought . Synesiu s o f Cyren e ends his Epistle 14 0 wit h a farewell , callin g hi s frien d Herculia n t o behavio r befittin g a manl y man—one whos e emotion s ar e carefully shu t down : May yo u continu e i n goo d health—ma y philosoph y kee p yo u i n cal m cheer fulness, O admirable master ! If philosophy know s how to give the first place to absence of emotion itself , and i f the intermediary state s consist i n the moderat e experience of passion, where on earth shall we place the extreme of passion and the extreme o f humiliation ? Shal l w e not plac e the m outsid e o f philosophy , of which we prayed earnestly that you might be the priest? Not that , at all events, most dear to me of all men! Show yourself a more manly friend to us. (Synesius 1926: 235, emphasis added) The stag e wa s nex t se t fo r Muscula r Christianit y i n th e writing s o f Samuel Taylo r Coleridg e (1772-1834) . Coleridg e equate d manlines s with charity , virtue, and good-will , all of which woul d lea d a right-livin g man t o th e fulfillmen t o f hi s potentia l i n a bette r an d mor e usefu l life . Coleridge's philosoph y i s well-illustrate d i n a sectio n o f hi s Aids to Reflection (th e ful l title , accordin g t o som e sources , add s in the Formation of a Manly Character): Let it not, however, be forgotten, tha t the powers of the understanding an d the intellectual graces are precious gifts o f God; and that every Christian, according to th e opportunitie s vouchsafe d t o him , i s boun d t o cultivat e th e on e an d t o acquire the other. Indeed, h e is scarcely a Christian wh o wilfully neglect s so to

Men and Christian Friendship 16 do. Wha t say s th e apostle ? Ad d t o you r fait h knowledge, an d t o knowledg e manly energy ( 2 Pet. 1,5) ; fo r thi s is the proper renderin g of , an d no t virtue at least i n th e presen t an d ordinar y acceptatio n o f th e word (Commen t t o Aphorism XHc, 1905: 6-7, emphasis original). Virtue wa s manl y energ y fo r Coleridge . Thi s manl y energ y wa s t o b e applied t o th e intellectua l pursuits . I n th e generatio n nex t afte r Cole ridge, i t was a n eas y shif t fro m intellectua l pursuit s t o eve n mor e manl y ones on th e athleti c field. In 1876 , Thoma s Hughe s gav e a serie s o f lectures , publishe d thre e years late r unde r th e titl e The Manliness of Christ. Th e ter m Muscula r Christianity i s usuall y attribute d t o T . S . Sandard s (Newsom e 1961 : 198). Christianit y wa s interprete d a s synonymou s wit h robus t energy , spirited courage , and physica l vitality . Hughe s an d hi s followers, partic ularly Charle s Kingsley, Georg e Selwyn , and Thoma s Arnold , channele d their ne w theologica l insight s int o reform s affectin g schoo l education , competitive sports , an d oversea s missionar y activities . Wherea s Cole ridge ha d regarde d manlines s a s a descriptio n o f maturity , Kingsle y an d Hughes stresse d th e gende r an d muscula r connotation s o f th e wor d manliness, emphasizin g thes e qualitie s b y identifyin g th e convers e o f manliness a s "effeminacy " (Newsom e 1961 : 197) . Hughe s wedde d th e virtues o f manliness , godliness , an d strenuou s physica l exertio n i n hi s writings, the most famou s o f whic h i s Tom Brown's Schooldays. Christian Manlines s wa s th e antidot e t o "effeminacy " (b y whic h Hughes an d Kingsle y mean t homosexuality , no t "a n obsessio n wit h women," thoug h a s well every Christia n youn g ma n shoul d hol d himsel f pure fo r th e virgi n h e woul d marr y an d impregnate). 8 I n 1861 , Hughes wrote i n hi s seque l Tom Brown at Oxford, "Sir , yo u belon g t o a bod y whose cree d i s to fea r God , an d wal k 1,00 0 mile s i n 1,00 0 hours. " 9 I n the sam e period , bu t acros s th e ocean , Ralp h Wald o Emerso n wrot e i n his essay entitled "Friendship" : I hate the prostitution o f the name of friendshi p t o signify modis h an d worldl y alliances. I muc h prefe r th e compan y o f ploughboy s an d tin-peddlers , t o th e silken and perfumed amit y which celebrates its days of encounter b y a frivolou s display, b y rides i n a curricle, an d dinner s a t th e bes t tavern s (Emerso n 1990 : 118). Interestingly, Emerson's essay combines the three classical proverbs "on e soul i n tw o bodies, " " a secon d self, " an d "friend s hol d al l thing s i n common"—with a n emphasi s o n a n exaggerate d virility , thereb y sug -

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gesting that tru e friendshi p coul d exis t onl y betwee n tw o piou s Christia n athletes. Muscular Christianit y wa s premise d o n th e physica l superiorit y o f males; i f Go d mad e the m physicall y superio r t o women , tha t extr a advantage mus t b e develope d t o th e maximu m i n orde r t o b e faithfu l stewards o f God' s gifts : t o fight i n Hi s service , t o protec t th e weak , t o conquer nature . N o les s importan t t o Kingsley , i t wa s a man' s dut y t o fulfill hi s sexua l functio n b y th e procreatio n o f childre n i n tha t blis s which i s th e marita l stat e (Newsom e 1961 : 209) . Health y competitio n was worke d ou t o n th e rugb y field, an d "impure " thought s wer e kep t under contro l b y col d shower s an d sleepin g i n th e winte r wit h al l th e windows open. 10 Boy s were encourage d t o becom e rugge d me n i n keep ing wit h a n eccentri c mis-quotatio n o f Psal m 147:1 0 a s "Th e Lor d delighteth i n a pai r o f sturd y legs. " Muscula r Christianit y wa s worke d out no t onl y o n th e rugb y field, bu t i n th e missio n field a s well . Ne w Zealand autho r Joc k Phillip s summarize s th e philosoph y o f Muscula r Christianity a s "th e duty o f patriotism ; th e moral an d physica l beaut y o f athleticism; th e salutar y effect s o f Sparta n habit s an d discipline ; th e cultivation o f al l tha t i s masculin e an d th e expulsio n o f al l tha t i s effeminate, un-Englis h an d excessivel y intellectual, " al l combined wit h a simple an d unquestionin g Christia n fait h (1987 : 216) . Th e impac t o f Muscular Christianit y wa s pervasiv e an d international ; a hundre d year s later, it s residu e continue s t o influenc e Christia n suspicio n o f intimat e male friendship . Defining F r i e n d s h i p The efforts o f Christianit y t o regulate an d finally discourag e mal e friend ship are necessary becaus e male s ar e b y nature homosocial . To a degree , contemporary America n societ y tolerate s mal e pack s a s lon g a s the y ar e ritualized, institutionalized , an d controlled . Bo y Scouts , Rotar y Clubs , college socia l fraternities , amateu r athleti c teams , an d men' s praye r breakfasts ar e acceptabl e becaus e the y ar e publi c an d predictable . Othe r associations ar e no t ye t full y acceptabl e t o societ y o r t o th e church , including bot h men' s movemen t group s an d intimat e adul t mal e friend ships i n whic h th e compan y o f anothe r ma n i s preferre d ove r th e com pany o f a (preferably fertile ) woman . To a degree, these efforts a t contro l and discouragemen t explai n wh y w e ar e havin g suc h a har d tim e wit h

Men and Christian Friendship 16 friendship, eve n afte r th e men' s movement . Th e men' s movemen t i s trying t o pus h th e limits , t o se e ho w fa r society' s toleratio n ca n stretc h before breaking , b y analyzin g an d sometime s rejectin g society' s reason s why me n shoul d no t lov e eac h othe r a s muc h a s the y lov e women , i n spite of tha t lov e being different . What i s this friendship tha t we so yearn for an d yet so fear? Eisenstad t and Ronige r (1984 : 290 ) observ e tha t friendshi p i s a s impossibl e t o define well , as is love. Cora D u Boi s has attempte d t o schematiz e friend ship, distinguishing betwee n exclusive , close, and casua l friendships, an d remarking o n whethe r eac h i s expressiv e o r instrumental , dyadi c o r polyadic, a s wel l a s th e degre e o f intimacy , mutability , an d duratio n (Eisenstadt an d Ronige r 1984 : 7) . D u Boi s omit s wha t othe r studie s suggest i s men's most common for m o f friendship , th e utilitarian—thos e whom w e befrien d becaus e w e sens e tha t the y wil l b e usefu l t o u s i n some capacity . Bu t these , howeve r common , ar e no t th e relationship s that troubl e an d ultimatel y elud e us . Rather , w e see k bu t fea r som e friendship whic h i s "close " i n tha t i t i s "expressive-instrumental " bu t feels "exclusive"—w e wan t ou r friendship s t o b e inclusivel y intimat e and w e hop e tha t the y ar e permanen t (sinc e mos t me n ar e married , the purel y dyadic/exclusiv e friendshi p i s ou t o f th e question) . Epicuru s highlighted th e rol e o f utilit y eve n i n exclusiv e friendships . I n on e o f hi s letters, he wrote tha t th e wis e ma n wil l nee d friends , "tha t ther e ma y b e someone t o si t b y him whe n h e i s ill, to hel p hi m when h e is in prison o r in want" (1964 : 67). W e wan t ou r friend s t o remai n ou r friend s forever , with u s i n sicknes s an d i n healt h whereve r w e are , a s oppose d t o th e distant memor y o f someon e wh o wa s ou r bes t frien d whe n w e wer e younger. Thus , religiou s ethicis t Gilber t Meilaender , citin g Proverb s 17:17—"A frien d love s a t al l times"—ca n observ e tha t th e thre e basi c components o f friendshi p ar e benevolence , th e desir e t o enjo y th e othe r person i n a reciproca l unio n o f th e affections , an d undyin g loyalt y (1981:49,54). In surveyin g th e philosoph y an d goal s o f adul t mal e friendshi p i n th e patristic literature , Carolinn e Whit e (1992 : 55 ) come s t o a remarkabl y similar se t of characteristics : What might be said to be the distinctive characteristics of the traditional view of friendship? A fundamental belie f in reciprocity as a sine qua non of friendship, a high degre e o f intimac y betwee n tw o o r a t mos t a fe w person s whic h mad e i t possible t o thin k o f a frien d a s a secon d self ; th e ide a tha t a frien d ough t t o

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possess som e reaso n fo r bein g loved , which i n the case of good me n woul d b e their virtue , and tha t friend s shoul d shar e materia l thing s and hav e interest s in common. Social psychologist s com e u p wit h a simila r definitio n o f friendship . According t o Secor d an d Backma n (1964 : 247) , a perso n i s likely t o choos e th e followin g individuals : (1 ) those wit h who m h e has a greate r opportunit y t o interact , (2 ) thos e wh o hav e characteristic s mos t desirable in terms of the norms and values of the group, (3) those who are most similar to him in attitudes, values, and social-background characteristics, and (4) those whom h e perceives as choosing him or assigning favorable characteristic s to him, (5) those who see him as he sees himself, and (6 ) those whose company leads to gratification o f his needs. We se e the n tha t th e qualitie s whic h adul t male s see k i n intimat e friendship ar e consistently : mutua l attractio n an d admiration , similarit y of attitude s an d values , parity o f socia l status , loyalty eve n i n the fac e o f idiosyncrasy, an d reciproca l gratificatio n i n eac h other' s clos e company . The compan y w e keep , and th e qualit y o f ou r friendship s experience d i n the above characteristics, are the schoo l i n which we learn what i t mean s to lov e anyone . Mos t school s o f psycholog y agre e tha t i f w e hav e no t mastered thes e intimac y skill s wit h someon e o f ou r ow n gender , w e ar e not equippe d trul y t o lov e someone o f th e opposite gender . Th e classica l and patristic writers would agre e with suc h a claim, that homosocia l lov e must no t onl y precede heterosexua l love , but mus t continue alongsid e it , in orde r fo r heterosexua l lov e to survive . Perhaps thi s explains wh y the y valued same-gende r friendshi p s o highly . Withou t th e schoo l o f love , society woul d hav e n o hop e fo r th e future .

Friendship, Privacy , a n d Institutionalis m Why hasn' t th e men' s movemen t bee n mor e successfu l i n facilitatin g adult mal e intimat e friendship ? Th e easies t explanation i s that to o man y activities associate d wit h th e men' s movemen t remai n self-serving . Shared activitie s premise d o n self-discovery , suc h a s "findin g th e wil d man within, " focu s u s awa y fro m other s rathe r tha n towar d others , leaving u s furthe r paralyze d i n th e mal e self-sufficienc y paradigm , "on e soul i n on e body, " Unti l th e men' s movemen t addresse s mor e activel y the issu e o f other-oriente d relationships , mos t me n wil l continu e t o rel y

Men and Christian Friendship 17 on th e "mal e traffi c i n women " t o b e abl e t o for m relationship s wit h other men . Bu t a s feminis m empower s mor e an d mor e wome n t o refus e to b e bartered, me n fee l eve n more lost . The mistakenl y self-centere d focu s i n th e men' s movemen t i s not th e only continuin g discouragemen t t o mal e friendship . A s well , friendshi p looks scar y whe n i t i s private , whe n i t i s deeme d anti-socia l o r anti institutional, an d whe n i t i s devalue d fo r no t makin g a contributio n t o the progres s o f broadl y accepte d bu t unexamine d socia l goals . I n othe r words, friendshi p alway s run s th e ris k o f appearin g t o b e a useles s o r even a dangerous luxury . Friendship i s b y nature private . We hav e fe w friends , eve n i n th e bes t of circumstances , an d w e ten d therefor e t o protec t ou r friendship s fro m too muc h publi c scrutin y t o avoi d undu e interferenc e fro m others . Per haps w e recogniz e tha t th e bond s o f friendship , particularl y betwee n men, ar e stil l to o fragile . Perhap s w e ar e afrai d tha t i f th e intimac y yearnings o f ou r fe w friendship s wer e known , i n a sex-sic k worl d th e specter o f homosexualit y woul d b e raised, no matte r ho w unfounded , a s in th e Biblica l stor y o f Jonathan an d David . A t an y rate , ou r friendship s are private , wherea s fo r mos t me n thei r marriage s ar e quit e public . O n our desk s a t work , w e plac e picture s o f ou r wive s an d children , bu t rarely pictures of our bes t friend. Whe n singl e men are invited to a work related socia l function , the y ar e encourage d t o come alone , or t o find a n "acceptable" date , bu t neve r t o brin g thei r bes t friend . Relationship s conducted i n publi c ar e scrutinizable , regulable , controllable , manipula t e ; relationship s conducte d i n privat e mak e other s nervous , becaus e w e have bee n taugh t t o fea r bot h mal e behavio r an d mal e sexuality , a s though eithe r migh t spi n ou t o f contro l a t an y momen t unles s ope n t o external controls . Th e privat e natur e o f friendshi p make s i t inherentl y anti-social. W e ar e no t t o hav e to o man y friends , sa y th e classical , Biblical, an d patristi c sources , becaus e ther e isn' t enoug h o f an y perso n to g o aroun d t o al l thos e othe r me n wh o nee d friends . Bu t exclusivit y means that other s wil l b e deprived, an d thu s friendshi p i s anti-social. A s C. S . Lewis observes , "T o sa y Thes e ar e m y friends ' implie s Thos e ar e not' "(i960 : 90) . Fo r huma n beings , exclusio n i s mor e comfortabl e when w e are th e excluders tha n whe n w e are th e excluded . Friendship i s also anti-institutional . Businesse s attemp t t o mak e regu lations abou t wh o ca n b e friend s unde r wha t circumstances . Friendshi p means tha t trus t ha s bee n place d outsid e th e institution , an d institution s

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hear i n tha t a n implici t judgment . Th e institutio n lose s it s gri p o n it s members whe n trus t i s place d elsewhere . Powe r i s los t whe n on e says , "I'd rathe r b e spending my energies on my best friend tha n o n furtherin g the powe r an d financial securit y o f th e company. " As well, friendship doe s not produc e a product whic h i s an acceptabl e and visibl e contributio n t o th e economi c welfar e o f society . Children , the mos t visibl e product o f marriage , contribute t o th e progressiv e goo d of an y society , fo r the y ar e it s measurabl e future . A n attractiv e home , a stable an d successfu l career , a multi-generationa l o r extende d family , and publi c modelin g o f happines s an d traditio n ar e value s whic h pleas e institutions. Adul t mal e intimat e friendshi p offer s non e o f thes e thing s readily. Becaus e o f thes e thre e reasons—privacy , anti-institutionalism , and unmeasurabl e productivity—friendshi p i s deeme d useles s b y mos t institutions, or i n the extreme, dangerous . Re-Thinking Christia n Friendshi p Throughout mos t o f the world , Christianit y understand s itsel f a s institu tional an d public . Sinc e th e characte r o f friendshi p i s anti-institutiona l and private , it will be difficult t o move Christianity bac k to any apprecia tion o f th e valu e o f adul t mal e friendship , i n spit e o f it s indisputabl e importance i n earl y Christia n sources . C . S . Lewi s literall y set s th e description o f friendshi p a s "on e sou l i n bodie s twain " sid e b y side wit h the Christia n understandin g o f marriag e a s a "on e flesh " unio n (tw o souls i n on e body) : "Lover s ar e normall y fac e t o face , absorbe d i n eac h other; Friends , sid e b y side , absorbe d i n som e commo n interest " (i960 : 91). Hi s phrasin g echoe s no t onl y th e contras t betwee n "tw o bodies " (side by side) and "on e flesh" (fac e t o face), but hi s description o f friend s echoes nicel y th e classica l prover b tha t friend s creat e on e sou l i n tw o bodies (a s does Marti n Buber' s dialogi c mode l i n hi s 195 8 / and Thou). The Churc h seem s to have opted fo r th e loss of uniquenes s an d individu ality, th e indistinguishabilit y o f th e man y withi n th e one , th e pinionin g of th e tw o i n one , a s oppose d t o th e liberatio n o f a sou l se t fre e int o more tha n on e body. . Male friendshi p re-considere d shoul d no t b e spiritua l i n th e sens e o f disembodied, fo r God' s presenc e i n th e worl d i s premise d upo n huma n physical agency . Rather , Christia n friendshi p shoul d b e spiritua l i n th e sense tha t i t deal s i n realm s o f beauty , tenderness , an d loyalty—s o

Men and Christian Friendship 17 foreign t o society' s self-preservin g utilitaria n values . Meilaende r ha s observed tha t perhap s friendshi p i s to o "spiritual " t o b e entirel y saf e (1981: 104-5) . However , beauty , tenderness , an d loyalt y impl y tha t men's physical bodie s are also involved in this spirituality. The Christia n faith wa s considere d dangerou s b y the classical culture s withi n whic h i t emerged becaus e i t did not suppor t th e empowered establishmen t o r the exploitation o f women , th e poor , o r th e aged . I n this sense , adul t mal e intimate friendshi p i s the perfect expressio n o f a kind o f patristi c libera tion theology i n its confrontation o f powe r and authority . Friendship as a type of radica l liberatio n spiritualit y wil l b y nature be liminal, no t onl y i n th e sigh t o f economi c institutions , bu t eve n withi n the church , a t leas t fo r th e presen t time . Victo r Turne r ha s define d liminal phenomen a a s "phenomen a a t th e boundarie s o f institutiona l life, with potentia l antinomia n tendencies , often als o exhibiting a strong emphasis o n the attempt to buil d communitas, unrestricte d b y the socia l division o f labou r an d o f power " (Eisenstad t an d Ronige r 1984 : 18) . Gregory's intimat e frien d Basi l claime d tha t th e bond s o f divinel y en dowed friendshi p betwee n me n were the basi s fo r ecclesiology : commu nities of th e faithfu l wer e forme d b y interlockin g network s o f me n wh o were generou s an d loya l t o eac h other . I n th e 1990s , w e canno t agre e with Basi l tha t male friendshi p alon e i s the appropriate basi s for under standing Christianit y a s a spirituall y base d community , particularl y given suc h friendship' s liminality . W e can , however, hol d u p male adul t intimate friendshi p a s a n appropriat e componen t fo r th e continuin g constitution o f ecclesia l communities , particularl y no w tha t th e nuclea r family, s o widel y assume d a s th e primar y crucibl e i n whic h Christia n faith is nurtured and modeled, is in such a state of irreversibl e decline. In hi s "Conferenc e XV I o n Friendship, " Joh n Cassia n (c . 360-435 ) laid dow n si x step s b y whic h Christia n me n coul d buil d bond s o f inti mate friendship amon g their male peers, a model stil l valuable fo r Christians today: 1. The first step o n thi s roa d i s t o understan d tha t nothin g i n lif e i s more valuable than quality relationships. These relationships of necessity include our marital partners and our children, but since no single perso n can meet all the needs of another , men's needs for intimacy, affirmation , and object-generosity shoul d b e spread out to male friends as well a s life partners. Friendship need s t o b e understood withi n a Christian commu nity as complementary to , rather than competitive with, marriage.

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2. Th e second ste p i s to choos e t o valu e th e virtues, th e knowledg e and skills , an d th e wisdom o f ou r friend s abov e ou r own . Self-pride i s not conduciv e t o health y friendships , an d ha s lon g bee n considere d i n Christianity a s a n expressio n o f th e mos t huma n tendenc y t o pu t our selves first, other s second , and God last. 3. Th e third ste p i s an environmentall y sensitiv e one , to realiz e tha t all our choices, including th e values expresse d b y our choice o f intimat e friends, mus t embod y th e ultimate Christia n value s of love and peace. 4. Th e fourth ste p i s to contro l ou r ow n anger s an d frustration s i n such a wa y tha t the y d o no t interfer e wit h th e buildin g o f intimac y within ou r friendships . 5. Th e fifth step i s to see k ou r friends' happines s an d securit y abov e our own , including bein g the first to apologize fo r unintended offense . 6. Th e sixt h an d final step—an d certainl y th e mos t radical—i s t o live out the conduct o f our friendships a s though thi s da y were ou r las t day. Suc h a n attitud e no t onl y put s ou r dail y irritation s an d misunder standings int o perspective, it also underlines the basic human nee d to tell another o n a regular basi s tha t w e love him and value him as though h e were our second self . Ultimately, adul t intimat e friendshi p offer s me n riches othe r tha n th e riches o f marriage . I t offer s u s th e chanc e t o expres s th e value s o f unconditional love , o f beauty , tenderness , an d loyalty , an d as marriag e remains s o transient , offer s u s a differen t possibilit y o f permanence . The Christia n communit y canno t b e healthy unti l wome n an d men are liberated fro m th e gender-role expectation s whic h impriso n them . Chris t the Liberator ha s called th e church t o be a faithful communit y i n service to th e oppressed, affirmin g equalit y an d justice fo r al l people a s matur e beings i n God' s image , an d modelin g God' s al l encompassin g lov e fo r the huma n community . Men' s fea r o f intimat e mal e friendshi p i s one of the mos t critica l form s o f oppressio n unde r whic h the y live . A s men struggle towar d a profeminist, less-abusiv e masculinity , uncowe d b y the abuses o f othe r men , our first ste p mus t b e reclaimin g ou r righ t t o b e intimate friend s wit h othe r men . It is a bold step , but a necessar y on e if men ar e to lear n agai n t o love , whethe r t o love wome n well , or t o lov e men a t all. When w e can take thi s bol d ne w step, however haltingly , we will se e a new health emergin g withi n th e church, a realization o f God' s long-promised reig n whic h i s opene d first t o th e powerless , th e self emptying, and the humble.

Men and Christian Friendship 17 The final wor d belong s t o Gregor y o f Nazianzu s (1968) . In abou t th e year 360 , h e wrot e a lette r t o hi s intimat e frien d Basil , wit h who m h e had share d a home and a life before Basi l was elevated t o the episcopacy : I beg you to come be here with me, to grow with me in virtue, to share with me, and t o hel p me by your prayer s t o hol d tigh t t o th e good lif e w e use d t o hav e together, that I may not perish little by little, like a shadow as the day draws to a close. I would rather breathe you than the air. I am alive only when I am with you, preferably i n you r presence , but a t th e ver y least, i n my memories o f yo u while you are absent. (Epistle 6)

NOTES 1. Specia l thanks fo r researc h assistanc e to Helen Greenwood, Eric e Carley, and Judith Bright of Kinder Library, and to the students in my Human Relations class at St. John's College, Auckland, for critiquing the final draft o f this essay. 2. Se e Rash i t o B T Shabba t 31 a (Steinsalt z 1985 : 127 ) an d t o Proverb s 27:10. In bot h places , Rashi base s hi s remarks o n th e Proverbs passage , "you r friend wh o i s als o you r father' s friend , d o no t abandon. " Accordingl y (an d perhaps defending Aqiba) , when w e refer t o ou r friend s an d neighbors , God is included, fo r Go d i s not onl y ou r neighbo r bu t als o ou r habib who love d ou r parents, and therefore mus t love us too (cf. Isaia h 41:8 and II Chronicles 20:7). In the same vein, the first five commandments and the second five are yoked, to show the inseparable character of the responsibility to God and to neighbor, and the responsibilit y o f th e individua l an d o f th e community (se e Jacobson 1956 : 97-98 and Soloveitchik 1974 : 35). 3. Suc h expression s ar e foun d a t 1 Corinthians 10:15 ; 2 Corinthians 1:1 6 and 5:3 , and possibly 10:1-2 ; Philippians 1:7- 8 an d 2:17-18 ; Colossians 2:5 ; 1 Thessalonians 2:1 7 an d 3:6-10 ; Philemo n 22 ; 2 John 12 ; and 3 John 14 . This general philosophy can b e found wit h frequenc y i n patristic writings, including Augustine, Epistl e 20 5 (1956 : 8-9) ; Synesius , Epistl e 13 8 (1926 : 231) ; an d Paulinus of Nola, Epistles 11.4, 13.2 (1966:1.92-93, 118). 4. Th e poe m Concerning His Own Life i s th e earlies t piec e o f Christia n autobiography we possess, c. 38i(?); see White 1992: 20. 5. See , e.g., Callimachus (d.24 0 BCE), Epigram LVI : "The beautifull y swar thy Theocritus, if indeed he hates me, you would hate four time s as much: if he loves me, you woul d lov e him. Yea! by the fair-tresse d Ganymede , O heavenl y Jove, thou too wast once in love. I will not speak more at length" (1914 : 211). 6. Anothe r interestin g friendshi p develope d i n rabbini c though t i s that be tween David and Ahitophel. A variety of sources for explorin g this complicated and ill-fate d relationshi p ca n b e foun d i n Ginsber g 1968 : IV.94ff, VI.256-58 , and VII.23. 7. Fo r instance , Nygre n (1932-39 ) erroneousl y argue d tha t eros i s t o b e

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associated wit h th e "dirty " body , whil e agape is th e expressio n o f th e pure , disembodied soul-love upon which Christian faith is founded. The Greek Septuagint use s th e wor d agape to describ e Amnon' s lus t fo r hi s siste r Tama r a t 2 Samuel 13: 4 and 15 , and Shechem's lust for Dina h a t Genesi s 34:3 (cf . als o the Septuagint to Genesis 24:67; 29:18, 20, 32; 34:3; Judges 16:4; 16:15; ^ u t n 4 : I 5; 1 Samuel 1:5 , 18:20 ; 2 Samuel 13:1 , 4, 15; Tobit 6:1 9 [S] ; Qohelet 9:9 ; Song of Songs 1:3 , 4, 7; 3:1-4 fo r simila r usage; and see Scroggs 1993 : 154, note 2) . On philia as sexua l passion , se e Adkin s (1963 : 36) , and Grave s citin g Xenopho n (Xenophon, 1875 : 630). 8. Durin g the Renaissance, "effeminate " mean t "obsesse d wit h women," an exaggerated Do n Juanism. But as we shall see, by the late Victorian era , effemi nacy ha d bee n pre-empte d b y Christia n theolog y an d it s meanin g changed , to indicat e th e opposit e o f "true " Christianity , whic h wa s t o b e aggressivel y "manly." 9. I n 1879 , Hughe s emigrate d fro m Englan d t o America , wher e h e estab lished a n experimenta l communit y o n th e Cumberlan d Plateau , northeas t o f Nashville, Tennessee. The colony , aptl y name d Rugby , wa s intende d a s a Utopian colon y founde d o n Christia n Socialis t principle s (Hughe s ha d bee n muc h influenced b y F. D. Maurice), where "To m Brown s without vocatio n coul d g o to lear n th e lesson s o f cooperatio n i n a n atmospher e o f pioneerin g endeavor , free fro m th e degradin g demand s o f moder n competition " (Newsom e 1961 : 214-15). B y the tur n o f th e century, th e experiment ha d failed . Th e town wa s only recently revived and restored as a tourist attraction. 10. Kingsle y was severely beaten as a child b y his father, leavin g him with a life-long stutter . On e cannot hel p wondering ho w this shaped hi s later philosophy o f manliness . H e als o believe d tha t " a ma n ha s onl y t o tak e a col d bat h every mornin g t o becom e morall y good , a conviction fo r whic h generation s of English publi c schoolboy s hav e ha d reaso n t o curs e him " (Chitt y 1974 : 221). Apparently hi s own obsessive washing of bot h bod y and clothes was connected with an exaggerated aversio n to sex. REFERENCES

Adkins, Arthu r W . H . 1963 . "Friendshi p an d Self-Sufficienc y i n Home r an d Aristotle." Classical Quarterly 13:3 0-4 5. Ambrose. 1990 . "O n th e Dutie s o f th e Clergy. " I n Culbertso n an d Shippe e 1990: 138-48. Aristotle. 1925 . The Nicomachean Ethics of Aristotle. Trans. David Ross. London: Oxford Universit y Press. Augustine. 1955 . Confessions and Enchiridion. Trans. Albert C . Outler. Phila delphia: Westminster. . 1956 . Letters, Vol. V:ioj-iyo. Trans . Wilfre d Parsons . Washington , D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. . 1982a . On Christian Doctrine. Trans. J. F . Shaw. Edinburgh: T. & T . Clark.

Men and Christian Friendship 17 . 1982b . The Literal Meaning of Genesis. Trans. John Hammond Taylor . New York: Newman Press. Basil o f Caesarea . 1962 . "Th e Lon g Rules. " I n Moralia, Ascetical Treatises. Trans. M. Wagner. Washington, D.C.: Fathers of the Church. . 1968 . "Th e Letters. " I n ed . Phili p Schaf f an d Henr y Wace . Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series . Vol . VIII . Gran d Rapids , Mich. : Eerdmans. Borowitz, Eugene. 1971 . "Friendship." I n Encyclopaedia Judaica VII , ed. Cecil Roth. New York: Macmiilan. Boswell, John. 1980 . Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality. Chi cago: University of Chicago Press. Bowen, Murray . 1985 . Family Therapy in Clinical Practice. Northvale , N.J. : Jason Aronson. Bray, Alan. 1982 . Homosexuality in Renaissance England. London : Gay Men's Press. Brown, Peter. 1985. The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity. New York: Columbia University Press. Brundage, James A. 1987. Law, Sex, and Christian Society in Medieval Europe. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Buber, Martin. 1958 . / and Thou. New York: Charles Scribner. Callimachus. 1914 . The Works ofHesiod, Callimachus, and Theognis. Trans . J. Banks. London: G. Bell and Sons. Cassian, John. 1968 . "Th e Conferences. " I n Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, ed. Phili p Schaf f an d Henr y Wace . Secon d Series . Vol. XI . Gran d Rapids , Mich.: Eerdmans. Chitty, Susan . 1974 . The Beast and the Monk: A Life of Charles Kingsley. London: Hodder and Stoughton. Cicero, Marcus Tullius. 1913. De officiis. Trans. Walter Miller. London: Heinemann. . 1946 . "Laelius on Friendship." In De Senectute, De Amicitia, De Divinatione. Trans. William Armistead Falconer. London: Heinemann. . 1947 . "Th e Mora l Dutie s o f Mankind. " Trans . Cyru s Edmonds . I n Greek and Roman Classics in Translation, ed. Charles Theophilus Murphy , Kevin Guinagh, and Whitney Jennings Oates. New York: Longmans, Green. Clement o f Alexandria . 1982 . "Th e Ric h Man' s Salvation " (Qui s Dive s Salvetur). In Clement of Alexandria. Trans. G. W. Butterworth. Cambridge : Harvard University Press. Coleridge, Samuel Taylor. 1905 . Aids to Reflection. Edinburgh : John Grant . Culbertson, Philip. 1992. New Adam: The Future of Male Spirituality. Minneapolis: Fortress. Culbertson, Philip , an d Arthu r Shippee . 1990 . The Pastor: Readings from the Patristic Period. Minneapolis : Fortress. Diogenes Laertius . 1925 . Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. 2 vols . Trans . R. D. Hicks. Cambridge, England: Harvard University Press. Duran, R. Shimon b. Zemach. 1961 . Magen Avot. Jerusalem. Eisenstadt, Shmue l N . an d L . Roniger . 1984 . Patrons, Clients and Friends:

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Interpersonal Relations and the Structure of Trust in Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Emerson, Ralp h Waldo . 1990 . Essays: First and Second Series. New York : Vintage Books. Epicurus. 1964. Letters, Principal Doctrines, and Vatican Sayings. Trans. Russel M. Geer. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill. Euripides. 1958 . Orestes. Ed. b y David Gren e an d Richmon d Lattimore . Ne w York: Modern Library. Friedman, Edwin . 1985 . Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue. Ne w York: Guilford Press . Ginsberg, Louis . 1968 . The Legends of the Jews. 7 vol . Philadelphia : Jewis h Publication Society. Gregory o f Nazianzus . 1968 . "Oratio n 8, " "Oratio n 43 , The Panegyri c o n S . Basil" an d "Th e Letters. " I n Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, ed. Phili p Schaff an d Henr y Wace . Secon d Series . Vol . VII . Gran d Rapids , Mich. : Eerdmans. . 1987 . Three Poems: Concerning His Own Affairs, Concerning Himself and the Bishops, Concerning His Own Life. Trans. Denis Molaise Meehan . Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press. Gregory th e Great . 1990 . Forty Gospel Homilies. Trans. Do m Davi d Hurst . Kalamazoo, Mich.: Cistercian Publications. Hammer, Reuven. 1986. Sifre: A Tannaitic Commentary on the Book of Deuteronomy. New Haven: Yale University Press. Herman, Gabriel . 1987 . Ritualised Friendship and the Greek City. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Hesiod. 1959 . The Works and Days. Trans. Richmon d Lattimore . Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press. Horace. 1967 . Q. Horatii Flacci, Carminum Libri IV: Epodon Liber. Trans. M. Page. London: Macmillan. Hudson, Patricia L. 1988. "Revival in Rugby." Americana (April): 28-32. Hughes, Thomas, n.d . Tom Brown at Oxford. Th e Nelso n Classics . London : T. Nelson, ibn Aqnin, Yoseph b. R. Yehuda. 1967. Sefer ha-Mussar. Ed . W. Bacher. Jerusalem: Meqitze Nirdamim. Originally published 191 1 in Berlin, ibn Ezra, Moshe. 1975. Sefer Halyyunim vehaDiyyunim. Ed. Abraham Halkin . Jerusalem: Meqitze Nirdamim. ibn Zabara, Joseph be n Meir. 1914 . Sefer HaSha'ashuim: The Book of Delight. Ed. Israel Davidson. New York: Rabbinical Council of America. . 1932 . Sefer HaSha'ashuim: The Book of Delight. Trans . Moses Hadas. New York: Columbia University Press. Jacobson, B. S. 1956. Meditations on the Tor ah.Trans. Zev Gotthold. Tel Aviv: Sinai Publications. Jacobus, Mary . 1982-83 . "I s Ther e a Woma n i n Thi s Text? " New Literary History 14:117-41. Jerome. 1968 . "Th e Letters. " I n Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, ed. Phili p

Men and Christian Friendship 179 Schaff an d Henry Wace. Second Series. Vol. VI. Grand Rapids , Mich.: Eerdmans. John Chrysostom . 1968 . "Homil y I I on 2 Thessalonians i.I,2. " I n Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, ed . Philip Schaf f an d Henr y Wace . Second Series . Vol. XIII. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans. Levi-Strauss, Claude . 1969 . The Elementary Structures of Kinship. Boston : Beacon. Lewis, C. S. i960. Four Loves. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Maimonides. 1961 . Peirush LeMasekhet Avot. Ed . Mordecai Do v Rabinowicz . Jerusalem: Mossad HaRav Kook. Maximus the Confessor. 1955 . The Ascetic Life, The Four Centuries on Charity. Trans. Polycarp Sherwood. New York: Newman Press. Meilaender, Gilbert . 1981 . Friendship: A Study in Theological Ethics. Notr e Dame, Ind.: University of Notre Dame Press. Miller, Stuart. 1983 . Men and Friendship. Lo s Angeles: Jeremy P. Tarcher Inc. Minucius Felix, Marcus. 1974 . The Octavius. Trans. G. W. Clarke. New York: Newman Press. Money, John . 1988 . Gay, Straight, and In-Between: The Sexology of Erotic Orientation. New York: Oxford Universit y Press. Newsome, David . 1961 . Godliness and Good Learning: Four Studies on a Victorian Ideal. London : John Murray. Nygren, Anders . 1932-39 . Agape and Eros: A Study of the Christian Idea of Love. Trans . A . G . Heber t an d Phili p S . Watson . 2 vols . Ne w York : Macmillan. Paulinus of Nola. 1966 . Letters of Paulinus of Nola. Trans. P G. Walsh. Westminster, Md.: Newman Press. Phillips, Jock. 1987 . A Man's Country? The Image of the Pakeha Male —A History. Auckland: Penguin Books. Philo. 1961 . Questions and Answers on Genesis. Trans . Ralph Marcus . 2 vols. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Pitt-Rivers, Julian. 1968 . "Kinship, III: Pseudo-Kinship." In International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences VIIL408-13. New York: Macmillan an d Free Press. Plato. 1956 . The Great Dialogues of Plato. Trans. W. H. D. Rouse. New York: New American Library. Plutarch. 1911 . Plutarch's Moralia; Twenty Essays. Trans. Philemo n Holland . London: J. M. Dent. Rubin, Gayle. 1975. "The Traffic i n Women: Notes on the Political Economy of Sex." I n Toward an Anthropology of Women, ed . Rayn a R . Reiter . Ne w York: Monthly Review Press. Ruether, Rosemary Radford. 1983 . "An Unrealized Revolution: Searching Scripture for a Model of th e Family." Christianity and Crisis (Octobe r 31) : 399404. Scroggs, Robin . 1993 . The Text and the Times: New Testament Essays for Today. Minneapolis: Fortress.

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Secord, Pau l F. , an d Car l W . Backman . 1964 . Social Psychology. New York : McGraw-Hill. Sedgwick, Ev e Kosofsky . 1985 . Between Men: English Literature and Male Homosocial Desire. Ne w York: Columbia University Press. Soloveitchik, Joseph. 1974 . Shiurei HaRav: A Conspectus of the Public Lectures of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Ed. Joseph Epstein. New York: HaMevasser. Steinsaltz, Adin, ed. 1984-91 . Talmud Bavli. 23 vols. Jerusalem: Israel Institut e for Talmudic Publications. Stowers, Stanley K. 1986 . Letter Writing in Greco-Roman Antiquity. Philadel phia: Westminster. Synesius of Cyrene . 1926 . The Letters of Synesius of Cyrene. Trans . Augustine Fitzgerald. London: Oxford Universit y Press. Theognis. 1914 . "Maxims. " I n The Works of Hesiod, Callimachus, and Theognis. Trans. J. Banks. London: G. Bell and Sons. Tiger, Lionel. 1984. Men in Groups. 2d ed. New York: Marion Boyars. Valerius Maximus . 1888 . "D e amicitia. " I n Factorum et dictorum memorabilium libri novem, ed. Carolus Kempf. Lipsiae. White, Carolinne. 1992. Christian Friendship in the Fourth Century. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Xenophon. 1875 . "Hiero : O n th e Conditio n o f th e Royalty. " The Complete Works of Xenophon. Trans. Robert Graves. London: Chatto and Windus. . 1903 . Memorabilia. Ed. Josiah Renic k Smith . Boston : Gin n & Com pany.

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I should wis h ou r Courtie r t o hav e on e specia l an d cordia l frien d [and] that he should love, honor, and respect all others according to their wort h an d merits , an d see k alway s t o associat e mor e wit h those wh o enjo y hig h esteem , ar e noble , an d know n t o b e goo d men, than wit h the ignoble and thos e of little worth; in such a way that h e too ma y b e loved an d esteeme d b y such men . An d h e will succeed i n thi s i f h e i s courteous, humane , generous , affable , an d gentle i n hi s association wit h others , active an d diligen t i n servin g and caring for the welfare an d honor of his friends, whether they be absent o r present , toleratin g thei r natura l an d bearabl e defects , without breakin g with the m for som e trivial reason, and correctin g in himself such defects as are in kindness pointed out to him. —Baldesar Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier I wil l plan t companionshi p thic k a s tree s alon g al l th e river s o f America, an d alon g th e shore s o f th e grea t lakes , and al l ove r th e prairies, A longer form of this chapter, entitled " 'Companionship Thick as Trees': Our Myths of Friendship," is © 1993 by the Men's Studies Press. All rightsreserved. Revision of this essay is by permission. 181

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M G . DOT Y I will make inseparable cities with their arms about each other' s necks, By the love of comrades, By the manly love of comrades. —Wal t Whitman, "For You O Democracy"

That w e are living in a time of crisis with respec t t o masculin ity i s affirme d repeatedly . A correspondin g crisi s wit h respec t t o male male friendshi p ma y no t b e a s obvious , bu t i t i s rea l an d pervasive— I am followin g Kar l Kereny i (1983 : 9 ) i n definin g "crisis " a s " a situatio n in which n o value s ar e o f unconteste d validity , n o behavio r indisputabl y correct." Bot h crisi s an d critica l ar e derive d fro m th e Gree k krinein (t o separate, choose, judge), so perhaps th e proble m o f value s can provid e a turning poin t (anothe r meanin g o f "crisis" ) an d lea d t o ne w criteri a (also fro m krinein). In th e mids t o f thi s crisi s wit h respec t t o masculin e values , nearl y every man wit h who m I discuss male-male friendshi p wit h consider s it t o be hi s ow n persona l problem . Identifyin g th e proble m no t a s somethin g primarily persona l bu t a s part o f ou r presen t socia l situatio n lead s m e t o propose tha t w e develo p discipline d reflections , eve n a n "athletics, " tha t would includ e attentio n t o mythologica l models . I anticipat e a metho d of usin g mythologica l resources , an d develo p a n initia l access-to-tool s approach appropriat e t o severa l varietie s o f mytholog y tha t reflec t wha t was develope d i n Myths of Masculinity (Dot y 1993) . Initially, I loo k a t th e socia l an d individua l aspects , blamin g th e latter fo r muc h o f ou r crisi s o f mal e friendship , an d argu e th e nee d fo r developing a bette r erotic s o f relationship . Next , I addres s th e benefit s of a n articulate d histor y an d disciplin e ("athletics" ) o f friendshi p an d list positive an d negativ e elements that foste r o r hinde r friendship . Then , I tur n t o way s o f reintegratin g th e socia l an d individua l aspect s b y means o f ethnographic-comparative-archetypal , historical , an d mythica l models. I n th e followin g section , I urg e car e i n selectin g an d refinin g mythographic methodologies , naming some pratfalls an d recognizin g th e importance o f no t onl y suc h classical model s a s the traditional Hero , bu t also thei r contemporar y transformations . In th e concludin g section , I

"The Manly Love of Comrades " 18 glance beyond dysfunctionin g mythico-heroi c image s to suggest that ne w options ar e model s tha t foste r generativit y withi n a creativ e athletic s o f friendship. 1

The Problematic Face s of Male-Mal e Friendship Today Many group s withi n th e contemporar y men' s movement s aros e a s re sponses t o perceive d crise s i n th e natur e o f masculinit y today , som e a s reactions t o wha t feminist s brough t t o publi c awarenes s a s malfunc tional gende r role s i n ou r society , an d som e a s attempt s t o reclai m a heritage o f masculinit y no w threatene d (fo r goo d o r bad ) b y a postmod ern societ y i n whic h almos t ever y traditiona l mode l quaver s befor e a n endless variet y o f (seemingl y equall y valid ) choices. 2 Muc h o f ou r self confidence abou t receive d masculin e gende r model s shatter s whe n w e own u p to th e negative side s of "patriarchy " an d it s attendant values , or when w e recogniz e tha t moder n masculinit y an d rationalisti c scientis m have gon e han d i n hand , leavin g u s wit h brillian t technician s whos e ethical value s provide littl e guidance i n making decision s that ma y affec t millions o f huma n live s (se e Easlea 1983) . I a m no t s o muc h respondin g retrospectivel y t o feminis t attack s o n patriarchy o r t o mal e dominatio n i n th e pas t a s recognizin g tha t th e points o f thos e attack s nee d t o b e take n seriousl y a s w e loo k ahead , prospectively. Th e issue s ar e to o crucia l fo r vituperativ e recallin g wha t might hav e been ; unles s al l o f u s ar e committe d t o reconceivin g an d reenacting gende r modelin g i n ou r society , w e simpl y wil l no t hav e th e vital flexibility tha t wil l b e demanded i n the onrushing millenium : If ou r societ y i s t o survive , whe n traditiona l famil y pattern s ar e evolvin g an d geographical mobility strains the limits of intergenerational connections, it is up to innovative individuals to search new forms fo r intimat e relationships beyon d sexual partnerships. We need to analyze and nurture our long-term close friend ship network s a s th e bes t possibl e bas e o n whic h t o buil d a n emotionall y satisfying future . (William s 1992 : 199) A simila r admonitio n i s expressed b y Sherrod , bu t i n th e contex t o f hi s argument tha t me n nee d t o wor k o n male-mal e friendship s becaus e i n the two-caree r househol d no w prevalent , thei r live s an d thos e o f thei r wives or companions ar e increasingl y separat e fro m thei r own :

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If men are to offer eac h other the kind of emotional support they have previously obtained from their wives, I believe males will have to adopt more direct avenues to emotional intimacy . To do so, men will have to learn skills that their culture has not necessarily provided bu t that still exist in many of the world's traditional cultures. (1987: 237) There ar e man y aspect s o f male-mal e friendshi p tha t I canno t engage ; others wil l hav e t o addres s th e questio n o f friendship s i n sport s (se e especially Pronge r 199 0 an d Messne r 1992) , i n commercial , fraternal , and professiona l associations ; i n recen t medi a representation s an d i n literature, and s o forth. M y focu s i s individual male-mal e friendships . Remembering som e o f th e painfu l aspect s o f mal e friendship , I recal l the feelin g o f failur e I hav e ofte n ha d whe n I hav e initiate d friendshi p with anothe r man , onl y t o hav e th e sens e that I did somethin g wron g o r he didn' t lik e m e o r h e though t I wa s comin g o n sexuall y t o hi m or (mos t me n ca n fil l i n th e blan k wit h thei r ow n reasons , because the y hav e bee n ther e a s well) . Althoug h I hav e bee n studyin g materials abou t masculinit y fo r years , i t too k a recen t readin g o f Stuar t Miller's brav e book , Men and Friendship (1983) , to hel p me realiz e tha t my feeling s o f failur e migh t hav e bee n mor e appropriatel y feeling s o f anger towar d a societ y tha t droppe d mal e friendshi p ou t o f th e "ap proved relationships " colum n almos t entirely , largel y becaus e moder n society vastl y expande d th e expectation s o f th e marriag e o r coupl e relationship t o th e exten t tha t suc h a relationshi p i s conceive d no w a s the onl y appropriat e spher e fo r lovin g o r friendl y relationship s o f grea t depth an d significance . One indicatio n o f th e arbitrar y natur e o f suc h expectation s i s note d by Walte r William s (1992 : 190 ) i n hi s observatio n tha t i n th e majorit y of Nativ e America n societies , marriag e ha s bee n primaril y a n economi c arrangement; male s expecte d t o find thei r primar y psychologica l need s satisfied b y long-term childhoo d mal e friend s outsid e th e home . Yet i n a 1990 professiona l surve y abstracte d i n Men's Life (Arringto n 1990 : 65), ninety percen t (plu s or minu s four percent ) o f th e American me n querie d answered "wives " t o th e question , "Wh o i s a man' s bes t friend? " I t i s easy (an d sad ) t o recogniz e ho w suc h a narrowin g o f relationa l energie s has le d t o s o man y behaviora l dilemma s i n marriage s an d families , a s couples expec t t o satisf y withi n th e primar y bon d man y interest s an d needs tha t ca n b e adjuncts o f male-mal e friendship s a s satisfactorily . How littl e suc h friendship s see m viabl e o r importan t i s reflecte d i n

"The Manly Love of Comrades " 18 the narro w rang e o f behavior s th e commercia l worl d finds profitable t o model seductively . Lanc e Strate' s "Bee r Commercials : A Manua l o n Masculinity" (i n Crai g 1992 : 78-92 ) concludes : "fo r th e mos t part , beer commercial s presen t traditional , stereotypica l image s o f men , an d uphold th e myth s o f masculinit y an d femininity. " I n advertisements , male friend s drin k scotc h a s the y ogl e a woman walkin g by ; quaff bee r together t o celebrat e a jo b promotion ; shar e tip s abou t stock s whil e playing th e golf course ; and lif t weight s sid e b y side a s one tell s anothe r about the bes t remedy fo r joc k itc h o r smelly feet . The commodificatio n of ou r lives, even friendship , i s pervasive, bu t I don't often find m y ow n values wit h respec t t o friendshi p represente d i n suc h commercials , o r in th e entertainmen t media , wher e anythin g othe r tha n compulsivel y heterosexual friendship s become s a targe t o f a comedian' s ridicule , i f mentioned a t all. Other aspect s o f ou r socia l environmen t als o scree n ou t powerfu l friendships betwee n men , an d ar e emphasize d i n Miller' s reflection s o n the two-yea r perio d i n whic h h e attempte d self-consciousl y t o develo p close friendship s wit h othe r males . Repeatedl y h e experience d a n initia l positive attraction—apparentl y mutual—an d the n a subsequen t slack ening o f intimac y unti l th e friendship clearl y aborted . I'v e ha d th e sam e experience a number o f times : an initia l lunc h o r informal conversatio n when anothe r ma n an d I seemed t o hi t i t off; arrangin g fo r a meal o r a concert; the n makin g th e arrangement s again , unti l I realize d I wa s always th e initiator . An d repeatedl y finding tha t th e othe r ma n fel t too pressured—by business , scholarship, his marriage, or whatever—t o expend th e tim e neede d t o nurtur e ou r friendship . Hence , lik e mos t other me n today , I ha d man y casua l friendships , bu t fe w tha t fe d m y needs fo r clos e mal e companionship , an d I believ e tha t th e scarcit y o f close friendship led me to get involved in activities and relationships tha t (in hindsight) I think o f a s primarily compensatory . Miller's book help s me to understand how the issues are not primarily personal bu t social . The issue s reflec t th e value s w e enforc e whe n w e value productivity , competition , an d aggressiveness—wha t ou r societ y usually identifies as typical "male " qualities—over agains t receptiveness, intimacy, an d cooperation . Give n ou r socia l contex t wherei n competi tion an d achievement ar e praised abov e al l else, no wonde r mal e friend ships ar e tainte d b y th e suspicio n tha t th e perso n makin g th e initia l overtures must be seeking to gain somethin g o r to take some advantage .

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As Perr y Garfinke l put s i t (1985 : 1-2) , "thi s dominan t competitiv e theme i n men' s relationship s i s clearl y th e reaso n tha t me n fea r an d avoid intimac y wit h eac h other . Afte r all , me n reason , wha t foo l woul d open u p t o one' s potentia l rival? " GarfinkeP s boo k revolve s aroun d problems cause d fo r me n i n fathering , mentoring , siblin g relations , friendship, an d group s b y ou r emphasi s upo n power , control , competi tion, an d jealousy . Ethnographic material s portray a very different pictur e of male friend ship elsewher e (se e Brai n 1976 ; Strather n 1988 ; an d Gilmor e 1990) . Hammond an d Jablo w (1987 ) provid e a usefu l bibliograph y fo r othe r comparative studie s o f friendship , bu t i t i s strikin g ho w fe w collection s of essay s o n men' s issues , o r compilation s o f male-relate d literature , select "friendship " a s on e o f th e classification s use d t o organiz e th e materials. Robert Brain' s comparative stud y o f friendshi p (1976 ) i s especially helpful becaus e it shows bot h ho w uniqu e contemporary America n patterns are , an d ho w all-encompassin g aspect s o f mal e friendshi p ar e within mos t societies : the y involv e suc h matter s a s th e bloo d brothe r relationship an d othe r fraterna l networks , commerce , inla w relation ships, godparentage , patronage , grou p bonding , an d s o forth . An d al though aggressivit y an d competitio n ar e certainl y no t lackin g i n othe r cultures, they ar e no t frequentl y allowe d t o regulat e mal e friendships ; i n fact, the y ar e th e opposit e o f th e qualitie s tha t d o so . On e o f th e underlying theme s o f Brain' s boo k i s tha t "lov e an d friendship—o r cooperation an d reciprocity , exchang e an d alliance—ar e a s important , if not more important, fo r persona l well-bein g and th e survival o f cultur e as aggression" (207) . Cooperation an d alliance : th e imag e contrast s wit h recen t America n images o f machismo: th e solitar y tow n marsha l expellin g th e force s o f evil o n th e frontier ; th e cleve r entrepreneu r makin g hi s million s b y isolating an d dominatin g a smal l windo w o f th e market ; th e Ramb o warrior single-handedl y revengin g slur s t o th e nationa l pride ; Ros s Perot's Davi d agains t th e Republica n an d Democrati c Goliaths ; an d s o forth (Hamil l 197 8 delineate s th e element s o f America n machismo lon g operative i n ou r fictio n an d publi c life) . Medi a representation s o f th e American masculine , th e contex t o f contemporar y mal e friendships , derive fro m th e capitalis t ideolog y o f th e individua l doin g hi s own thin g in isolatio n fro m o r i n opposition t o society . Aligning wit h suc h models , students ofte n find i t almos t impossibl e t o collaborat e o n clas s researc h

"The Manly Love of Comrades " 18 projects, an d committee s reviewin g material s submitte d fo r professiona l advancement ar e s o suspiciou s o f interdisciplinar y tea m wor k tha t the y demand t o kno w exactl y ho w muc h eac h tea m membe r contribute d i n specific number s o f page s o f eac h repor t published , rathe r tha n ho w co operatively th e person participate d wit h an d nurture d others . In suc h contexts, puttin g friend s an d friendship s nea r th e to p o f one' s set o f prioritie s i s increasingl y difficult , an d competitiv e value s regulat e against feelin g comfortabl e withi n a friendship , tha t is , within a n atmo sphere o f relaxation , easiness , an d safety ; agains t softnes s an d peacefu l interaction instea d o f roughness ; agains t sharin g sentimenta l feeling s and a complet e freedo m fo r on e another . Thi s summar y i s fro m Mille r (1983: 10-11) , who amplifies : "Thes e ar e som e o f th e specia l aspect s o f close mal e friendship : a willingnes s t o tak e a dangerou s stan d fo r an other; a specia l relaxatio n an d safety ; a n en d t o competitiveness , alien ation, and self-alienation ; a pleasure i n doing masculine justice to others , an enhancement o f men' s ow n vitalit y an d being . Above all, a holding in the heart" (15 , my emphasis), which i s certainly a manifestation o f eros . In hi s livel y interview s abou t friendshi p wit h a numbe r o f me n i n th e San Francisco Ba y area, James Maa s (1985 ) foun d simila r characteristic s named frequently : feelin g saf e t o disagree ; facing one' s ange r a t an d fea r of th e other ; bein g committe d t o honesty ; havin g a rang e o f friend s from differen t sphere s o f lif e an d differen t ag e groups ; recognizin g tha t friendships var y i n needs for intimacy , self-revelation, an d carin g for on e another. W e coul d augmen t eithe r lis t easily , o r conside r th e opposit e qualities tha t actuall y structur e mos t o f ou r dail y relationships . Thes e include strivin g fo r success ; eagernes s t o com e ou t o n top ; achievin g more (status , money , sex ) tha n anyon e else ; alway s bein g th e on e t o criticize other s fro m a superio r position ; an d maintainin g a stif f uppe r lip a s jus t th e ti p o f th e well-defende d body—th e sor t o f commodifie d model observabl e i n a sideba r t o th e "Coolin g Down " pag e o f a 199 2 issue o f th e slic k magazine , The Best of Men's Workout: " A trul y confident ma n ha s th e muscl e t o bac k u p an y challenge . Physica l powe r can strengthe n th e mind, creating a n air of invincibility. Strive to becom e a tota l package. " A step awa y fro m sellin g a machin e t o commodif y th e body, such advic e "t o becom e a total package " ca n onl y indicat e gettin g wrapped u p i n one' s ow n privatel y competitiv e muscula r shell , no t a position i n which on e i s open t o mutua l sharin g with another . At thi s point , w e migh t analyz e th e blatan t physica l eroticis m o f th e

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muscle mags , but whe n I speak o f "eroti c energy " i n such a connection I am anticipatin g discussin g a mor e centra l issu e tha t work s strongl y against mal e friendshi p today , th e fea r tha t an y reall y dee p friendshi p will eithe r be , o r b e see n as , homosexual . No t onl y capitalis t teaching s but pop-psychologica l interpretation s o f Freu d ar e a t fault , wit h thei r easy assumption s tha t w e ar e alway s eithe r movin g int o a sexua l rela tionship o r spendin g th e capital o f ou r preciou s energie s pretendin g tha t we don' t wan t to . Th e lea p fro m friendshi p t o homosexualit y get s founded i n the assumptio n tha t an y intimat e relationshi p betwee n male s that isn't competitive wil l be the polar opposit e of competitive heterosex uality—an assumptio n tha t build s competitio n into a putativel y norma l masculinity, and simultaneousl y play s into the hands of those who defin e regulative heterosexuality i n terms of aggressio n an d dominance . In suc h a framework , th e contrar y canno t b e a measure d intimacy , bu t a s th e ideologue see s it , a full-blow n "descent " int o genita l homosexua l cou pling. O r model s o f restraine d expressio n o f feeling s ar e base d o n th e assumption tha t onl y women , an d b y extension , gay , "women-like " men, ca n expres s intimac y an d emotion s othe r tha n hatin g th e enemy o r competitor. Henc e on e mus t kic k as s or b e considered a fairy . Nonsensical logi c suc h a s I'v e jus t presente d surround s u s an d lead s to needles s awkwardness . Severa l mal e teacher s hav e tol d m e tha t the y are now wary o f taking a small crying male child i n their arm s or pattin g an adolescen t boy' s shoulde r fo r fea r o f bein g accuse d o f homosexua l abuse; eve n al l th e bear-huggin g a t men' s gathering s portray s th e awk ward A-fram e embrac e tha t assure s tha t onl y th e arm s an d shoulder s touch, an d not , go d forbid , anythin g else . No wonde r tha t wit h respec t to mal e friendshi p "mos t peopl e find th e subjec t unutterable" (Mille r 1983: xv, my emphasis) an d tha t "i n fact , dee p friendship betwee n adul t men i s quit e rar e i n ou r society " (4 , referrin g t o th e well-know n long term stud y o f male s b y Levinson an d others , 1978) . The similarl y unutterabl e decimatio n o f AIDS ha s brough t it s ow n burden t o the question o f male friendships, an d th e changes in homosex ual socia l lif e that avoidanc e o f th e HIV virus has necessitated hav e bee n examined wit h muc h agonizin g i n th e ga y press . It ha s als o contribute d some ver y movin g account s o f friendshi p a t it s extreme , a s survivin g lovers recoun t th e demoralizin g extende d illnesse s an d death s o f thei r beloveds (se e fo r instanc e Monett e 1988a , wit h it s elegai c companio n piece, Monette 1988b) . Among th e reason s fo r th e growt h o f ga y schol -

"The Manly Love of Comrades" 18 arship, particularl y i n literar y studies , hav e bee n th e searc h fo r model s of positiv e an d healthy long-ter m male-mal e friendship s o r monogamie s in literature, as opposed t o an earlier gay liberation model of many serial sexual encounters , an d th e nee d t o tur n linguisti c usag e insid e ou t a s repeatedly metaphori c image s suc h a s "th e plague, " o r th e equatio n "silence = death," ar e coined t o expres s th e unutterabl e bu t real fact s o f the diseas e an d it s impact s upo n long - an d short-ter m friendship s (se e Edelman 1989) . I have looke d primaril y a t some o f th e painfu l an d awkwar d aspect s in our cultural treatmen t o f th e erotic, an d I will hav e t o leav e develop ment o f th e mor e positiv e aspect s t o th e athletic s I wan t t o propos e subsequently. Overall , w e lac k sophisticatio n i n speakin g abou t non genital sexua l connections , th e "erotic " tha t look s t o th e qualit y o f th e loving relationshi p rathe r tha n whic h part s o f th e bodie s connect . Bu t who ca n den y tha t the call o f th e othe r t o whic h on e respond s a s frien d possesses connective power , ha s indeed an energy lacking in casual dail y contacts? We nee d t o devis e a language an d a discipline fo r namin g an d nurturing tha t energeti c power , an d friendship i s a n importan t aren a within whic h me n ca n recove r lovin g relationship s wit h othe r men , relationships tha t ma y o r may no t includ e a genital component , bu t fo r the majority o f men probably won't .

Seeking a n Athletic s o f Friendshi p Observation o f othe r culture s disclose s tha t frequentl y the y hav e pro vided extensiv e guidanc e an d disciplin e wit h respec t t o relationships , even an aesthetics of friendship . I would lik e to reclaim the term "athlet ics" i n it s earl y Gree k connectio n no t onl y wit h physica l training , bu t with art , music , an d medicin e (Wrigh t 1949 : 116) , i n orde r t o argu e the importanc e o f regardin g th e historically-dated, specific , an d varyin g contexts o f friendshi p a s a typ e o f socia l practice , an d o f friendl y emo tions—which likewis e ar e no t universal s bu t ar e expresse d throug h particular historica l shapings . Human s see m alway s t o tak e th e presen t as th e nor m o r "th e natural, " bu t examinatio n o f historica l an d cross cultural perspective s usuall y disclose s ho w recen t an d ho w limite d con temporary practice s are , particularl y whe n w e confron t th e sens e tha t one ough t t o kno w intuitively ho w t o b e a friend—a n instanc e o f

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American naivet e abou t relationship s no t peculia r t o th e spher e o f male male friendships . In thi s instanc e w e lear n tha t severa l pre-America n culture s hav e promulgated standard s fo r idea l relationship s i n cour t politic s (th e clas sic fro m th e Renaissanc e i s Castiglion e 195 9 [1516] : 126 ; se e m y first epigraph), friendship , amours , an d othe r aspect s o f dail y life . I n culture s other tha n ou r own , no t onl y d o manual s o f nobl e behavio r normall y guide specifi c type s o f relationship , bu t explici t ritual s an d carefu l peda gogy stipulat e ho w friend s ough t t o trea t on e another , an d indee d th e relationship i s ofte n mor e openl y demonstrative . William s (1986 : 187 ) notes tha t "America n mainstrea m masculinit y i s rathe r uniqu e i n it s suppression o f display s o f affection , an d o f clos e an d intimat e friend ships, betwee n adul t men. " In observin g ho w seldo m w e atten d t o anything lik e a forma l disciplin e wit h respec t t o friendship , Brai n (1976 : 83) remark s tha t "i t woul d appea r tha t ou r societ y i s the exceptio n i n a world wher e friendshi p i s a socia l an d psychologica l nee d cemente d b y formal behavio r an d ceremony. " We suffe r fro m recen t anti-ritualisti c attitudes , an d henc e a repug nance towar d anythin g repeate d mor e tha n once—assignin g t o ritual , a vastly importan t elemen t o f huma n cultura l experience , a negativ e valu e for on e o f th e first time s i n history. 3 Ad d ou r distrus t o f regularizin g o r ritualizing behavio r t o wha t Mille r (1983 : 34 ) identifie s a s " a tabo o o n anything [having ] t o d o wit h friendshi p tha t smack s o f deliberation, " and w e begi n t o se e ho w har d w e wil l hav e t o struggl e t o communicat e a nee d t o devis e a contemporar y disciplin e o f friendship . Ye t th e sam e author argue s tha t w e mus t addres s th e "necessit y fo r a n ar t o f mal e friendship," eve n thoug h muc h i n ou r cultur e resist s it . Mille r propose s a lis t of "bol d act s o f consciousness " tha t migh t belon g i n hi s handboo k to th e art , includin g "inwardl y acceptin g th e necessit y t o giv e friendshi p one's closes t attentio n an d recallin g th e socia l obstacle s t o friendship" ; "being willin g to acknowledge th e hurt o f you r ow n loneliness" ; makin g room fo r mal e friendshi p i n one' s life ; "bein g willin g t o b e hurt, repeat edly, b y peopl e yo u befriend" ; "bein g persistent" ; an d "actin g forth rightly with you r frien d an d wit h the courage o f your ow n delicat e need s and desire s b y livin g th e openness , generosity , an d commitmen t yo u want fro m him " (195-96). 4 We los t muc h o f th e sens e o f commo n bonding-togethe r tha t friend ship connote d earlie r an d elsewher e whe n th e relationa l an d "love "

"The Manly Love of Comrades" 19 aspects go t s o reduce d t o th e genital-erotic . Mostl y tha t reductio n i s a consequence o f th e Western anti-body , anti-materia l bia s tha t continue d to haunt our thinkin g and speakin g even as it was replaced b y a materialistic, mercantil e orientin g o f th e culture , wit h th e curiou s resul t tha t in effect i f no t i n ideal , we recompens e th e thinke r whos e wor k i s precisely the mos t abstrac t an d non-embodie d (an d wh o ough t b y th e traditiona l bias t o b e a t th e to p o f th e heap) , namel y th e philosophe r o r theorist , much les s tha n w e pa y th e merchant s o r engineer s whos e career s ar e indeed ver y materialistic , embodie d i n th e tangible s o f ou r lives . Bu t relationships ar e par t o f th e matte r (material ) o f ou r live s a s well , an d perhaps it' s tim e fo r u s t o ceas e assumin g tha t th e maters (mothers , th e feminine, wome n i n general ) constitut e th e onl y gende r appropriat e t o do th e emotional wor k o f connecting an d lovin g an d feeling . Surely i t i s tim e fo r me n t o gro w emotiona l muscle s throug h a disci plined athletic s o f friendship , s o tha t ou r souls ' relationa l bicep s pum p up jus t a s muc h a s thos e o f ou r arms . Thos e muscle s migh t b e pumpe d up b y communal sharin g an d carin g fo r on e anothe r i n a rediscover y o f the loving nature o f friendship . Hence wha t migh t initiall y b e seen a s defensiv e agains t society—tw o buddies linke d agains t th e crowd , a s i n man y wa r an d espionag e mov ies—comes int o view now a s the preamble t o the rediscovery o f commu nity tha t seem s crucial t o th e revivificatio n o f Wester n culture . It return s us once agai n t o th e nee d t o develo p a disciplin e o f friendship , no w no t only fo r tw o individual s a t a time, but fo r th e polis, the collective .

Attitudes towar d Myt h an d Histor y Mythic figures an d image s a s wel l a s thei r man y contemporar y literar y transformations ca n provid e model s i n a n imaginal , psychological , an d interrelationally base d disciplin e b y which w e decide to configure mascu linities an d friendshi p pattern s appropriat e t o ou r ow n politic s an d histories. However , i t i s importan t t o thin k criticall y abou t som e o f the methodologie s an d attitude s wit h whic h w e approac h literar y an d mythological material s a s we construct ou r toolkits . Suc h hermeneutica l reflection i s crucia l insofa r a s influentia l decision s abou t appropriatio n are made dail y and usuall y unself-consciousl y o r ideologically : b y adver tisers, wh o selec t fro m cultura l image s thos e considere d mos t likel y t o sell a particular deodorant ; b y the media, who spectacularl y isolate d an d

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trivialized th e imager y an d behavio r surroundin g Rober t Bl y an d th e "mythopoetic" spectru m withi n th e men' s movements ; b y religiou s groups, whos e presse s ar e rushin g t o publis h "me n an d spirituality " materials, some of which ar e misogynistically reactionar y (Arnol d 1991) , if no t blatantl y co-optativ e an d colonialis t (Ditte s 1991) ; b y individual s who hav e ha d a s heroi c model s onl y shallo w an d ofte n inhuman e ver sions o f masculinit y displaye d acros s th e new s an d entertainmen t medi a and i n politics an d sports . Reflection o n attitude s fo r approachin g mythi c resource s involve s evaluating ho w ther e ma y o r ma y no t b e appropriat e connection s be tween thei r originatin g culture s an d ou r own ; henc e ethica l reflection s ought t o preced e consciou s choice s o f particula r model s w e would repli cate today . W e mus t lear n t o recollec t an d t o reevaluat e ou r history , a lesson fro m feminis t scholarshi p tha t ha s transforme d intellectua l in quiry i n th e contemporar y worl d b y askin g long-ignore d questions : Where ar e material s situate d politically , economically, an d religiousl y i n the culture s i n whic h the y wer e produced ? (se e Dot y 198 6 an d 1995) . Are the y material s produce d b y th e dominatin g clas s o r a subordinate / subaltern group ? D o the y replicat e system s o f oppressio n o r liberatio n or d o the y provid e fo r the m (th e questio n presse d relentlessl y b y decon structionist criticism) ? Ar e the y availabl e fo r appropriatio n variousl y b y different group s i n th e culture , o r ar e the y monolithicall y enforce d b y means o f authoritativ e canons , communications media , an d governmen tal structures? 5 The contemporar y understandin g o f th e functionin g o f ideologica l systems embedde d alread y unself-consciousl y i n ou r languag e an d worldview, add s th e understandin g tha t masculinit y ha s bee n a n unrec ognized construc t (lik e "nature" ) tha t mus t b e acknowledge d fo r it s below-the-boards influence . Lynn e Segal' s Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities, Changing Men emphasize s som e o f ou r cultura l troubl e spots , such a s th e linkin g betwee n misogyn y an d homophobi a (1990 : 16 ) an d the policin g o f ga y me n a s a componen t o f th e reactionar y an d self defensive response s t o th e sexua l liberatio n tha t hav e marke d thi s cen tury (98-99) . These response s functio n efficientl y precisel y becaus e the y are mostl y unexamine d an d implicit . Sega l particularl y understand s th e subtly encompassin g powe r o f th e symbolic : a maste r categor y suc h a s masculinity, fo r instance , "doe s no t operat e i n splendi d isolatio n fro m other socia l forces " (91) ; rather , myth s an d symbol s ar e s o thoroughl y

"The Manly Love of Comrades" 19 integrated ideologicall y an d psychologicall y int o ou r traditiona l worldview tha t the y reinforc e th e notio n tha t masculinit y i s a single , monolithic pattern , an undivided, seamles s construction tha t on e merel y manifests "naturally " or "physically. " Traditional an d Generativ e M y t h i c H e r o e s Such perspective s a s thos e I have bee n reviewin g ar e part o f th e home work tha t ought to be completed befor e lookin g a t specific mythologica l materials i n term s o f ho w the y migh t contribut e t o a n athletic s o f friendship. Jus t a s I suggeste d tha t w e mus t lear n t o se e beyon d th e personal i n orde r t o understan d th e problematic s o f masculinitie s o r patterns of friendshi p today, so we learn to approach specific storie s and figures wit h th e transpersonal , th e mythico-archetypa l an d th e socio political simultaneousl y i n view . Otherwise , w e don' t se e th e fores t fo r the trees , w e ris k misinterpretin g an y particula r loca l myt h becaus e w e are no t awar e o f ho w i t function s cyberneticall y withi n th e capaciou s storehouses o f cultura l wisdo m i n th e mythologie s o f th e world ; just a s any mythico-heroi c figure appear s withi n a famil y system , s o myth s themselves ar e constraine d b y th e cultura l network s i n whic h the y ap pear. One learns quickly enough that a mythic tradition has not yet died even when the majority of people i n the culture no longer remembers the precise plo t o f it s stor y o r it s cas t o f characters . Mythi c material s ar e reappearing materials , the y reac h dow n dee p int o cultura l model s an d up high , latchin g ont o contemporar y scene s ever y tim e a chil d trie s t o figure out a n appropriate rol e model , ever y tim e a demagogue seek s th e most efficient wa y t o exert control, every time a professional advertisin g campaign spotlights it s product. Myths o f friendshi p aboun d i n mythologica l an d religiou s materials . Itemizing thos e fro m antiquit y an d from othe r cultural tradition s woul d be rewarding , bu t I sugges t tha t befor e w e utiliz e th e dat a o f suc h a catalogue in a contemporary athletic s of friendship, we need to b e aware that th e result s ca n functio n bot h negativel y an d positively . Negatively , they ca n merel y reinforc e certai n stereotype s tha t w e encounte r dail y when someon e disagree s wit h us : "Oh that' s just a myth!" is one o f th e most frequen t rhetorica l ploy s use d t o dum p o n someone . Positively , mythical material s ar e significant becaus e the y represen t age-ol d experi ences in situations similar to those we fac e today, and we can learn fro m

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their content s t o vie w ou r ow n situatio n i n deepe r detai l an d longer range perspective . With suc h a broa d schooling , on e the n ca n explor e quit e possibl y th e oldest myt h ou r cultur e has , tha t splendi d accoun t o f th e friendshi p between Gilgames h an d Enkidu , an d se e wha t i t does—an d doe s not — provide a s guidanc e fo r mal e relationships. 6 D o w e begi n b y discussin g the homosexua l relationshi p betwee n th e tw o principa l males ? The n we haven' t learne d t o as k th e question s abou t th e appropriatenes s o f contemporary sexua l behavio r pattern s whe n approachin g material s from antiquity . I n thi s case , they'r e no t muc h use , sinc e th e canon s o f the intervenin g centurie s filtered ou t suc h aspect s anyhow ; th e situatio n is the sam e wit h respec t t o th e lover s Achille s an d Patroklo s i n th e Iliad. Before w e ca n lear n fro m th e relationshi p i n eithe r mythi c instance , w e need t o know rathe r a lot about sexualit y i n antiquity , s o that w e do no t find mer e reflection s o f ou r ow n behavior s an d value s (se e th e path breaking studie s o f Winkle r 199 0 an d Halperi n 1990) . Biblica l friend ships have been surveyed repeatedly , bu t neve r i n rewarding comparativ e depth. Other mythi c figures can b e explored i n terms of what sort s o f friend s they woul d be , ho w the y migh t hel p t o mode l friendships , an d whethe r they mode l dysfunctiona l o r health y friendshi p relations . Fo r instance , what abou t th e storie s concernin g militaristi c Are s (th e Roma n Mars) , whom "al l th e god s hated"?—man y America n me n certainl y did not hate George Bush for hi s role as a dictator i n declaring and administerin g war o n Iraq ! (O n Ares , se e chapter 8 in Doty , 1993) . O r poo r ol d lam e Hephaistos (Vulcan)—h e cleverl y catche s hi s adulterou s wife , Aphrod ite, in the arm s o f hi s brothe r Are s b y making a n invisibl e meta l ne t tha t falls upo n th e careles s lover s a s the y approac h orgasm . T o wha t exten t do ou r friendship s includ e possibl e sexua l connection s betwee n primar y partners? O r Narkisso s (Narcissus) , whose ver y nam e i s a component o f "narcotic," an d wh o fade s awa y becaus e h e refuse s t o respon d t o th e call to lov e fro m both boy s and girls ? I s his "narcissism " th e same a s th e twentieth-century personalit y disorder , o r migh t i t no t hav e somethin g more positiv e t o contribut e t o ou r notion s o f self-regard ? Ho w migh t one brin g a Narkissos-friend int o th e self-consciou s mainstrea m o f com plex relationship s today ? (Se e chapter 6 in Doty 1993. ) Subsequently, th e man y moder n transformation s o f mythi c image s must b e charted: what ar e the religious prototypes o f th e Marlboro Ma n

"The Manly Love of Comrades" 19 and Arnol d Schwarzenegger' s publi c roles ? D o contemporar y transfor mations functio n i n th e sam e way s a s thei r archetypes , o r doe s th e postmodern contex t alte r th e influence s o f prototype s inescapably , i n it s revisionist reprocessin g o f th e traditional ? Wha t aspect s o f contempo rary an d futur e friendshi p ar e alread y presen t i n classical an d traditiona l myths an d model s o f friendship ? I t wil l b e obviou s tha t suc h question s as I hav e raise d wit h respec t t o a fe w o f th e man y mythica l example s (and I have no t eve n begu n workin g wit h myth s specifi c t o th e them e o f male-male friend s here ) lea d m e bac k t o question s o f ou r ow n day , an d how s o man y o f ou r problemati c experience s o f masculinit y ar e grounded i n cultural, mythical, an d ideologica l histories . Providing specifi c mythi c example s her e woul d expan d thi s essa y inordinately, bu t I ca n a t leas t begi n t o not e som e revisionis t view s i n the instanc e o f th e mythi c hero . Certainl y w e hav e ha d t o recogniz e that man y o f th e standar d model s o f heroi c masculinit y hav e becom e problematic a s w e hav e com e t o grip s wit h ou r ignominiou s defea t i n Vietnam an d th e unavoidabl e lesso n tha t neithe r America' s "carr y a big stick " expansionis t foreig n polic y no r a post-Worl d Wa r I I anti Communist "containmen t policy " i s an y longe r tenable . An d w e ques tion no t onl y th e militaristi c model s behin d suc h a polic y bu t als o the traditiona l figures o f success : th e Joh n Wayn e isolationist s an d th e aggressive territorializin g frontiersme n (seldom , on e notes , model s fa mous fo r thei r friendships) . Th e colonia l baro n an d eve n th e capitalis t chairman o f th e boar d see m no t onl y useless , bu t outrigh t dangerou s a s we no w mov e int o a perio d o f a genuin e multiculturalis m an d interna tionalism tha t canno t affor d suc h premoder n relics . We hav e t o lear n t o loo k beyon d th e traditiona l model s o f heroi c aspiration tha t driv e me n t o type-A-personalit y hear t failure s an d a manifest rat e o f physica l breakdow n tha t i s simpl y astonishin g an d entirely ou t o f balanc e wit h women' s healt h statistics . While completin g a recen t exploratio n o f contemporar y critique s an d revisioning s o f th e hero/ine (Dot y forthcoming) , I learne d a grea t dea l abou t th e socia l production o f Western heroe s fro m Mar k Gerzon' s A Choice of Heroes: The Changing Face of American Manhood (199 2 [1982]) , an d i t i s o n my shor t lis t o f recommendation s fo r work s tha t hel p u s t o se e throug h the problematic model s that hav e come t o seem "natural " i n our society . Gerzon document s th e dangerou s connectio n betwee n herois m an d mili tarism, showin g fo r instanc e jus t ho w th e characteristic s tha t nearl y

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every ma n wh o ha s eve r worke d throug h problem s i n psychotherap y has t o struggl e t o ge t beyond—invulnerability , insensitivity , lac k o f compassion, toughness , aggressiveness , an d a n armore d an d seale d of f inner self—ar e precisel y th e appropriat e trait s o f th e soldier , wh o mus t learn t o repres s hi s fear s o f an d compassio n towar d a n enemy . Indeed , courage ha s t o b e redefined , suggest s Gerzon : "i t n o longe r hinge s o n how muc h violenc e a ma n ca n inflict , bu t o n ho w muc h h e can prevent " (1992 [1982] : 246) . Surel y w e ar e read y t o mov e beyon d dysfunctiona l machismo whe n suc h redefinition s appea r i n highl y successfu l book s that remai n i n print an d ar e worthy o f revisio n te n year s later . New heroi c symbol s stres s generativity an d nurturanc e o f others , an d Gerzon note s ho w suc h model s hav e begu n t o appea r i n th e image s o f the healer , companion , mediator , colleague , an d nurturer . I find it strik ing tha t thes e ar e largel y role s fulfille d within friendships! Th e healer , for instance , i s th e environmentalis t wh o wil l readil y recogniz e th e im portance o f friendship s i n organizin g other s t o generat e an d broadcas t concern fo r th e planet , an d wh o cooperate s wit h ecofeminists . Or , th e healer i s th e inspirin g leade r o f group s workin g collaborativel y agains t violence agains t women , children, an d othe r men . The companio n celebrate s friendshi p i n marriag e o r anothe r primar y bond an d share s parentin g an d mentorin g a s h e reshape s th e ol d imag e of th e patriarcha l breadwinner . Th e mediato r see s beyon d competitiv e and violen t relationships , greediness , an d ofte n beyon d warfare , a s i n the nuclear-containment movement . The colleague is the interdisciplinar ian who recognizes the significance o f moral choices and personal affecti vity i n th e share d project , th e ne w busines s leade r wh o recognize s th e importance o f worke r team s sharin g decision-making , an d th e politicia n who know s tha t affirmativ e actio n program s succee d i n th e lon g ru n only whe n adequat e base s o f trus t ca n b e establishe d o n othe r tha n purely lega l foundations . And finally, th e nurture r replace s th e power-wielde r a s on e wh o fosters generativit y (Erickson' s ter m t o characteriz e th e perso n whos e self-concept i s strong enoug h t o enabl e aidin g others : se e Dot y 1994) — an emergin g hero-model , a s male s lear n t o tak e o n man y supportiv e roles previousl y dumpe d i n th e lap s o f women , an d a s the y lear n t o foster relationship s i n which neithe r partne r i s necessarily dominant . Were I t o ad d anothe r characteristi c o f th e ne w hero/in e friendshi p model, i t woul d b e tha t s/h e i s a sharer , a perso n willin g t o ope n u p t o

"The Manly Love of Comrades" 19 others an d t o gran t the m th e affirmativ e spac e the y nee d t o develo p fully. Suc h a characteristi c doe s no t see m particularl y "heroic " i n term s of th e ol d models , bu t i t i s precisely th e characteristi c name d repeatedl y in survey s askin g abou t th e impac t o f effectiv e men' s group s upo n thei r members (documente d b y Stei n 1989) . Part o f th e athletic s o f friendshi p obviously involve s ho w individua l me n an d men' s group s disciplin e themselves an d ho w the y lear n t o b e mutuall y supportive—no t some thing tha t come s naturall y i n th e competitiv e socia l histor y o f Wester n masculinity, bu t somethin g tha t ca n indee d b e learned .

Conclusion Never on e t o denigrat e th e contemporary , I remai n simultaneousl y a partisan o f th e mythico-traditiona l an d religiou s wher e i t enable s u s t o see beyon d th e limitation s o f ou r ow n immediat e horizons . T o di e inwardly fo r wan t o f a tru e frien d i s no les s a traged y toda y tha n i t ha s ever been , ye t w e pa y littl e hee d t o th e cultivatio n o f th e art s o f friend ship that ma y ye t save u s from suc h a dea d end . A trul y heroi c endeavo r toda y migh t entai l no t slaughterin g dragon s so muc h a s taking th e first step , then th e secon d an d thir d steps , towar d the friendship s tha t ma y becom e fo r u s trul y mythica l an d sustaining . I have propose d her e tha t a first ste p ma y b e study o f traditiona l religiou s and mythico-heroi c models , no t uncritically , bu t wit h a n ey e t o th e valuable lode s o f insigh t the y contain . In evaluating th e resources o f traditiona l material s tha t ma y configur e the myth s o f friendshi p t o embod y ou r ne w lovin g male-mal e relation ships, reader s wil l hav e t o decid e o n thei r ow n jus t ho w thei r particula r contexts an d strength s wil l o r wil l no t connec t wit h lovin g male-mal e relationships o f thei r ow n kenning , brough t alongsid e traditiona l proto types. A s feminist s affirm , th e persona l i s th e political . A s male s revi sioning traditional model s o f friendshi p migh t affirm , th e personal-polit ical onl y begin s t o ta p int o th e long-ter m mythico-relationa l paradigm s that enabl e u s t o imagin e an d subsequentl y an d consciousl y t o instanti ate the friendship s tha t distinguis h ou r species . To b e sure, historical an d mythologica l instance s o f friendshi p denot e only som e o f th e highwa y marker s guidin g wher e w e may go . Situation s in whic h ou r heart s connec t wit h other s outsid e th e traditiona l coupl e bond begi n t o appea r no t a s threatening , bu t a s enrichin g possibilities .

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Something o f Castiglione' s sixteenth-centur y idealis m the n begin s t o b e conceivable anew : demandin g tha t w e migh t b e courteous, humane, generous, affable, and gentle in our associations with others. Remindin g us tha t w e mus t b e active and diligent in serving and caring for the welfare and honor of our friends. Toleratin g thei r defect s ye t joinin g them i n the birthin g o f relationa l significance s tha t jus t ma y enabl e u s t o recover ane w thos e sacre d bond s o f friendshi p tha t wil l reawake n ou r perceptions o f th e handsom e inne r qualitie s o f on e another . And , a s a modern-day courtie r migh t pu t it : revitalizing the ancient joys of having friends 'til death do us part. NOTES i. Mor e friend s tha n I ca n acknowledg e hav e share d long , passionat e re sponses t o earlie r version s o f thi s essay , an d I a m gratefu l t o the m fo r thei r challenges, criticisms, and contributions. With it s new title, the essay represents a considerable reductio n of its original contours in the Journal of Men*s Studies 1/4 (1993) : 359-82 , fro m whic h th e survivin g portion s I hav e selecte d ar e reproduced b y permission. 2. Th e literature about the contemporary postmodernis t climate is now vast; as an example of th e lack o f ethical clarity, I can refe r t o a collection o f essays reflecting o n th e Persian Gul f Wa r i n the ligh t o f traditiona l "jus t war " theor y (Decosse 1992) . The authors i n that volum e demonstrate that eve n in the longestablished field o f ethics , value s choice s ar e no w almos t undecidable . Tradi tional just war theories stipulate that no matter how ruinous actual warfare may be, a war is just so long as civilian supplies are not hindered and civilians are not attacked. But today, because of international dependence upon non-native food s and materiel , a prolonged blockad e o f nearl y an y city o r countr y i s equally a s destructive a s outright war , s o does one change the concept o f th e just war, o r junk it? 3. I'v e discussed som e of the problematics i n Doty (1986 ) an d (1992b) . My friend Han k Laze r remarke d t o m e th e persistenc e o f ritualization s i n Gree k organizations o n campuses , an d on e migh t reflec t upo n th e fac t tha t religiou s liturgies ar e stil l performed—bu t I woul d argu e tha t th e Greek s ofte n fee l awkward precisel y whe n th e ritualisti c aspec t o f fraternity/sororit y lif e come s up, an d tha t th e larges t growt h i n America n institutiona l religio n ha s bee n among the less-liturgical branche s of Protestantism. 4. Ther e are positive elements to be sought in group friendships a s well as in the individual relationships I am discussing here, and they usually require just as much disciplin e an d commitmen t t o develo p adequately : patience , hearin g on e another accuratel y and thoroughly, sharing emotional concern an d love for on e another, facing disagreements and differences honestly , creating a safe space for

"The Manly Love of Comrades " 19

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exploring chang e an d sharin g criticis m o f on e another , balancin g centrifuga l needs of members with centripetal goals of service to a community, and so forth. The men' s movemen t literatur e no w include s severa l guide s t o effectiv e an d supportive group dynamics in men's groups. 5. On e wor k tha t make s inescapabl e severa l awkwar d historica l question s about th e natur e o f sexualit y o r masculinit y i s the essay b y Tim Carriga n an d others, "Har d an d Heavy : Towar d a Ne w Sociolog y o f Masculinity " (1987) , which essentially i s a metastudy o n masculinit y tha t critique s underlyin g issue s and politic s while recounting som e of th e ways in which masculinit y ha s come to be constructed i n our own time. The authors pull no critical punches in their judging the bulk of most recent social science analysis of masculinity as trivial or irrelevant. Only space restraints keep me from praising and discussing the historical essay s tha t E . Anthon y Rotund o ha s bee n developin g fro m hi s doctora l research a t Brandei s (Ph.D. , 1982) ; he notes tha t earl y nineteenth-centur y cus toms surroundin g appropriat e mal e behavior—suc h a s nonsexua l sharin g o f a bed, arduousl y expressin g one' s romanti c lov e fo r a mal e friend , an d physica l kissing and touching—are almost as foreign t o (heterosexual) contemporaries as customs from foreig n lands. 6. I prefer Mason' s (1970 ) free-vers e translation , althoug h ther e are several more recen t technica l tex t edition s available . I devote a chapte r t o th e lovin g friendship betwee n Gilgamesh and Enkidu in Doty (1993). REFERENCES

Arnold, Patrick W. 1991 . Wildmen, Warriors, and Kings: Masculine Spirituality and the Bible. New York: Crossroad. Arrington, Carl . 1990 . " A Generatio n o f Me n Grow s up : Survey o f America n Males, 1990." Men's Life 1/1: 64-70. Brain, Robert. 1976. Friends and Lovers: Approaches to Anthropology. London: Hart-Davis, MacGibbon. Carrigan, Tim, Bob Connell, and John Lee . 1987. "Hard an d Heavy: Toward a New Sociolog y o f Masculinity. " I n Beyond Patriarchy: Essays by Men on Pleasure, Power, and Change, ed. Michae l Kaufman . Ne w York : Oxfor d University Press. Castiglione, Baldesar . 195 9 [1516] . The Book of the Courtier. Trans. C . S . Singleton. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday. Craig, S. , ed . 1992 . Men, Masculinity, and the Media. Research o n Me n an d Masculinities, 2. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage. Decosse, D. E., ed. 1992 . But Was It Just? Reflections on the Morality of the Persian Gulf War. Ne w York: Doubleday. Dittes, James . 1991 . " A Men' s Movemen t fo r th e Church? " The Christian Century (29 May-5 June): 588-90. Doty, William G. 1986 . Mythography: The Study of Myths and Rituals. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press.

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Doty, William G . 1992a . "Return s t o Father s an d Othe r Archetypes. " Continuum: A journal of History, Hermeneutics, and Social Concern 2/1 : 30-42. . 1992b . "Wil d Transgression s an d Tam e Celebrations : Contemporar y Construals of Ritualization." The Journal of Ritual Studies 61 z: 115-30 . . 1993 . Myths of Masculinity. Ne w York: Crossroad. . 1994. "Evolving Beyond the Adolescent Warrior: Postheroic Masculinist Genetativity." Journal of Men's Studies 2/4: 353-73. . 1995 . "Silent Myths Singing in the Blood: The Sites of Production an d Consumption of Myths in a 'Mythless' Society." In Picturing Cultural Values in Postmodern America, ed. Doty. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. . Forthcoming. "From the Traditional Monomythi c Hero to the Contemporary Polymythi c Hero/ine." I n Foundations and Facets Forum (Robert W. Funk Festschrift), eds. Bernard Scott and John L. White. Easlea, Brian. 1983 . Fathering the Unthinkable: Masculinity, Scientists, and the Nuclear Arms Race. London : Pluto Press. Edelman, L . 1989 . "Th e Plagu e o f Discourse : Politics , Literar y Theory , an d AIDS." In Displacing Homophobia: Gay Male Perspectives in Literature and Culture, eds. R. R. Butters, J. M. Clum, and M. Moon. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press. Garfinkel, Perry . 1985 . In a Man's World: Father, Son, Brother, Friend, and Other Roles Men Play. Ne w York: New American Library. Gerzon, Mark. 199 2 [1982]. A Choice of Heroes: The Changing Face of American Manhood. Boston : Houghton Mifflin . Gilmore, David D. 1990. Manhood in the Making: Cultural Concepts of Masculinity. New Haven: Yale University Press. Halperin, Davi d M . 1990 . One Hundred Years of Homosexuality and Other Essays on Greek Love. The New Ancient World. New York: Routledge. Hamill, Pete . 1978 . " A Farewel l t o Machismo. " I n The Myth of American Manhood, ed. L. Kriegel. New York: Dell. Hammond, D. , an d A . Jablow. 1987 . "Gilgames h an d th e Sundanc e Kid : The Myth of Male Friendship." In The Making of Masculinities: The New Men's Studies, ed. Harry Brod. Boston: Allen and Unwin. Kerenyi, Karl. 1983 . Apollo: The Wind, the Spirit, and the God. Four Studies. Trans. Jon Solomon. Dunquin Sen, 16. Dallas: Spring Publications. Levinson, Daniel J., C. N. Darrow, E. B. Klein, M. H. Levinson, and B. McKee. 1978. The Seasons of a Man's Life. New York: Knopf. Maas, James. 1985 . Speaking of Friends: The Variety of Man-to-Man Friendships. Berkeley: Shameless Hussy Press. Mason, Herbert , trans . 1970 . Gilgamesh: A Verse Narrative. New York : New American Library. Messner, Michael. 1992. Power at Play: Sports and the Problem of Masculinity. Men and Masculinity. Boston: Beacon Press. Miller, Stuart. 1983 . Men and Friendship. Lo s Angeles: Tarcher. Monette, Paul. 1988a. Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.

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. 1988b . Love Alone: Eighteen Elegies for Rog. New York: St. Martin's Press. Nardi, Peter M., ed. 1992 . Men's Friendships, Researc h on Men and Masculinities, 2. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage. Pronger, Brian . 1990 . The Arena of Masculinity: Sports, Homosexuality, and the Meaning of Sex. London: Gay Men's Press. Rotundo, E. Anthony. 1993 . Manhood in America: Transformations in Masculinity from the Revolution to the Modern Era. New York: HarperCollins. Segal, Lynne. 1990. Slow Motion: Changing Masculinities, Changing Men. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press. Sherrod, D. 1987. "The Bonds of Men: Problems and Possibilities in Close Male Relationships." In The Making of Masculinities: The New Men's Studies, ed. Harry Brod. Boston: Allen and Unwin. Stein, P. J. 1989 . "Me n an d Thei r Friendships. " I n Men in Families, ed . R . A. Lewis and R. E. Salt. Sage Focus Editions, 76. Beverly Hills: Sage. Strathern, Marilyn . 1988 . The Gender of the Gift: Problems with Women and Problems with Society in Melanesia. Stud , i n Melanesia n Anthropology , 6. Berkeley: University of California Press . Whitman, Walt. 194 9 [i860] . Leaves of Grass and Selected Prose. New York : Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. Williams, Walter L. 1986. The Spirit and the Flesh: Sexual Diversity in American Indian Culture. Boston : Beacon. . 1992 . "Th e Relationshi p betwee n Male-Mal e Friendshi p an d Male Female Marriage : America n India n an d Asia n Comparisons. " I n Men's Friendships, ed. P. M. Nardi. Newbury Park Calif.: Sage. Winkler, John J. 1990 . The Constraints of Desire: The Anthropology of Sex and Gender in Ancient Greece. The New Ancient World. New York: Routledge. Wright, F . A. 1949 . "Athletics. " I n The Oxford Classical Dictionary, ed. M . Cary, et al. London: Clarendon.

TEN

T h e Confine s o f M a l

e

Confessions: O n Religion Bodies, a n d Mirror BJORN KRONDORFE

,

s R

Spiegel: noch nie hat man wissend beschrieben , was ihr in euerem Wesen seid. Ihr, wie mit lauter Lochern von Sieben erfullten Zwischenraume n der Zeit. Mirrors: never yet has anyone described, knowing what you are really like. You, interstices of time filled a s it were with nothing but sieveholes.

—Rainer Maria Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus

When w e confess , w e hav e alread y live d a lif e tha t w e ar e now willing to abandon , an d whose changes we are willing to share wit h a public . T o a certai n degree , confessor s hav e alread y detache d them selves fro m a live d past . Confession s ar e a pourin g ou t o f persona l memories an d thoughts , an d ma y originat e i n a stat e o f bein g con founded, o f bein g disturbed b y the way we have arranged ourselve s wit h our lives . Etymologically, th e term confusion derive s from th e Lati n cum (together) an d fundere (t o pour) , an d carrie s th e meanin g o f "pourin g 205

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out together, " "mingling, " o f bein g "overwhelmed " an d "perplexed. " In orde r t o manag e ou r confusion , w e confess . When I set myself the task to write about religion and the body, I thought I was prepared to address this issue. In my academic work, I have been searching for pathways for studying the intersection of body, identity, religion, and performance; and in my training in experimental drama and dance I learned to use and to decipher the body's creative vocabulary. I assumed that this background would provide the methodological and emotional support necessary to talk about the male body. Instead, I became wary about the subject, afraid of resuscitating old anxieties, memories, and inhibitions. I have ambivalent feelings about male confessions. Sometimes, I like to read them (and often am tempted to write them); at other times, I have no patience for this genre which inspires men to pour out intimacies. Personally, I do not want to add to the extensive literature of male confessions yet another lament about the difficulties of growing up male. I fear that such a beginning would turn a private confusion into a public confession. But why would I not allow myself this narcissistic pleasure? In this essay, then, I will explore my ambivalent views on male confessions: on the one hand my wish that men talk intimately about their anatomical bodies and spiritual selves, and on the other my frustration with the narcissistic longings of the male ego exhibited in confessional writings. Confusion ma y compe l u s to confess bu t confessin g i s not th e sam e a s confusing. Confessin g i s a recollectin g o f memorie s tha t emerg e fro m within us , although, a s confessors, w e assum e a positio n tha t appear s t o be outsid e an d beyon d th e immediat e moment . I t impose s a ne w orde r onto experience d chaos . A confession i s always a n interpretatio n o f th e past, a revisioning o f ou r lives , a reinvention o f ourselves . Confessions shar e man y characteristic s wit h autobiographica l writ ings bu t th e latte r d o no t hav e t o adop t th e former' s nostalgi c perspec tive. Autobiographica l statement s ca n emerg e fro m th e immediat e mo ment ( a prisoner's diar y written i n the hope of hi s or he r release) or fro m an overtl y politica l context ( a memoir release d i n the hope o f reelection) . These statement s ca n als o b e writte n wit h th e awarenes s tha t changin g the circumstances o f one' s lif e i s either no t desirabl e (becaus e th e autho r

The Confines of Male Confessions 20 enjoys a privilege d position ) o r unfeasibl e becaus e o f politica l oppres sion, socia l dependency , o r psychologica l impotence . I n th e confession , however, th e confesso r invite s th e publi c t o becom e witnes s t o th e ne w meaning on e ha s attache d t o one' s life . Th e Lati n confessare, a compos ite o f cum (together , fully ) an d frateri (t o acknowledge) , convey s th e public dimensio n o f "acknowledgin g together, " tha t is , t o tal k abou t one's lif e publicly . I t als o mean s t o "full y acknowledge, " th e attemp t t o reveal onesel f truthfully . I n it s bes t tradition , confessin g i s the resul t o f a newly grasped awarenes s tha t i s shared wit h others . Does male confessiona l literatur e displa y suc h awareness ? Man y me n have bee n successfu l i n publicl y sharin g an d communicatin g thei r reli gious, spiritual , political , o r sexua l conversion s an d transformation s because patriarcha l tradition s hav e provide d the m wit h th e mean s t o do so , bu t the y ma y hav e bee n les s successfu l i n bein g abl e t o "full y acknowledge" thei r lives . Th e privilege s me n hav e enjoye d i n Wester n cultures may hav e locke d thei r confession s int o a narcissistic meditation , blinding the m t o th e fat e o f others . As I ponder the challenge of writing about religion and the male body, two conflicting voices emerge from within me: the voice of a Lutheran minister, a career I once planned to pursue, advocating a Protestant work ethic and promising institutional authority and security; and the voice of a dancer and artist, calling for exuberance and playfulness and encouraging me to search for liminal spaces where I feel comfortable. In my adolescence, I sometimes fantasized leading a monastic life or becoming a millionaire. Asceticism versus debauchery, religion versus body, spiritual simplicity versus creative excess. I remember moments when these competing desires seemed to tear me apart. Is my academic interest in combining religion and the body the attempt at mediating these conflicting voices? Am I regressing as I write this piece? Have I lost perspective on myself?

A u g u s t i n e a n d Leiris : Perspectivit y and Redemptio n In hi s Confessions, Augustine , despit e th e obsessiv e scrutinizin g o f hi s motivations an d deeds , stil l ha s th e privileg e o f perspective . I t i s th e

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privilege o f knowin g onesel f i n relatio n an d i n oppositio n t o th e divine , a perspectiv e tha t permit s hi m t o escap e th e danger o f solipsism . Augustine exuberantl y praise s Go d befor e h e reveal s an y intimat e details abou t himself . Onl y afte r h e finishes glorifyin g Go d doe s h e proceed t o talk freel y abou t hi s bodily needs and desires . "Yo u ar e great , Lord, an d highl y t o b e praised . . . . Man, a littl e piec e o f you r creation , desires t o prais e you , a huma n bein g bearin g hi s mortalit y wit h him " (Li). Thes e openin g line s fram e Augustine' s Confessions: th e accoun t o f intimate detail s i s place d int o a prope r cosmi c order . Whateve r intima cies th e bisho p o f Hipp o reveal s abou t himself , the y ar e ultimatel y a small thin g compared t o God' s "immeasurable " powe r an d wisdom . Once th e stag e i s set , a stag e fro m whic h Go d ha s no t ye t bee n expelled (cf . Derrid a 1978 : 235) , Augustin e i s read y t o introduc e th e carnal necessitie s o f hi s existence . "S o I was welcome d b y th e consola tion o f huma n milk. . . . For a t tha t tim e I knew nothin g mor e tha n ho w to suc k an d t o b e quietene d b y bodil y delights " (1.6) . The privileg e o f a divine perspective enable s hi m t o portra y th e delight s o f huma n flesh . I study and teach religion and, whenever possible, dance and perform, I enjoy moving in and out of these two spheres. But when religious people ask me about my dancing, or dancers about religion, I am uncomfortable and tongue-tied. To think publicly about the relation of expressive movements and the expression of faith continues to irritate me. A Christian world view that separates sensuality from spirituality still seems to exert its influence. Augustine's sudde n tur n t o physica l intimacie s ma y surpris e us , sinc e we ar e accustome d t o characteriz e Christianit y a s a dualisti c traditio n that devalue s th e bod y an d exalt s th e mind/spirit/soul . Thi s hierarchiza tion o f values ha s led man y t o believ e that th e Christia n cultur e doe s no t talk abou t th e body . This, however, i s not true : it incessantly talk s abou t it. Christia n thinker s ma y no t hav e pleasan t thing s t o sa y abou t th e body. Yet , i n thei r theologica l treatises , the y ofte n spea k vividl y abou t the delights , filth, rottenness , pleasures , temptation , sins , an d punish ments o f th e flesh . "An d th e beleaguere d devil undertoo k on e nigh t t o assume th e for m o f a woma n an d t o imitat e he r ever y gesture , solel y i n order tha t h e migh t beguil e Antony, " wrot e Athanasiu s abou t th e fourth-century Egyptia n ascetic . "[Th e devil ] placed hi s confidence i n th e weapons in the navel of his belly [and ] advance d agains t th e youth. . . .

The Confines of Male Confessions 20 The one hurled foul thought s and the other overturned them through his prayers; th e forme r resorte d t o titillation , bu t th e latter , seemin g t o blush, fortified th e bod y with faith" (1980 : 34) . The intimate realities of the flesh must first be acknowledged befor e th e body can be subjected t o ascetic control. In the past, I have rejected religious asceticism for its dualistic and disembodied attitudes. At the same time, I became intrigued by Artaud's and Grotowski's notion of the "holy actor" who does not "exhibit his body, but annihilates it, burns it, frees it from every resistance to any psychic impulse [and] sacrifices it" (Grotowski 1968: 34). The "holy actor" undergoes a rigorous training, in which he learns to transgress and transcend the social and physical limitations imposed on the body. Today I wonder whether the holy actor differs that much from the Christian male ascetic. The early Christian ascetics renounced earthly desires and tried to discipline their flesh in order to uncover the spiritual possibilities of the body. The practical consequence of their idealism was a continuous struggle with and against their bodies. Likewise, the modern holy actor subjected his body to a discipline that countered social and aesthetic norms. He underwent asceticAike training to explore the aesthetic possibilities of the body. Perhaps, both the male ascetic and the holy actor live a more bodily existence than those men who do not problematize their bodies and merely employ them in pursuit of career, pleasure, and health. Perhaps, ascetic discipline appeals to men not so much because it renounces the body but because it promises seclusion. Are men attracted to asceticism because it allows them to detach themselves from a community and live a solitary male existence? When w e compar e Augustine' s Confessions t o Miche l Leiris' s Manhood: A Journey from Childhood into the Fierce Order of Virility, th e wide ga p betwee n antiquit y an d modernit y become s evident . " I hav e just reache d th e ag e o f thirty-four , life' s mid-point, " th e Frenc h poet , anthropologist, an d museu m curato r inform s hi s readers i n the openin g paragraph. "Physicall y I am o f averag e height , o n th e shor t side . I have auburn hai r cu t shor t t o kee p i t fro m curling , an d als o t o preven t th e

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spread o f a n incipien t baldness. . . . My eye s are brown , th e edge s of th e lids habitually inflamed ; m y complexion i s high; I am disconcerte d b y a n irritating tendenc y t o blush , an d b y a shin y skin " (1992 : 3) . Leiris, wh o broke wit h th e surrealis t movemen t whe n h e bega n t o wor k o n Manhood i n th e 1930s , exposes th e agonie s o f bein g and becomin g a man . I t is a moder n versio n o f mal e self-scrutinizin g whic h place s th e bod y i n the center . The mal e sel f i s wrapped i n physical self-consciousness . The first thin g th e reade r learn s abou t Leiris' s lif e concern s hi s physi ognomy (" a straigh t nape " an d " a broad , rathe r bulgin g forehead") , hi s habitual gesture s ("sniff[ing ] th e bac k o f m y hand") , hi s chie f activitie s ("literature"), hi s se x lif e ("sexuall y I am not , I believe , abnorma l [but ] have lon g tende d t o regar d mysel f a s virtuall y impotent") , an d hi s "disgust o f pregnan t women. " Fro m th e ver y beginning , Manhood i s hopelessly entangle d i n a solipsisti c perspectiv e o n th e body . Leiri s sing s a hym n t o th e mal e body—t o a bod y tha t i s no t beautiful , powerful , and sinfu l bu t homely , impotent , an d mundane . Writing about the male body is distressing. The male body is, after all, my body, and my body resists to be written about. It/I become very self-conscious precisely at the moment I want to write about my body. I feel the sensations in the tips of my fingers, the slight burning in my eyes, my tense shoulders. My body becomes almost an object outside of myself, an image disconnected from the person that is thinking and writing about it/me. What is the value of such solipsistic circling? How can I and other men escape it? Would a divine reality, as Augustine still assumes it, help men to transcend their self-centeredness? Leiris's accounting o f hi s physical like s and dislike s take s u p approxi mately th e sam e spac e tha t Augustin e need s t o exto l Go d i n th e openin g paragraphs o f the Confessions. Contrar y t o Augustine, who prepare s th e reader an d himsel f t o conside r th e physicalit y o f a man' s lif e b y first establishing a divine perspective, Leiris's opening passag e i s tightly orga nized aroun d th e description o f hi s body bu t concludes wit h a metaphys ical allusion. " I should lik e to set down here , in a few lines , what vestige s I ca n gathe r o f th e metaphysics of my childhood' 9 (1992 : 6 ; italic s i n the original) . Hi s bod y doe s no t onl y preced e al l metaphysic s bu t th e metaphysics Leiri s ha s i n min d neve r leave s th e real m o f th e immatur e self. It is the metaphysics o f childhood , o f nostalgia . The poin t o f depar -

The Confines of Male Confessions 21 ture i s no longe r Go d bu t th e infantil e past , no t th e supereg o bu t th e id . Whereas Augustine' s mai n tas k i s t o constru e a theologica l positio n of omnipotenc e an d eternit y outsid e o f himself , whic h enable s hi m t o talk freel y abou t hi s mother' s milk , Leiri s construe s hi s sel f aroun d th e aging mal e body , whic h ha s n o perspectiv e o n itsel f excep t fo r it s child hood. Leiris' s bod y know s n o redemption . He/i t i s subject t o a n inevita ble process o f disintegration . On the far side of that abyss lies my early youth toward which, in recent years, I turn as the only happy period of my life, though already containing the elements of it s own disintegration , an d al l th e feature s which , gradually deepenin g int o wrinkles and lines, give my portrait its likeness. (Leiris 1992: 6)

Voyeuristic Gaze s a n d M a l e Intimacie s In the safety of my own bathroom, I can spend long times in front of a mirror, not just for cleaning and shaving my face but also for looking at it and trying to discover signs of aging. The more time I spend at home —to prepare for class, change my daughter's diapers, write, clean, read, or cook—the more often I check myself in the mirror. I do this to take a break, gather my thoughts, fight a feeling of emptiness, make sure I still exist. When my work takes me into the public arena, mirrors become less significant. The public, I assume, serves as a kind of social mirror. I feel confident in my existence if I see myself reflected in others. The public as an extension of the self. When seeing photographs of myself, I am sometimes surprised to see a body that seems to be the other way round. I have noticed this phenomenon especially when my face shows a pimple. On the photograph, the pimple may be on my right cheek, though I imagined it to be on the left. My sensual memory remembers it on the left, and so does the memory of seeing my face in the mirror. What is the left side of my body is also the left in the mirror. This perception holds true, of course, only if "I" do the looking in front of the mirror. I can also project myself into my mirrored face, in which case "I" look back at me. Then, the left would be right, just as in the photograph. I am still perplexed by the tricks mirrors and memories can play.

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Modern confessional statements function, perhaps, in a similar fashion. Once put into writing, the confession stares back at me. I no longer know whether it is me who does the looking or whether it is the written and remembered "I" that looks back. There was, for example, a large mirror in my grandmother's house. As a child, I would stand in front of it, slowly approach it with my eyes fixed on my body, and then quickly look behind the mirror in order to catch my image. Today, I am tempted to use this childish game as a paradigm for modern confessional writings: the vain effort of men to construct and hold on to an image of themselves. Are confessions, which turn private thoughts into public property, an attempt at breaking out of the prison of solitude? Michel Leiri s ma y b e correc t i n interpretin g th e worl d throug h hi s body an d insistin g on a metaphysics o f childhood. A contemporary mal e confession woul d strik e m e a s incomplet e i f n o attentio n ha d bee n pai d to th e bod y an d th e wound s o f childhood . Yet , bot h th e searc h fo r childhood pattern s tha t influenc e ou r adul t live s an d th e scrutinizin g o f our carna l activitie s ar e signs o f th e moder n afflictio n o f self-gazing . When Leiri s begin s Manhood wit h a descriptio n o f hi s "aubur n hai r cut shor t t o kee p i t fro m curling, " w e mus t assum e tha t h e wrot e thes e lines i n fron t o f a mirror . Ho w els e woul d h e hav e bee n abl e t o presen t his physiognom y i n suc h graphi c detail ? "Loathin g hi s imag e i n th e mirror, [Leiris ] see s thin , hair y hands , wit h distinc t veins ; inflame d eyelids; a bal d head " (Porte r 1991 : 124) . I t take s courag e t o portra y one's bod y with a n authenticit y tha t transgresse s bourgeoi s expectation s of decency . Bu t Leiri s i s no t th e invento r o f a ne w autobiographica l style. "Fro m Montaigne' s Essays t o Rousseau' s Confessions throug h Stendhal's journal s t o th e moder n confession s o f Gide , Jouhandeau, an d Genet, th e grea t writer s o f Franc e hav e bee n concerne d t o a singula r extent wit h th e detache d presentatio n o f intimat e feelings " (Sonta g 1992: viii) . Leiris doe s no t presen t hi s mal e obsession s wit h passio n bu t gazes at the m coldl y an d detached . J remember the discovery of my first pimple while standing in front of a mirror. I was fascinated by the growth on my skin, just beneath the nose. When I squeezed it and saw the white pus squirting out, I had a bodily sensation that is difficult to describe. I was awestruck. It felt like ejaculating though at the time I did not

The Confines of Male Confessions 21 yet know what this was. I was not repulsed (only now am I a little embarrassed by the words I use to recollect this memory). I thought of an explosion, of something that had been contained and was now thrust forward. The image of a nuclear mushroom cloud crossed my mind. I experienced my still boyish and angelic looking face as undergoing a tremendous change. It/I was witnessing something aggressive, destructive, and liberating. I felt a step closer to adulthood. Rousseau, th e other grand confessor , avow s i n the opening paragrap h of hi s Confessions "t o displa y t o m y kind a portrait i n every way true t o nature, and th e man I shall portray will be myself" (1953 : 17) . Rousseau no longe r place s himsel f withi n th e univers e o f reveale d religion , lik e Augustine, no r doe s h e struggl e wit h disciplinin g hi s body , lik e th e ascetics. H e articulate s modernity' s self-centeredness : portrait, man, I, myself. Rousseau's casua l styl e i s surprisingl y modern . H e recall s variou s episodes no t becaus e the y hol d an y specia l meanin g bu t simpl y becaus e they happened . " I d o remembe r onc e havin g mad e wate r i n on e o f ou r neighbour's cooking-pot s whil e sh e wa s a t church " (1953 : 21) . Th e image o f youn g Roussea u peein g i n a po t whil e th e owne r i s a t churc h conveys hi s mundane treatmen t o f bot h th e bod y an d religion . Northrop Fry e calle d Rousseau' s Confessions a "moder n type " o f Augustine's invente d "confessio n form " (1957 : 307) . Yet , wit h respec t to thei r perspective s o n th e world , th e tw o confession s bea r littl e sem blance. Had Augustin e reporte d th e cooking-pot episode , he would hav e used i t t o explai n t o hi s reader s ho w fa r h e ha d gon e astra y fro m a righteous path . No t s o Rousseau . Fo r him , th e bod y ha s it s ow n trivia l needs an d worries . These ca n b e exasperated i n a religiou s environmen t but ar e spiritually insignificant . When, fo r example , youn g Roussea u wa s accoste d b y a pederas t i n a religious convent , h e reports thi s inciden t wit h indignatio n bu t doe s no t raise any mora l o r doctrina l issues . He resume d hi s caresses [and ] trie d t o wor k u p t o th e mos t revoltin g libertie s and, by guiding my hand, to make me take the same liberties with him. I broke wildly away with a cry . .. fo r I had not the slightest idea what it was all about. . .. [A] s h e gav e u p th e struggl e I sa w somethin g whitis h an d stick y shoo t towards the fireplaceand fall on the ground. (1953: 71)

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Rousseau's bod y i s n o longe r th e battlegroun d fo r th e torment s o f si n and th e glory o f repentance . The onl y lesso n Roussea u learn s i s to guar d himself i n the future "agains t th e attention s o f pederasts " (1953 : 73) . As a boy, I was once cornered by a museum guard in front of a Greek statue in the Louvre, and another time harassed by a man in a train station in Paris. Like Rousseau, I had no idea what it was all about but enough sense to get away before being humiliated. I was more confused than ashamed. The incidents had no religious significance. Like Leiris , Rousseau want s t o expos e intimat e details : "Sinc e I hav e undertaken t o revea l mysel f absolutel y t o th e public , nothin g abou t m e must remai n hidde n o r obscure " (1953 : 65) . Bu t unlik e Leiris , h e seek s the reader' s empathy . Rousseau , wh o confesse s becaus e h e feel s misun derstood, supplie s a chronolog y o f dates , places , stories , explanations . "I wa s bor n a t Genev a i n 1712 , th e so n o f Isaa c Rousseau , a citize n o f that town , an d Susann e Bernard , hi s wife " (17) . Philipp e Lejeun e ridi culed suc h autobiographica l pros e a s th e misguide d effor t t o fil l ou t a "questionnaire sen t b y a punctiliou s administration. " Th e autobiogra phers ar e born , presen t " a famil y tre e [and ] on e o r mor e first memories ; next the y g o dutifull y t o school ; the y mak e th e first discover y o f every thing the y should , whil e drawin g a spicy , compassionate , o r incisiv e picture o f th e famil y milieu ; th e crisi s o f adolescenc e come s along ; an d so on " (1989 : 235) . Leiri s counter s suc h prose . H e doe s no t presen t a chronology o f hi s lif e bu t write s abou t a ma n (himself ) who , ou t o f a sense o f confusion , desire s t o confes s withou t hidin g thing s considere d to b e repulsiv e an d trivial . H e confront s th e reade r wit h a self-loathin g mentality tha t speak s throug h hi s graphi c description s o f hi s body , hi s sexual preferences , an d hi s misogynist relation s t o women . I can be disgusted by words depicting bodily activities even if the activities themselves do not repel me. For example, I may cringe a little at reading Leiris's description of his habitual gestures ("scratching] my anal region when I am alone"), though I perform similar gestures at home. Because reading remains a private act, my embarrassment is well contained. Would someone reveal such intimate obsessions in a conversation, I would blush. It is easier to write about pimples in a confessional mode than to speak about them publicly.

The Confines of Male Confessions 21 Susan Sonta g calle d Manhood a n "exercis e i n shamelessness, " a "se quence o f self-exposure s o f a craven , morbid , an d damage d tempera ment" (1992 : ix). Roger J . Porte r praise d i t a s a n "ope n wound " an d a "courageous act " (1991 : 125) . Leiri s himsel f i s les s concerne d abou t issues o f sham e o r courag e an d mor e intrigue d b y th e arbitrarines s o f reconstructing one' s life . Hence it occurred t o me to write these pages, primarily a simple confession . . . with th e goa l o f liquidating , b y formulatin g them , certai n obsessions , whos e weight oppresse d me.. . . [But ] even a s I write, the pla n I had devise d escape s me, an d on e migh t sa y tha t th e mor e I loo k int o mysel f th e mor e confuse d everything I see becomes. (1992: 14, 83) Leiris look s int o himsel f an d become s confused . Bu t doe s h e reall y se e his inner self , or i s it merely th e mirro r imag e of hi s body tha t h e sees ? J can relate to Leiris's struggle. The more I try to gain clarity about my body, the more it escapes me. Sometimes, neither looking into my past nor looking into a mirror solves the dilemma. Perhaps, modern men are cursed by the same dilemma that women in antiquity supposedly encountered: according to a misogynist belief reported by Aristotle, a mirror into which menstruating women gaze becomes spotted (cf Rank 1971: 66). Mirrors play tricks: they always obscure the real presence of my body. Because Manhood remain s arreste d i n negativ e narcissis m i t i s als o highly voyeuristic . Leiri s doe s no t onl y tur n th e reade r int o a voyeu r but, abov e all , h e himsel f gaze s voyeuristicall y a t himself . Th e entir e perspective o f Manhood, lik e th e openin g descriptio n o f Leiris' s mir rored body , i s one i n which th e French poe t look s a t himself throug h th e reflections o f mythologica l figures, women , infantil e wounds , dreams , and fantasies . Everything , includin g hi s body , i s use d a s a n objec t through whic h h e can expos e himself . Gazing a t th e mirro r imag e o f one' s body—searchin g fo r tim e lost , for sign s o f decay , fo r affirmatio n o f th e self—i s a n exercis e i n hermet icism. Mirror s confine . Susa n Sonta g perceptivel y remarke d tha t Leiri s wishes "t o convinc e himsel f tha t thi s unsatisfactor y body—an d thi s unseemly character—reall y exist " (1992 : xi). To th e degre e tha t mirror s make peopl e consciou s o f thei r bodies , Leiri s i s body-conscious ; bu t h e is disrespectful o f hi s embodie d self . "Thi s lac k o f estee m o r respec t fo r himself i s obscene" (Sonta g 1992 : ix).

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Leiris canno t embrac e hi s carnality . "Th e autobiographer' s live d ex perience o f hi s body, " Shirle y Neuma n write s abou t Manhood, "disap pears, ye t again , int o th e metaphysic s o f th e disembodie d Voice ' o f masculine autobiography " (1991 : 163) . Hi s embodie d sel f i s define d i n solipsistic rathe r tha n relationa l terms . Manhood deceive s th e reade r into believin g that i t i s an autobiographica l revelatio n o f a mal e embod ied sel f while , i n fact , i t i s a disembodie d gaz e a t a mal e body . Man y male confessions ar e infecte d b y the sam e disease . When I dance, I can reveal myself without remaining imprisoned by the disembodied gaze of male confessional writings. I especially like contact improvisation, a modern dance form where people are in physical contact with each other for most of the time. Contact dancers explore the range of movement possibilities by always conceiving themselves in relation to other bodies: giving and receiving weight, leading and being led, lifting and being lifted, full contact and imagining contact in the space between bodies. Contact improvisation is intimate, at times erotic, but not sexual. When I thus dance, I am fully in my body and responsible for the other person's body. It is an embodied revelation in relation to someone else that escapes the male self-gaze. But how do I bring these experiences to bear upon the task of writing religiously about the male body? W o u n d s an d Vanit y Male theologian s rarel y identif y themselve s wit h thei r bodies . They tal k about th e pai n o f th e crucifixion , th e jo y o f resurrection , th e tormen t o f sin, and th e glory o f salvation . Bu t they d o not make thei r bodie s the sit e of God-talk . To m F . Driver' s "Tu b Wate r an d Hol y Ground " i s a n exception. The theologia n soake d i n th e bathtub... . Tire d limb s an d untone d muscl e spoke t o him . "Was h us, " the y said... . I t wa s no t a praye r t o Go d bu t a n instruction t o himself. . . . Well , h e ha d th e gospe l i n hi s soul. . . . Wher e h e seemed not to have the gospel was in his body. (1977: 1-4 ) Driver's bathtu b theology , whic h challenge s preconceive d notion s abou t the productio n sit e o f theolog y (th e ivor y tower , th e altar , th e desk , th e pulpit), run s th e ris k o f bein g ridiculed . Wha t goo d ca n com e ou t o f a

The Confines of Male Confessions 21 bathtub? Marti n Luther' s menta l breakthroug h a t th e cloaca, th e toilet , serves as a reminder of th e "explosive " significanc e o f doin g theology a t profane place s (Erikso n 1962) . Similarly , whe n Drive r touche s ignore d parts of hi s bod y and explores theologica l possibilities , he seems to dra g the gloriou s height s o f theolog y t o th e trivia l ground s o f washin g hi s thighs, bu t fro m hi s thigh s rise s again (thoug h withou t phalli c erection ) a theologica l reflectio n o f sin , forgiveness , salvation , touch , healing , God. Hi s bod y i s n o longe r a fountain o f si n tha t require s divin e salva tion bu t a ground fo r therapeutic healing . When I talk about my body, I usually like to have a reason: a physical pain, a political aim, a medical problem, a theological justification. I suspect that other men feel the same. We can talk about broken bones and war scars, abortion rights and AIDSresearch, prostrate cancer, and sexual ethics. But talking or writing about our bodies without a "legitimate" reason is viewed as narcissistic, vain, obscene. What would be the point of describing the difficulties of my sexual awakening? Who would be interested in knowing that I did not masturbate until I was twenty years of age and only after I had had sexual intercourse with my first girlfriend? I can recall those old anxieties as if they happened yesterday, but I am not sure what their significance is today. I empathize with Leiris's admission that "the anecdotes I am telling here do not ... represent anything crucial or exceptional for me; I offer them simply because they come to mind apropos of this idea of injury — a wound inflicted on a man with whom I identify myself" (1992: 77)' Driver locate s hi s emotiona l woundednes s i n hi s thighs , an d tha t discovery motivate s hi m t o d o theology . Healing , fo r him , canno t b e found i n professin g a n otherworldl y Go d bu t i n recoverin g childhoo d wounds inscribed in his flesh. In this regard, Driver has more in common with Leiri s than Augustine. "H e fel t tha t i f his body' s longing fo r salva tion coul d no t b e answered then h e di d no t hav e th e gospe l a t all " (Driver 1977 : 4) . T o stil l thi s longing , Drive r focuse s hi s attentio n o n the thighs , whic h have , i n th e past , offende d him . "To o sof t an d to o white. Too muc h useles s flesh" (7). What me n often desir e and fea r in a woman's bod y (th e soft , white , useles s flesh), th e theologia n discover s hanging on his own legs.

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Eventually, Drive r finds salvatio n i n th e bathtub . Afte r recallin g Ja cob's thigh , th e thigh s o f girl s ridin g o n hi s shoulder s a t a hig h schoo l swimming party , th e unself-consciou s kickin g o f hi s fee t durin g angr y outbursts, etc. , "h e lifte d hi s lef t le g an d steppe d ou t ont o th e floor . Then th e othe r leg , and reache d fo r a t o w e l . . .. H e drie d first hi s thighs, massaging th e back s o f the m an d feelin g th e muscl e unde r th e fat . Hi s legs felt new . While there wa s plenty o f fa t an d h e had t o stan d wit h fee t wide apar t t o dr y th e inne r softness , stil l eac h thig h ha d mor e muscl e than h e ha d supposed " (1977 : 27) . I s th e discover y o f muscl e Driver' s redemption? Fa t a s th e sourc e o f alienation , muscl e a s a promis e o f salvation? Th e imager y i s peculiarly gendered . Findin g muscle revitalize s his energ y and , perhaps , renew s hi s sens e o f masculinity . Th e bath tub episod e come s t o it s conclusion . "Hi s foo t presse d th e soil . Hi s thigh pushe d i t t h e r e . . . . H e wa s ful l o f a n energ y tha t ha s n o name " (28).

J locate my woundedness in my shoulders, chest, pelvis. Each part carries a different meaning: somebody watching over my shoulders, somebody sitting on my chest, something locking my pelvis. To free myself from inhibitions I had to leave the institutional realm of religion. In theater workshops and on stage I learned to relax my muscular tensions, dared to breathe and scream, and discovered the pelvis as the center of expressive movements. If spirituality denotes an experience of wholeness, then I have encountered them during movement improvisations, where I am fully in my body and fully aware of everyone and everything around me. I ca n appreciat e Driver' s bathtu b theolog y fo r it s risk-takin g an d honesty, bu t I wonde r whethe r h e coul d hav e conceive d o f writin g about hi s bod y withou t legitimatin g i t theologically . Wha t woul d hav e happened ha d h e describe d th e cleanin g an d touchin g o f hi s flesh with out doin g theology ? A s radica l a s hi s bathtu b theolog y ma y strik e us , the religiou s fram e als o protect s agains t accusatio n o f vanity . I s th e theological perspectiv e a distancin g devic e tha t allow s Driver , lik e Au gustine, to relate to hi s body ? Driver doe s no t preac h th e renunciatio n o f carnality—i n part , i t seems, becaus e h e rebel s agains t a n American-purita n autobiographica l style (cf . Couse r 1979) . B y touching hi s thighs , Drive r goe s beyon d th e

The Confines of Male Confessions 21 confines o f a detache d mal e self-gaze . Whe n men , lik e Driver , touc h themselves tenderl y an d consciousl y the y ma y be on th e right pat h t o reach ou t to others and treat the m wit h simila r car e and nurture. Despite my frustrations with institutional religion, I remain fascinated by religious phenomena. Religion may actually be one of the few cultural systems that does not merely exploit the body for utilitarian ends but, almost despite itself, critically probes the body's possibilities and limitations. Early Christian communities, Brown suggests, differed from their pagan environments "in their estimate of the horizons of the possible for the body itself" (1988: 31). Even if one believes that the body is of no ultimate consequence for salvation, one still has to engage in an argument about the body and develop a practice that deliberately manipulates and disciplines the flesh. It seems to me that religions do not treat the body as devoid of meaning but as an entity dependent on cultural norms—and as such, the body can be socially de-constructed and then reconstructed for spiritual goals. Perhaps, it takes the perspective of a disobedient reader to fully grasp this paradox: in order to renounce the body one first has to become aware of it. The descriptio n o f physica l intimacie s ca n easily b e attacked fo r its vanity an d inconsequentiality, an d Augustine ma y have bee n amon g the first to renounce the modern exhibitionistic joy in body trivia. The (post-) modern arbitrarines s i s counter t o wha t th e fourth-centur y theologia n would hav e wante d t o convey—an d that , perhaps , make s hi m onc e again attractive , ye t inaccessible, t o moder n sensibilities . I n his Confessions, Augustin e talk s abou t hi s body becaus e h e pursues a large r spiri tual agenda . H e acknowledges th e reality o f carnal pleasure s an d addictions which , however , d o not produce happiness . Tru e happines s lie s in the surrender t o God, beyon d th e body, beyon d th e self. Augustine skillfull y play s wit h th e voyeuristic curiosit y o f the reader but at its peak switche s to a dispassionate prose . He titillates the reader's imagination onl y t o frustrat e i t a momen t later . "Eac h tim e h e evoke s the 'torren t o f pitc h whic h boil s an d swell s wit h th e hig h tide s o f foul lust ' (II.2) , i t i s quickl y followe d b y philosophica l o r theologica l reflection" (Mile s 1992 : 26). A moral lesso n ca n be learned fro m eac h activity of the mal e body .

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J am angry at Augustine because be stirs me in a direction where I begin to take my body seriously —only to be told that such a venture is pointless, if not outright foolish , for true happiness lies in a beyond-the-body relationship with God. But how can we be sure that "true happiness" is not a grand projection of the celibate male psyche? I am also envious of men like Augustine because I no longer have the theological certainty of a perspective larger than myself. Now tha t th e Augustinia n univers e i s n o longe r i n place , wha t i s i t that me n tal k abou t whe n the y tal k abou t thei r bodies ? Th e moder n trend t o revea l ou r innermos t intimacies , a s i n Leiris' s case , ma y hav e created a discours e i n whic h intimac y become s ultimatel y irrelevant . Why revea l mysel f i f intimacy i s no longe r a value? Ho w ca n Rousseau' s peeing i n a pot , Driver' s thighs , o r Leiris' s sexua l failure s b e o f an y interest t o th e public ? Or , a s on e o f my colleague s i n religiou s studie s told m e i n a conversation , "Wha t d o I d o wit h m y anu s i f i t ha s n o significance an y more? " Most confessor s displa y som e doub t abou t th e relevanc e o f thei r private revelation s an d ar e war y o f bein g criticize d fo r indulgin g i n vanity. "Befor e I go furthe r I must presen t m y reade r wit h a n apology, " Rousseau writes , "o r rathe r a justification , fo r th e pett y detail s I hav e just bee n enterin g into , an d fo r thos e I shal l ente r int o later , non e o f which ma y appea r interestin g i n hi s eyes" (1953 : 65) . Even Augustin e i s afraid o f bein g laughed at . "Allo w m e to speak: for I am addressing you r mercy, no t a ma n wh o woul d laug h a t me . Perhap s eve n yo u derid e m e but yo u wil l tur n an d hav e merc y o n me " (1.6) . The "you " i n th e tex t refers, o f course , t o Go d bu t also , figuratively speaking , t o th e reader . People ma y no t hav e th e patienc e t o dea l wit h Augustine' s trivialities , but Go d (an d th e reader) hopefull y will . It i s left t o Leiri s no t t o apologiz e fo r writin g abou t trivia l details . " I attach n o excessive importanc e t o thes e recollections fro m variou s stage s of m y childhood. . . . [Ther e is ] a certai n arbitrarines s i n th e choic e o f facts I a m recording " (1992 : 14,87) . Th e real , an d perhap s intended , scandal o f Manhood i s no t th e revelatio n o f intimat e detail s bu t it s stubborn affirmatio n o f th e trivial . Leiri s doe s no t wan t th e reade r t o attach meanin g t o th e childhoo d memorie s o f hi s injure d bod y o r t o th e loathing o f hi s impotent adul t body . The bod y simpl y is. The discomfor t

The Confines of Male Confessions 22 we ma y fee l whe n readin g Manhood ma y hav e les s t o d o wit h th e graphic depictio n o f hi s wounds an d mor e wit h hi s professe d disinteres t in a large r order . / am angry at Leiris for taking up my time with self-exposures that provide no vision beyond his own petty injuries. With Susan Sontag (1992: ix), I am tempted to say: "Who cares?" I am also envious of men like Leiris because I rarely allow myself the pleasure of publicly indulging in my injuries. T h e Pleasur e o f Danger , th e Dange r o f Pleasur e How dangerou s i s it t o engag e i n confessiona l writings ? Ar e me n afrai d of trivia , o f bein g laughe d at , o f losin g thei r academi c credibilit y an d public honor ? In confessiona l writings , me n expos e intimat e memorie s of thei r woundedness . "Afte r a yea r o f work , tear s an d healin g I bega n trying t o writ e a boo k abou t wha t ha d bee n happening, " Joh n H . Le e writes i n The Flying Boy: Healing the Wounded Man (1987 : 79) . Me n generally regar d th e openin g u p o f one' s intimat e sel f a s a perilou s activity; hence , the y eithe r despis e th e confessiona l wor k o f thei r peer s or prais e i t as an ac t o f courage . When I first invited responses to my "unedited" thoughts on the male body, I was nervous. I presented an unfinished draft of this essay to a working group on Images of Masculinity in Atlanta. "Why are you using two voices?" the participants wanted to know. "Who is your 'imaginary enemy'? Is there perhaps an unspoken third voice in your piece? What is it that you ultimately want to achieve?" The questions were inquisitive but not hostile. During the discussion I realized that my strategy of separating my essay into a critical and a personal voice protects me. I surround my self-revelations with academic discourse because, as author, I seek shelter from the public which I both fear and desire. I am skeptical about men talking about themselves but, at the same time, want to talk intimately about myself. The two voices help to maintain a dialogue between the tradition and myself —and I can hide somewhere in-between. "What I ultimately want is to improve the way we, as men, talk to each other —without ignoring our bodies and without remaining fixated on ourselves," I said.

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It later occurred to me that my strategy resembles Lejeune's vision for his scholarly work O n Autobiography . "I chose to work, academically, on autobiography," he wrote, "because in a parallel direction I wanted to work on my own autobiography.... As soon as I write . . . I share the desires and illusions of autobiographers, and I am surely not ready to renounce them" (1989: 132-33). "Let u s gran t onc e an d fo r all, " Leiri s admonishe s hi s readers , "tha t t o write an d publis h a n autobiograph y doe s no t involve , fo r th e ma n wh o undertakes suc h a thin g . . . any dange r o f death " (1992 : 159) . Indeed , the abilit y t o interpre t an d re-envisio n one' s lif e i s mor e o f a privileg e than a ris k becaus e i t presupposes , amon g othe r things , socio-economi c security, literacy , an d poise . Furthermore , man y me n ar e wel l compen sated fo r thei r fea r o f bein g ridiculed : thei r wor k frequentl y acquire s canonical status . If on e o f th e aim s o f confession s i s "t o manag e th e body " (Neuma n 1991: 138) , then t o writ e the m offer s me n a safe mean s t o mak e contac t with thei r bodies . I t i s easie r t o write abou t one' s carna l obsessions , fantasies, an d dreams—eve n thos e which Mikhai l Bakhti n (1984 ) attrib uted t o th e grotesqu e body—tha n t o communicat e the m directl y t o a spouse, friend , companion , o r colleague . Me n see m t o tal k mor e freel y about thei r bodie s i n confessional statement s tha n i n conversations wit h intimate others . Confession s are , therefore , no t a privat e discours e (de spite Neuman' s clai m tha t "confession , whethe r practise d i n th e churc h or b y mean s o f on e o f it s avatar s i n childrearing , tutoring , o r medica l consultation, remain s a n intimat e an d privat e discourse " [1991 : 138]) . The ac t o f writin g function s a s a buffe r betwee n privat e an d publi c discourse. Confession s mediat e intimacies . The y transfor m inarticulat e experiences int o speech , bod y int o voice . The y ar e a saf e wa y t o ac knowledge the woundedness whic h me n ma y not otherwis e admit . Ther e is n o immediat e othe r t o disput e th e retrospectiv e constructio n an d interpretation o f th e mal e self . Suc h uninterrupte d reconstructio n mus t be regarded a s pleasurable . As I write this, I am flooded with memories: moments of sexual prowess and impotence, failed friendships with men, aborted affairs with women, my father, my eroticized passion of the Passion narrative, cross-dressing, masturbation, sensations of suffocation during worship, nurturing my child, my nipples, the feeling of

The Confines of Male Confessions 22 constant flow when dancing, the pelvis as center of creativity and anxiety, my voice that never seems to find the right pitch for Christian hymns, . . . My mind wanders off and I find it difficult to return to the taskat-hand. There are many issues I am tempted to address in this "confessional" essay, though I would not share them directly with colleagues, friends, not even my spouse. These issues concern incidents of social, emotional, and sexual embarrassment —moments of shame where I felt powerless, vulnerable, exposed. Am I beginning to do what I criticize in other men? Am I using the confessional form as a distancing device in order to talk about issues of male intimacy? When me n writ e intimatel y abou t themselves , i t i s no t uncommo n that the y misrepresen t th e othe r gender . Wome n appea r a s a scree n fo r male fantasies , a s mirror s i n whic h me n se e themselves , o r the y com pletely disappea r i n th e tex t (th e latte r i s tru e especiall y fo r wives) . Leiris's contemptuou s attitud e towar d hi s ow n body , fo r example , cor responds t o hi s "whorish " relationship s t o women : "th e eminentl y inac cessible actresses, " "th e gir l wh o bi t m y lips, " "th e gir l n o longe r youn g but still pretty," "th e whore encountered on e night i n an American bar, " "the cold , arrogan t America n woman, " "th e submissiv e whore, " "th e girl who ha d becom e th e mistres s o f m y accomplice"—eac h caricature d portrait i s followe d b y a shor t descriptio n o f sexua l activity , n o les s flattering (1992 : 96-97) . Wome n a s mirror s o f th e mal e pornographi c imagination! In Augustine' s Confessions, o n th e othe r hand , wome n disappea r almost entirel y i n th e text . Augustin e hardl y eve r mention s hi s femal e lover an d companio n o f thirtee n years , thoug h i t i s sh e wit h whom , w e assume, h e ha s enjoye d mos t o f hi s sexua l lif e prio r t o hi s conversion . Just a s th e pleasur e o f sexualit y i s alway s o n th e verg e o f vanishin g i n the text , s o ar e women . Augustin e suppresse s lus t b y banishin g th e objects o f hi s lust . Augustine's mothe r Monic a i s th e exception . Augustin e portray s he r as th e piou s believe r h e want s t o become . Upo n her , Augustin e project s a spiritua l desir e tha t i s t o counte r th e lus t h e feel s whe n associatin g with othe r women . Sh e i s no t th e objec t o f hi s sexua l appetit e bu t a

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helpmate fo r stillin g his spiritual hunger . Whe n h e finally takes th e vow s of celibacy , h e exchange s th e obsessivel y sexualize d relationship s wit h women fo r a spirituall y intimat e relationshi p wit h hi s mother . Mother s as mirrors o f men' s virgina l desires ! What make s Augustine' s portrai t o f hi s mothe r s o unusua l i s no t th e spiritualization o f Oedipa l desire s bu t th e fac t tha t h e neve r blame s hi s mother fo r hi s identit y crisis . I t ma y b e fo r thi s reaso n tha t th e moder n reader i s tempted t o consider thei r relationshi p unhealthy . Blamin g one' s mother ha s becom e commonplac e i n moder n writings . Especiall y th e mythopoetic movemen t ha s turne d mothers , archetypa l o r real , int o negative mirrors , accusing them fo r inhibitin g thei r sons ' transition fro m boyhood int o manhood . Th e son , accordin g t o Rober t Bly , spen t lon g months in the mother's bod y an d "go t well tuned t o female frequencies. " If h e i s not slowl y "retuned " t o th e "olde r masculin e body, " th e youn g man wil l suffe r emotiona l starvation . "Wome n cannot , n o matte r ho w much the y sympathiz e wit h thei r starvin g sons , replac e tha t particula r missing substance " (Bl y 1990 : 94). "Sadly, I was m y mother' s mirro r [but ] m y mothe r ha d no t bee n th e mirror I needed an d longe d for, " remember s Joh n Le e a s h e reflect s o n his dependenc y o n hi s femal e lover s Ki m an d Laural . "Ki m wa s [ a mirror] whereas Laura l onl y was to a degree. Kim showed m e to me.. . . I looked int o he r fac e an d sa w m y own" (1987 : 9). When son s loo k int o the face s o f thei r mothers , an d late r lovers , the y find th e imag e o f thei r own starvin g self . In Lee' s searc h fo r hi s "feminin e soul " an d "negate d masculinity," wome n ar e reduce d t o mirror s fo r hi s wounded, narcissis tic self , mirror s tha t hi s mothe r di d no t provide . A trul y Kafkaesqu e version o f mal e blindness : every (female ) fac e i s man's own . My relation to my mother turned particularly painful during adolescence. I remember my fury when she, on several occasions and behind my back, disinvited female friends I wanted to date. Her actions were part of a strategy to hold the family together as a closely knit union. Friends were welcome as long as they did not want to bond intimately with me or my siblings. The "intruder" would be emotionally shunned, sometimes made to leave. Her actions left me scarred at the time but, ultimately, she was left with the greater wound: after her children left home, she became increasingly depressed.

The Confines of Male Confessions 22 Today, about two decades later and only after the birth of my daughter, do I begin to fathom my mother's obsessive and desperate clinging to the image of a happy and intact family. When I look at my daughter, still a toddler as I write these lines, I realize how much she mimics me, and how much of myself I imagine to see in her. I can already feel my heart ache at the thought of her leaving the parental love and worries. In man y mal e confessiona l writings , th e femal e gende r i s viewe d a s harmful t o th e developmen t o f th e mal e identity . This i s one o f th e grea t downsides o f me n pourin g ou t intimat e thoughts . I f me n regar d th e pleasure of writing intimately abou t themselve s a s dangerous, the dange r of suc h intimat e pleasur e i s its ingrained misogynism . "Th e mal e psych e is i n continua l dange r o f bein g inundate d b y th e feminin e se a [like ] sandy atoll s i n a monsoon-swep t ocean, " write s Sa m Kee n i n Fire in the Belly, a self-hel p boo k o n mal e spiritualit y wit h numerou s confessiona l references. Kee n detect s a fragilit y o f th e mal e psych e tha t i s "no t psychological, not neurotic [but ] an ontological fac t roote d i n our being " (1991: 15) , a vie w whic h parallel s Augustine' s anthropologica l anxiet y around concupiscentia. Jus t a s Augustin e trie d t o contai n th e flood o f sexual lus t i n orde r t o becom e a spirituall y viril e man , Kee n want s modern men , beleaguere d b y th e "feminin e sea, " t o becom e "fierc e gentlemen" wh o "discove r a peacefu l for m o f virility " (121) . I n Au gustine's case , al l wome n (excep t hi s mother ) ar e dangerous ; i n Keen' s case, th e peri l stem s fro m "ideologica l feminists " wh o continu e "gen deral enmit y an d scapegoating " (195 ; cf. Bord o 1993 : 710). The pleasur e o f writin g intimatel y abou t th e mal e sel f compel s man y men t o blam e wome n fo r thei r woundedness , an d i t seem s tha t the y ar e chronically unawar e o f thi s pattern . A n u s M u n d i : A Differen t K i n d o f M i r r o r I have argue d s o fa r tha t mal e confession s suffe r fro m narcissisti c fanta sies, solipsistic gazing , pattern s o f blam e an d self-loathing , misrepresen tations of women, and othe r protectiv e and deceptiv e devices to facilitat e a discours e o n th e mal e body . Bu t wh y d o me n tak e recours e t o suc h defensive operations ? Wha t ar e the y afrai d of ? A deep-seate d mal e anxiety , I believe , i s th e fea r o f bein g shamed .

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Talking abou t men' s bodies , m y body , touche s o n forbidde n zones . Where th e bod y i s permeable, wher e i t excretes an d i s open t o intrusion , it i s feare d most . Wheneve r th e discours e reache s thes e regions , me n react wit h fur y o r withdra w i n shame . To contai n thes e fears , me n hav e construe d thei r ow n bodie s a s closed, dry , an d clean . Th e excretin g bod y i s no t their s bu t belong s t o women: open , dirty , an d dangerous . The churc h father s feare d woman' s body a s "th e gatewa y fo r th e devil, " medieva l theologian s perceive d th e liquid bod y a s morall y debased , Victoria n anxietie s revolve d aroun d th e vagina dentata, an d archetypa l psycholog y mythologize d wome n a s holes, darkness, void, water. Western culture , it seems, made a persisten t effort t o transfe r mal e anxietie s ont o women , an d turne d th e femal e anatomy int o the antithesi s o f th e mal e body . They ar e fluid, we ar e not ; they ar e dirty , we ar e not . I n reality , however , th e mal e body , endowe d with a mouth , ears , nose , skin , penis , an d anus , i s a s permeabl e an d liquid a s a woman' s bod y (excep t fo r menstruation , lactation , an d th e fluids o f childbirth) . The mos t shame d an d shunne d are a o f th e male bod y i s the anus. No t surprisingly, ther e ar e onl y scan t reference s t o i t i n mal e confessions . The drea d o f feces : th e anu s i s a n openin g tha t lead s deepl y int o th e male body , an d fro m i t prima l "possessions " emerg e (later , w e lear n t o classify the m a s wast e an d dirt) . There i s als o homophobi c anxiety : th e anus ca n b e penetrated , tha t is , subjecte d t o sexua l pleasur e an d viola tion. In a heterosexua l culture , nothin g seem s farthe r remove d fro m spiritual significanc e tha n thi s part o f th e male anatomy . In hi s lette r t o th e Corinthians , th e apostl e Pau l calle d th e bod y " a temple o f th e Hol y Spirit. " Yet , claimin g th e anu s a s par t o f God' s sanctuary border s o n blasphemy . To m Drive r "fel t a bi t dirty , perhap s subversive o f worship " whe n h e mad e th e discover y "tha t t o hi t an d sustain a high note while singing hymns i n church, i t helped i f he relaxe d the anus " (1977 : 24) . Th e Gnosti c Valentinu s wen t s o fa r a s t o fanc y Jesus' perfectl y continen t bod y a s unabl e t o defecat e (Meek s 1993 : 137). Eve n Marti n Luther , whos e bawd y languag e counter s som e o f Christianity's repression , use s ana l imager y predominantl y a s a weapo n against th e devil . "Not e thi s down, " h e warned th e devil , " I hav e shi t i n the pants , an d yo u ca n han g the m aroun d you r nec k an d wip e you r mouth wit h it " (quote d i n Erikso n 1962 : 244) . Wher e a man' s bod y "dirties" itself , it is profane, obscene , dangerous, and untouchable .

The Confines of Male Confessions 22 Many years ago, I came across C. G. Jung's boyhood fantasy of a defecating God. His story sparked my interest to start a card file with references to God and the anus in religious and literary works. The scattered notes include such names as Pasolini, Luther, Kundera, Artaud, and Native American trickster figures. I had once planned to use these notes to write a shit-ology, a theological reflection on the symbolic meaning of the body's rear-end. In my fantasy, I had already designed a title which, I then thought, would provoke a strong Cartesian reaction: "I shit, therefore I am." Needless to say, I never wrote the piece. At th e ag e o f eleve n years , C . G . Jun g underwen t psychologica l an d mental torment s befor e h e allowe d himsel f t o envisio n God' s ana l pro cesses and , a s a result , experienc e "unutterabl e bliss. " I t starte d on e da y on hi s wa y bac k fro m school , whe n h e wa s suddenl y overwhelme d b y the sigh t o f th e cathedral's roo f glitterin g i n the sun . [He] thought : "Th e worl d i s beautifu l an d th e churc h i s beautiful , an d Go d made al l thi s an d sit s abov e i t fa r awa y i n th e blu e sk y o n a golde n thron e a n d . . . . " Her e came a great hole in my thoughts, and a choking sensation.. . . I kept repeating t o myself: "Don't thin k o f it , just don't thin k o f it! " I reached home in a pretty worked-up state. My mother noticed that something was wrong . . . [and] I did hav e the thought tha t i t might hel p me if I could confess t o my mother the real reason for my turmoil. But to do so I would have to do the very thing that seemed impossible: think my thought right to the end. . . . I gathered all my courage, as though I were about to leap forthwith int o hellfire, and let the thought come. I saw before m e the cathedral, the blue sky. God sits on His golden throne, high above the world—and fro m unde r the throne an enormous tur d fall s upo n th e sparklin g ne w roof , shatter s it , an d break s th e walls of the cathedral asunder. So tha t wa s it ! I fel t a n enormous , a n indescribabl e relief . Instea d o f th e expected damnation, grace had come upon me. (1973: 36-39) God's tur d a s a moment o f grace? I s Jung's fantas y perhap s th e see d tha t can gro w int o a spiritualit y tha t i s based o n embodie d experienc e rathe r than transcenden t principles ? Jung's stor y is , however, onl y a childis h fantasy . Grac e occur s a t th e climax o f a boy' s inne r turmoil , an d no t a s th e resul t o f a man' s experi ence wit h hi s matur e body . Adult , heterosexua l me n see m t o hav e trou ble relatin g t o thei r anuse s privatel y an d publicly . (Today , th e medica l screening fo r prostrat e cance r i s one o f th e fe w occasion s whe n "publi c access" is granted. )

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In my card file, I find the report of a dream which a Catholic Korean student once related in a class I taught on religion and psychology. "A family type of dream: My sister was arguing with my wife, as usual. My sister said that my wife is not doing her best to me, as a husband. I was sitting on a toilet, not in the bathroom but inside a church. I could hear my mother praying to the cross, outside of the church. I felt strongly that I wanted to say or ask something to my sister. But I was very ashamed of being in the church with a naked body." Women, mother, church, defecation, naked body, shame: the dream elements reveal a conflicted male identity and render the dreamer speechless. There is no relief. He is shamed to silence. Why d o ana l processe s eithe r sham e u s into silenc e or becom e object s of "dirty " jokes ? Childre n experienc e pleasur e whe n noticin g thei r first prized possessions . Why d o adult s no t sho w th e sam e awe ? I s it becaus e the ana l pleasure s o f infant s ar e pre-divine, that is , prior t o experiencin g God, an d henc e unworth y o f matur e theologica l consideration ? I s shi t too "human" ? Mila n Kunder a ma y b e correc t whe n h e writes , "I , a child, graspe d th e incompatibilit y o f Go d an d shit. . . . Eithe r ma n wa s created i n God' s image—an d Go d ha s intestines!—o r Go d lack s intes tines an d ma n i s no t lik e Him " (1984 : 245) . The biblica l conceptio n o f man bein g create d i n God' s imag e ha s alway s spurre d man' s imagina tion, fro m Michelangelo' s bearde d Father-Go d t o God's Phallus, th e title o f a recen t boo k (Eilberg-Schwart z 1994) . Wh y not , then , imagin e a defecatin g God ? "Shi t i s a mor e onerou s theologica l proble m tha n i s evil," Kunder a continues , becaus e ma n ca n sometime s "accep t th e ide a that H e i s no t responsibl e fo r man' s crimes . The responsibilit y fo r shit , however, rest s entirel y wit h Him , th e Creato r o f man " (1984 : 246 ; cf . Carrigan 1991) . Of course , t o declar e Go d responsibl e fo r shit , a s Kunder a suggests , assumes a n overly naturalisti c understandin g o f God' s metaphori c possi bilities. The crux, it seems to me, rather lie s in the theological bracketin g of feces . Shi t i s "matter, " putri d matter , an d a s suc h th e opposit e o f th e logos, th e word . A s a bodil y wast e produc t i t mus t b e kep t strictl y separated fro m theology . Defecation canno t b e permitted int o conscious ness becaus e th e close d an d clea n mal e bod y i s believe d t o transcen d matter. Shi t destroy s th e illusio n o f th e close d mal e body . Wha t passe s

The Confines of Male Confessions 22 the anu s smell s o f decay , o f mortality , an d tha t i s exactl y wha t confes sional writing s wis h t o overcome . Word s ar e writte n fo r eternity , fece s decompose quickly . Writin g immortalizes , shittin g doe s not . Ar e me n afraid o f becomin g arreste d i n th e ana l phas e whe n "thinking " abou t the spiritua l possibilitie s o f th e rectum ? Ar e the y afrai d o f becomin g identified wit h thei r mos t direc t bodil y produc t i n whic h the y se e n o redemption? A couple of years ago, I listened to a radio interview of a California psychologist who had investigated the collective psyche of Germans and claimed to have found a particular anal fixation of the German character. As a German man living in the United States, I am therefore doubly careful to write about the anus, feces, defecation, and other such "queasy" issues. James Broughton' s The Androgyne Journal (1977 ) i s the onl y confes sional writin g I hav e foun d tha t explore s th e compatibilit y o f spiritua l and ana l experiences . It is a record o f Broughton' s eroti c explorations o f divine energie s flowing throug h hi s androgynou s body . Despit e som e occasional reference s t o Christia n symbolis m an d childhoo d memories , the bul k o f th e five-week lon g journal concern s Broughton' s experience s with hi s matur e bod y an d paga n god s an d goddesses . Fo r example , o n June 24 , his first da y i n a wood y ol d cabi n nea r Mendocino , California , he i s visite d b y a woma n spiri t a t nigh t wh o encourage s hi m t o pursu e pleasure withou t shame . ("Wha t i s you r name ? I aske d her . Ar e yo u Andromeda? Annabe l Lee ? Anim a Mundi? " [10]. ) Ste p b y step , Broughton discover s tha t t o b e ashame d o f th e shamefu l part s o f th e male bod y (nipples , phallus, anus) i s wrong. O n July 31 , near th e en d o f his sta y i n Mendocino , h e sleep s wit h mothe r eart h an d reache s a n orgiastic peak : " I du g th e hol e deep , an d thrus t m y peni s i n . . . . I fel t like som e sacrificin g her o o f antiquity . I thought o f Sk y Fathe r cohabit ing Earth Mothe r t o create th e world" (67-68) . I admire Broughton's remarkable candidness. It is a genuine attempt at treating the male body not as a muscular, clean, iron entity but as an erotic, fluid, and vulnerable organism. His revelations touch areas of my own shame, and —though they embarrass, at times even repulse me —they make me aware of my own repressions.

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However, the journal also irritates me. Reading it, I increasingly felt that I became witness to yet another male confession centered around the male, solitary ego. A man gazing at his body as he pleasures it/himself, cut off from any responsibilities to others. The Androgyne Journal i s the record o f a solitar y journe y o f a modern day ascetic . The spiritual adventure s o f the early Christia n deser t father s are replace d b y the erotic exploration s o f a juicy hermaphrodite , th e dry body replace d b y a n excretin g body . Wha t Broughto n share s wit h th e early ascetics, though, is solitude. He does not need the presence of othe r human being s fo r hi s erotic-spiritua l ques t becaus e hi s androgynou s body i s self-sufficient: a pair o f nipples and a functioning peni s is all that is required . I could feel the enticing Venus in me. . .. I could make love to her visible bloom till she squirmed and stretched i n delight. Then I could be she loving the king in me . . . till h e ripened an d towere d i n desire . Finally , i t was the royal pai r in mutual adoring play, breast and phallus in equally passionate caress. (1977: 51) "Shame i s n o longe r possibl e [because ] m y sex i s par t o f th e divin e whole," write s Broughto n o n th e da y h e reconcile s hi s genital s wit h spirituality (1977 : 46) . A fe w day s later , h e become s awar e o f hi s "neglected backside. " In a dream , h e paints wit h "symboli c shit, " the n sets out to paint wit h rea l shit . He learns a new, universal truth : "Whe n all color s ar e blended , th e resul t i s th e colo r o f shit . I s thi s wha t th e spectrum o f solar ligh t ultimately boil s down to ? Is the color of Oneness, then, the color of shit?" As he further explore s anal processes , he devotes a praye r t o shit ("M y Lord Sun , teach m e how to accept this") ; wonder s whether h e would hav e th e courage t o ea t i t (" a ritua l ac t to acknowl edge and experience th e end as a beginning") ; and, finally, observe s and worships a "shit-colore d gastropo d worm " whic h h e imagine s t o b e a creation o f his bowel movemen t an d his earlier unio n wit h mothe r eart h (1977: 53-55 * 69-74)Like Leiris , Broughto n take s th e ris k o f bein g ridiculed . H e open s himself u p t o ne w bodil y possibilitie s o f spirituality . Mor e tha n an y other confessiona l writin g I hav e com e across , The Androgyne Journal removes th e theologica l bracket s aroun d fece s an d put s excrement s i n the center o f an embodied spirituality . What i s disturbing, though , i s Broughton' s masturbator y narcissism . The (male ) androgynou s bod y i s nippl e an d phallus , mal e an d female ,

The Confines of Male Confessions 23 Hermes an d Venus . Similarly , ana l processe s ar e beginnin g an d end , creation an d death . "Man , i f h e bu t kne w himself , i s th e mos t sacre d edifice o n earth . Fo r h e contains al l the gods an d goddesses " (Broughto n 1977: $j). Th e mal e bod y i s a self-pleasurabl e unit , a self-containe d cosmos. The matur e ma n face s it s faeces, an d see s nothin g shor t o f a n entir e universe. Th e mal e anu s a s anus mundi, a mirro r o f majesti c propor tions! Under th e mal e gaze, even feca l matte r turn s int o spirit . Conclusion Luther onc e wrot e tha t Go d smile s a t th e fathe r wh o "goe s ahea d an d washes diaper s o r perform s som e othe r mea n tas k fo r hi s child " (1962 : 40). Although Luthe r use d thi s exampl e t o emphasiz e th e importanc e o f faith rathe r tha n a father' s dut y t o chang e diapers , th e statemen t point s to a n issu e tha t i s missing i n man y mal e confessiona l writings : the valu e of relationality . Monad-like , th e mal e sel f view s itsel f a s independen t o f the we b o f mutuall y dependen t relation s an d see s itsel f mirrore d i n whatever directio n i t choose s t o look . Th e mal e confesso r gaze s a t hi s body, hi s lovers , hi s mother , hi s gods , an d hi s fece s an d see s bu t a universe tha t i s a reflection o f himself . The perceptio n o f th e mal e bod y a s a close d bod y i s par t o f thi s solipsistic operation . Th e mal e bod y i s close d anatomicall y (dr y an d clean) an d relationall y (no t dependen t o n others) . A s a self-sufficien t universe, th e close d mal e bod y i s not par t o f a networ k o f relationship s but remain s arreste d i n narcissisti c awe—hence , i t i s no t responsibl e t o others. A bod y tha t i s perceive d a s no t excretin g an d smellin g canno t relate t o othe r excretin g an d smellin g bodies . I t i s n o acciden t tha t almost al l menia l task s tha t hav e t o d o wit h th e cleanin g o f bodie s ar e done b y women : changin g th e diaper s o f babies , nursin g th e putrefyin g wounds o f th e sick , wipin g th e "bottom " o f th e old , cleanin g toilets . The closed , male , heterosexua l bod y doe s no t conside r a s it s primar y task t o nurtur e thos e bodie s o n a dail y basi s o r t o remov e th e smell s o f age, sickness, and death . "Go t o an y landfill, " Sa m Kee n suggests , "an d se e th e mountai n o f disposable diaper s . . . an d i t wil l b e obviou s tha t womankin d i s a s compulsive a consumer a s mankind" (1991 : 197) . A revealing statement , indeed! B y laying th e responsibilit y fo r soile d diaper s an d th e blam e fo r

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a spoile d environmen t int o th e la p o f mothers , th e mal e bod y remain s clean an d virtuous . It also remain s a n irresponsibl e an d uncarin g body . A close d bod y isolate s an d imprison s man , an d drie s hi m u p spiritu ally. J admit: until recently, the prospect of wiping, washing, and nursing other bodies on a daily basis would have frightened me, too. Only in dance did I experience my body as open and fluid and, at the same time, related to others. Occasionally, my dancing body — a body that was healthy and able to move in aesthetically pleasing ways—took me to spiritual peaks. But what about a body that cannot move, that spills its fluids uncontrollably and requires the care of others? Could I be spiritually enraptured by such physical processes? The birth of my daughter was such an experience. Supporting my wife's back and shoulders, I watched the little head push its way out, blood and fluids gushing forth. Cutting the moist umbilical cord was scary; yet, I felt connected to something larger than myself—a muddled but ecstatic and deeply satisfying experience that I can only call spiritual. Today, when I change my daughter's diapers, I feel a similar physical and spiritual sensation of connectedness. Cleaning my daughter, I am neither disgusted nor ashamed, nor tempted to worship anal processes. Sometimes, I am impatient, at other times annoyed by the smell. But more than anything, I experience the cleaning as an intimate, humbling, and bonding act of love.

REFERENCES

Athanasius. 1980 . The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellus. Trans. Robert C. Gregg. New York: Paulist Press. Augustine. 1992 . Confessions. Trans . Henry Chadwick . Oxford , England : Ox ford Universit y Press. Bakhtin, Mikhail . 1984 . Rabelais and His World. Trans. Helen e Iswolsky . Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Bly, Robert . 1990 . Iron John: A Book about Men. Reading , Mass. : Addison Wesley. Bordo, Susan. 1993 . "Reading the Male Body." Michigan Quarterly Review 32 (Fall): 696-737.

The Confines of Male Confessions 23 Broughton, James. 1977. The Androgyne Journal. Oakland : Scrimshaw Press. Brown, Peter. 1988. The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity. Ne w York: Columbia University Press. Carrigan, Henry. 1991 . "Shit, God, and Kitsch: The Role of the Body in Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being." Paper presented at the American Academy of Religion, Kansas City, November. Couser, Thoma s G . 1979 . American Autobiography. Amherst : Universit y o f Massachusetts Press. Derrida, Jacques . 1978 . Writing and Difference. Trans. Ala n Bass . Chicago : University of Chicago Press. Driver, Tom F . 1977 . Patterns of Grace: Human Experience as Word of God. San Francisco: Harper and Row. Eilberg-Schwartz, Howard . 1994 . God's Phallus and Other Problems for Men and Monotheism. Boston: Beacon Press. Erikson, Erik. 1962. Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History. New York: W. W. Norton. Frye, Northrop. 1957 . Anatomy of Criticism. Princeton , N.J.: Princeton University Press. Grotowski, Jerzy . 1968 . Towards a Poor Theatre. Ne w York : Simo n an d Schuster. Jung, C . G . 1973 . Memories, Dreams, Reflections. Trans. Richar d an d Clar a Winston. New York: Pantheon. Keen, Sam. 1991. Eire in the Belly: On Being a Man. New York: Bantam. Kundera, Milan . 1984 . The Unbearable Lightness of Being. Trans. Michae l Henry Heim. New York: Harper and Row. Lee, Joh n H . 1987 . The Elying Boy: Healing the Wounded Man. Deerfiel d Beach, Fla.: Health Communications . Leiris, Michel . 1992 . Manhood: A Journey from Childhood into the Fierce Order of Virility. Trans. Richar d Howard . Chicago : Universit y o f Chicag o Press. Lejeune, Philippe. 1989 . On Autobiography. Ed. Paul John Eakin . Trans. Katherine Leary. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Luther, Martin. 1962 . Luther's Works. Vol. 55. Ed. Walther I . Brandt. General Ed. Helmut T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. Meeks, Wayn e A . 1993 . The Origins of Christian Morality: The First Two Centuries. New Haven: Yale University Press. Miles, Margaret R . 1992 . Desire and Delight: A New Reading of Augustine's Confessions. Ne w York: Crossroad. Neuman, Shirley. 1991. "Autobiography, Bodies, Manhood." In Autobiography and Questions of Gender, ed . Shirley Neuman. London: Frank Cass. Porter, Roger J. 1991 . "Figuration and Disfigurement: Herculine Barbin and the Autobiography o f th e Body. " I n Autobiography and Questions of Gender, ed. Shirley Neuman. London: Frank Cass. Rank, Otto . 1971 . The Double: A Psychoanalytic Study. Trans. Harry Tucker . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

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Rilke, Rainer Maria . 1962 . Sonnets to Orpheus. Trans. M. D . Herter Norton . New York: W. W. Norton. Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. 1953. The Confessions. Trans. J. M. Cohen. New York: Penguin. Smith, Sidonie. 1993. Subjectivity, Identity, and the Body. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Sontag, Susan . 1992 . "Foreword. " I n Manhood b y Miche l Leiris . Chicago : University o f Chicag o Press . Firs t published : 1964 . "Miche l Leiris ' Manhood." In Against Interpretation. Ne w York: Farrar, Straus &: Giroux.

ELEVEN

C a n M e n W o r s h i p ? Reflection

s

o n M a l e Bodie s i n B a d Fait h an a T h e o l o g y o f Authenticit LEWIS R . GORDO

d

y

N

The Gree k expressio n fro m whic h w e hav e gaine d th e ter m "enthusiasm" i s entheos. Theos i s th e Gree k wor d fo r a go d o r God . Entheos literall y mean s t o b e filled o r entere d b y a go d o r God . T o b e enthused i s t o b e imbue d wit h a god , t o b e open , t o b e "entered " b y a spirit. M y purpos e i n beginnin g wit h thi s etymologica l exercis e i s t o raise th e followin g concern . I f a ma n wer e t o regar d himsel f a s a close d being, while enthusiasm, a possible precondition o f worship (whic h fro m the ol d Englis h weorth mean s als o to value), requires a n "open " body , a susceptible body , a vulnerabl e body , ho w woul d o r coul d suc h a ma n stand befor e God? 1 I f thi s man' s postur e i s th e postur e o f masculinity , we find ourselve s abruptl y facin g a stick y problem : Ca n on e worshi p God an d remai n masculin e too ? Ca n a mal e maintai n hi s masculin e identity an d worshi p Go d i n good faith ? Our question s hav e throw n u s alread y int o a specifi c are a o f philo sophical concern : existentia l phenomenology . Thi s i s becaus e ou r ques tions cal l fo r a for m o f anguis h o n th e par t o f male s ove r thei r identity . Existential phenomenolog y explore s th e implication s an d th e possibilit y of studyin g th e phenomeno n o f being s tha t ar e capabl e o f questionin g their way s o f being . W e hav e raise d th e questio n o f th e existentia l situation o f a mal e figure wh o attempt s t o reac h ou t t o God , o r perhap s 2

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more accurately , a mal e figur e wh o face s th e dilemm a o f losin g himsel f insofar a s th e possibilit y o f choosin g t o los e hi s identit y a s a close d identity, a close d being , i s concerned . I s ther e somethin g erotic , o r perhaps homoerotic , abou t lettin g Go d "in" ? Th e projec t o f reachin g God o r lettin g Go d i n ma y hol d it s own , frustratin g existentia l features . The proble m raise s tw o existentia l concerns : th e proble m o f ba d fait h and th e proble m o f authenticity . Jean-Paul Sartr e ha s examine d th e concep t o f ba d fait h i n context s ranging fro m ou r attitude s towar d ou r presente d images 2 an d emotion s (Sartre 1948b) , to our attitude s toward ou r neighbor s and differen t race s and creed s (Sartr e 1948a , 1992) . Ba d fait h i s generall y a li e t o onesel f that involve s a fligh t fro m freedo m an d responsibility . Th e tw o form s o f bad fait h tha t wil l b e o f specia l interes t t o u s ar e thos e whic h involv e a flight fro m one' s presenc e an d th e assumptio n o f a thing-lik e existenc e or completenes s i n variou s situations . A situatio n i s tentativel y define d as a confrontatio n o f freedoms , whic h fo r Sartr e i s identica l t o a con frontation o f huma n significance . W e will first loo k a t a theor y o f th e male bod y implici t i n thos e tw o form s o f ba d faith . The n w e wil l offe r an interpretatio n o f th e mal e bod y a s a theological figure i n ba d faith . The Bod y Consciousness, phenomenologically understood , i s always consciousnes s of something . Pu t differently , a worl d withou t object s i s als o a worl d without consciousness. 3 A consequenc e o f consciousness ' requiremen t of a n objec t i s th e realit y o f perspectivity . Consciousnes s alway s exists , that is , fro m somewhere ; bein g othe r tha n consciousness , a n objec t i s always "there, " wherea s consciousnes s i s always simultaneousl y "here. " We shal l cal l tha t somewher e i n whic h consciousnes s seem s t o b e lo cated, o r perhap s better , situated , a perspective , an d w e shal l cal l suc h a perspective—the body . The bod y i s one's perspectiv e o n th e world . The bod y ca n b e understoo d i n term s o f thre e dimensions . Th e first we hav e alread y mentioned : th e bod y a s one' s perspectiv e o n th e world . The othe r tw o ar e the bod y a s seen b y others, and th e body' s (conscious ness') realizatio n o f itsel f a s seen b y others. A peculiar aspec t o f my perspective i s that I cannot surpas s it . It is , in effect, non-positiona l by me. Tak e awa y th e perspectiv e o f m y eyes , fo r instance, and I see nothing; my flesh , m y nerves, I feel nothing . Bu t thes e

Can Men Worship? 23 aspects o f perspectivit y ca n b e extended . M y ocula r perspectiv e ca n b e extended b y a telescope ; m y finger tip s ca n b e extende d b y a walkin g cane; my height, b y high-heeled boots . These perspective s ar e no t identi cal wit h me . They ar e artificial , bu t the y enhanc e m y perspectiv e o n th e world. Without a perspective, I will b e an anonymou s consciousnes s withou t a poin t o f reference . I would b e a view , literally , fro m nowher e (Nage l 1986). Since my perspectiv e canno t b e surpasse d b y me , I , i n effect , liv e m y perspective. I t i s simultaneou s wit h my choices . M y movemen t an d my perspective ar e one ; my choices , m y feelings , ar e th e same . I ca n liv e myself freely—as , metaphorically , fluid—or I can liv e myself unfreely — as, again metaphoricall y speaking , congealed, slimy . Think, first, o f fluid movement. W e can liv e our bod y a s freedom. W e stride, wit h suc h a n attitude , wit h grac e an d a simultaneou s sens e o f responsibility. W e move becaus e we will t o do so . But suppose ou r sens e of movemen t take s th e for m o f self-denial . W e d o no t walk . W e ar e "pushed" o n b y either circumstances o r an imaginar y presenc e a s thoug h we were effect t o an external cause. The more causally affecte d w e move, the more w e liv e and regar d ourselve s a s linked t o a chain o f event s tha t we ma y clai m i s beyon d ou r control . I don't rais e m y hand ; m y han d i s raised. I don't hesitat e t o ge t ou t o f be d o n a col d morning ; m y bod y i s either aslee p o r immobilize d b y th e chill . Ba d fait h i n thi s contex t i s th e assumption o f ou r body' s bein g a thin g i n th e world , a thin g tha t i s n o different fro m woo d floating o n water . Thi s for m o f ba d fait h i s th e assumption o f presenc e (facticity ) wit h a denia l o f absenc e (transcen dence). Sartr e discusse s transcendence , however , i n ambiguou s ways . Transcendence ca n pertai n t o tha t whic h i s other tha n consciousness , i n which cas e it could b e an objec t o r a fact, whic h suggest s tha t a transcen dent objec t ca n als o b e factical . Bu t i t ca n als o pertai n t o tha t whic h transcends o r i s constitute d beyon d fact s o r th e presen t moment , i n which cas e i t ca n b e (fo r Sartre ) "nothingness, " th e future , possibility , or freedom . Ou r us e is restricted t o th e secon d interpretation . The bod y i s a live d ambiguity . Th e bod y ca n b e seen , heard , smelled , felt. In this regard, the body appear s a s a thing-in-itself. Th e body, living , breathing, acting , choosing, intending—tha t body , manifestin g al l thos e significations o f th e huma n bein g a s a metastable , elusiv e intention — comes t o th e for e i n th e singl e advancemen t o f th e bod y a s freedom . A

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corpse, for instance , is not a bod y i n th e sens e i n which w e ar e consider ing body . Suc h a thin g i s unsituated , sinc e a situatio n i s ultimatel y a n anguish-riddled confrontatio n wit h choic e (Sartr e 1956 : 83 , 409, 432) . Corpses, fo r rathe r obviou s reasons , don' t choos e t o d o anything . Ye t a consequence o f assumin g o r choosin g th e existenc e o f a corps e i s th e denial o f th e transcenden t aspect s o f th e body : th e bod y appears , bu t i t appears als o a s the locu s o f possibilitie s i n the world. 4 The possibilitie s o f a see n bod y ar e no t physiologicall y holistic . I n semantic terms , th e bod y ha s a variet y o f interpretations , althoug h it s spatial-temporal coordinat e i s a single referent. Th e bod y signifie s differ ent meaning s i n different situations. 5 The final dimensio n i s tha t o f awarenes s o f objectification : th e bod y understood a s an awarenes s o f bein g see n b y others. This las t dimensio n has a rich histor y i n psycholog y an d philosophy—think , fo r instance , of the work o f Simon e de Beauvoir an d Jacques Laca n (cf . Bergoffe n 1992) . The consequenc e o f thi s dimensio n i s a sens e o f th e sel f a s an Other ; th e face tha t w e thin k o f whe n w e thin k o f ourselve s i s an understandin g o f ourselves fro m th e outside . I t is an estrange d intimacy . T h e Spiri t o f Seriousnes s The spiri t o f seriousnes s i s a twofold attitude . In on e form , i t is the vie w that value s are external, material feature s o f the world. Values, from thi s point o f view, exist independentl y o f huma n beings . Another for m o f th e spirit o f seriousnes s i s th e notio n o f self-importanc e beyon d th e scop e of judgment . Wit h thi s attitude , one' s existenc e become s "necessary, " "justified." "I t i s not simpl y tha t I exit, but, " suc h a seriou s ma n migh t say, " I must exist ; I ought t o exist. " W e regar d th e spiri t o f seriousnes s as a for m o f ba d fait h becaus e i t calls fo r th e eliminatio n o f th e anguis h of responsibilit y ove r values : objectifie d value s negat e th e anguis h o f being responsible fo r thos e values as lived. Do or die , we encounter goo d in th e world , unde r th e seriou s attitude , bu t w e ar e no t responsibl e for it . The classic case of th e seriou s spiri t i s the cosmogony an d theodic y o f the Persia n Mani , "th e Apostl e o f God, " fro m whos e nam e w e hav e gained th e term Manichaeism. Mani' s syste m wa s base d o n a dualism o f material goo d an d evi l i n the worl d (Wilso n 1967 : 149-50) . Unde r suc h a model , one can ri d th e world o f evil as one can eliminat e bacteri a fro m

Can Men Worship? 23 a glas s o f wate r b y heatin g th e water . I n The Respectful Prostitute (1955), Sartre' s misogynist/racis t characte r Fre d declare s th e Man ichaean credo ; lookin g a t th e be d i n whic h h e ha s jus t spen t th e nigh t with th e prostitut e Lizzy , h e announce s tha t "I t smell s o f sin. " Why ? The odor s o f semen , discharge , an d swea t permeat e th e room . Si n liter ally invade s hi s nostril s an d violate s hi s lungs . O n blacks , h e advance s his ontology : " A nigge r ha s alway s don e something. " Why ? Because h e is a "nigger. " Serious value s needn' t b e limite d t o attitude s towar d people . W e regard som e material thing s as food an d other s a s not food , eve n thoug h we can ea t either . Instea d o f admittin g tha t w e make certai n thing s foo d by desirin g them , w e trea t thei r desirabilit y a s thei r intrinsi c features . "For th e spiri t o f seriousness, " write s Sartre , "bread i s desirable becaus e it i s necessary t o liv e ( a valu e writte n i n a n intelligibl e heaven ) an d because brea d i s nourishing" (Sartr e 1956 : 706) . With suc h a n attitude , we fac e "inedible " object s a s thoug h w e don' t pla y a rol e i n thei r determination or , i n phenomenologica l terms , "constitution " a s food. 6 We ac t a s thoug h th e anguis h o f whethe r t o ea t o r no t t o ea t certai n things wer e no t i n ou r hands . Ther e ar e man y nourishin g substance s that w e don' t desir e or conside r t o b e food . The ultimat e figure o f seriousnes s i s Absolut e Consciousness—on e that ha s achieve d itsel f a s it s objec t o f desire : God . Go d serve s a s a n external, objectiv e impetu s o f al l value . Bu t i f Go d wer e t o shout , "D o X!" th e reaso n why canno t b e God . Consider, fo r instance , th e stor y o f Ada m an d Eve . Unti l Yahwe h posed th e proble m o f eatin g fro m th e Tre e o f Knowledg e o f Goo d an d Evil, there wa s n o existentia l situatio n posed . W e ca n g o farther : Ther e were n o huma n beings—i n th e sens e o f matur e creature s o f self-reflec tion. Ther e wa s libert y withou t freedom. 7 A t th e momen t o f Yahweh' s command, the y wer e place d i n anguis h an d wer e thrus t int o freedom . For Yahwe h coul d onl y serv e a s hi s ow n justificatio n a t thi s point : whether i t wa s righ t o r wron g t o obe y Yahwe h wa s pose d t o the m a s a problem fo r the m t o decide . I t i s i n obeyin g Yahwe h tha t the y woul d have substantiated th e command, Thou shalt be obeyed!, bu t i t is also i n disobeying Yahwe h tha t the y pose d thei r ow n responsibility . Th e ver y possibility o f disobeyin g Yahwe h thrus t the m beyon d Yahweh. 8 The y were throw n int o th e negativit y o f thei r ow n freedom . Ironically , thei r freedom wa s establishe d b y the restriction o f thei r liberty .

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Yet, our problem goe s deeper. Fo r now w e see that th e very possibilit y of Yahwe h i s insufficien t fo r th e eliminatio n o f anguish . Anguis h i s a confrontation wit h the self; it is a confrontation wit h one's responsibilit y for makin g choice s i n one' s situations . Eve n i f ther e wer e God , w e fac e the questio n o f ho w t o ac t towar d "Him. " I f w e disobey , w e reduc e th e value o f God' s comman d t o us . If w e obey , w e mak e i t th e sam e fo r us . Thus, i f w e clai m tha t th e command s wer e valuabl e b y virtu e o f thei r source—God—we woul d b e i n ba d faith . W e woul d b e lyin g t o our selves. The Sartrea n formulatio n i s atheistic i n a strangel y religiou s way . Manliness We no w conside r a bad-fait h situatio n o f manhood . A human being , w e say, defie s identity . Sartr e expresse s man' s existenc e a s a defianc e o f identity, a s ma n bein g wha t h e i s no t an d no t bein g wha t h e is . Onl y objects o f consciousness—seemingl y things-in-themselves—ar e properl y beings whos e identit y i s one-with-themselves , being s tha t ar e "solid " i n their being . Ye t a ma n qu a hi s masculinit y appear s unequivocal . H e i s solid. He fills things. Nothing enter s him . He i s closed. Let us imagine a figure who accept s such a n identity , such a n interpre tation o f himself . Hi s "closedness " make s hi s perspectiv e tha t o f a n emanation fro m th e cente r o f reference . A s a bein g who m h e regard s a s invulnerable t o entry , h e thrust s himsel f int o th e worl d a s pure , close d flesh—a protrusio n o f being—th e modus operandi o f th e phallus . Suc h a ma n live s himsel f a s sealed , a s a bein g withou t holes . Hi s ver y move ment throug h spac e ha s th e sens e o f a spea r i n flight, o r ligh t jabbin g it s way throug h vacuou s darkness . Woman, i n thi s scheme , become s a n absence—i n ol d Jungia n an d Adlerian jargon , holes . Ye t th e fleshiness o f woman—he r breasts , he r inclined stomach' s fa t lining , he r buttocks—defie s suc h a n ascription . So we ma y add : wherea s th e mal e flesh protrudes , th e femal e flesh, see n under thi s schema , live s a s th e threa t o f implosion ; i t i s regarde d fro m the standpoin t o f a masculinit y o f seriousnes s an d powe r a s flesh cavin g in, flesh "succumbing" t o invasion . We shoul d not e tha t thi s analysis i s of a particular for m o f interpreta tion o f gende r identity—on e tha t i s premise d upo n ba d faith . Me n an d women ar e reduce d t o binar y existent s o f powe r an d weakness . I t i s a

Can Men Worship? 24 form o f bad-fait h reductio n fo r th e obviou s reaso n tha t i t fail s t o admi t the viability o f alternative , live d interpretation s o f huma n beings . A hol e needn't, fo r instance , b e passive. I t can als o b e inviting , swallowing , etc . As Freud remarked , We are accustomed to say that every human being displays both male and female instinctual impulses , need s an d attributes; bu t thoug h anatomy , i t i s true, ca n point out the characteristic of maleness and femaleness, psychology cannot. For psychology the contrast betwee n the sexes fades awa y into one between activity and passivity , i n whic h w e fa r to o readil y identif y activit y wit h malenes s an d passivity with femaleness , a view which is by no means universally confirmed i n the animal kingdom. (Freud 1961 : 58-59) The masculine-feminin e dynami c live s o n th e leve l o f th e symbolic . This masculine-feminin e dichotom y als o ha s racia l form . Whitenes s i s regarded a s presence, as being. Blackness is regarded a s absence of being . Frantz Fano n ha s observe d tha t ther e i s a homoeroti c dimensio n o f antiblack racis m (Fano n 1967) . I n th e presenc e o f a whit e man , a blac k man stand s a s a gaping , blac k hol e i n bein g t o b e filled b y a whit e presence. Le t u s tak e thi s observatio n t o anothe r level—tha t th e blac k man i s positione d a s a symbo l o f th e feminin e whe n confronte d b y th e white man. The confrontation woul d no t necessaril y b e homosexual, bu t would b e misogynistic. This would mea n tha t th e blac k mal e or th e mal e of colo r ma y b e situate d a s woma n o r th e symbo l o f th e feminin e i n a n antiblack world . Consider a n example . I n the popular film The Crying Game (1992) , a white Iris h terroris t discover s tha t a blac k woma n who m h e ha s bee n seeing i s a male. Bu t i s s/he? Throughout th e film, dimension s o f mascu linity an d femininit y ar e preserved . Th e whit e protagonist' s identit y o f being a ma n isn' t threatened . Th e leitmoti f i s tha t an y ma n ca n under stand wh y the protagonist woul d maintai n a relationship wit h thi s transvestite. Th e film dre w grea t attentio n fro m "mainstream " audiences . Would th e film hav e bee n popula r an d woul d th e significanc e o f th e characters maintai n it s integrity i f the transvestit e wer e white ? At th e en d o f th e film, a whit e femal e Iris h terroris t confront s th e black Englis h transvestite . I t is clear i n the scen e that sh e is a "man " an d he i s a "woman"—althoug h i n th e scen e h e i s dressed i n a white cricke t outfit an d sh e i s dressed i n blac k leather . Bot h hol d blac k guns . Where , in thi s scene , stands th e phallus ? Th e phallu s cut s throug h th e confusio n of deco y phalli . If bot h character s wer e strippe d dow n t o thei r ontologi -

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cal essentials—that is , their bodies—th e matri x o f powe r emerge s in ful l bloom. The phallu s appear s t o b e white skin . Gender identit y i s mor e complex , o f course , tha n bodil y presenta tions. It should b e clear, fo r instance , that th e hallmar k o f th e phallu s i n The Crying Game exampl e i s power . Bu t ho w coul d a whit e woma n have powe r i n suc h a way tha t make s he r stan d a s a ma n befor e a blac k man? Sartre i s instructive here . In Being and Nothingness, h e observe s tha t it i s th e hallmar k o f powe r t o b e abl e t o regar d boundarie s a s fictions. From th e standpoin t o f th e bourgeoisie , fo r instance , th e proletariat' s assertion o f a class struggle i s misguided sinc e there "are " supposedl y n o classes. Bu t fo r th e proletaria t th e realit y o f classe s i s confronted , i s lived, every day . Thus, when th e bourgeoisi e den y tha t the y i n fac t hav e more powe r tha n th e proletaria t an d asser t tha t ther e ar e n o clas s distinctions, the y mak e themselve s bourgeoi s i n thei r attitudes . Fo r the y can ac t upo n thei r assertions , whic h reinforce s thei r delusions . The y don't hav e boundaries . The y constitut e them . The y ar e wh o al l mus t contend wit h an d eventuall y surpas s t o liv e and t o mak e a living in thei r society. That i s what i t mean s t o hav e power . Similarly , a whit e woma n may hav e fewer boundarie s tha n a blac k ma n i n an antiblac k world . Sh e stands befor e hi m a s a presenc e whe n i t comes t o matter s o f recognitio n before th e law . Sh e knows tha t i n th e eye s of he r societ y he r lif e i s mor e valuable tha n his . A similar phenomeno n occur s amon g blacks . Middle class black s hav e mor e option s tha n working - o r so-calle d underclas s blacks. I n relatio n t o othe r blacks , then , a middle-clas s blac k ma y sa y that rac e doesn' t matter , bu t tha t i s because h e has the luxury o f dealin g with differen t racia l dynamic s tha n th e lin k betwee n rac e an d poverty . He know s tha t hi s economi c statu s make s hi m appea r mor e valuabl e than lower-clas s blacks . Yet, he knows tha t i n an antiblac k society , class status doesn' t tea r dow n al l boundaries . Corne l West' s reflection s i n hi s preface t o Race Matters ar e instructiv e here : I waited an d waited . Afte r th e nint h tax i refuse d me , my blood bega n t o boil . The tent h tax i refuse d m e and stoppe d fo r a kind, well-dressed smilin g femal e fellow citize n of European descent . As she stepped i n the cab, she said, "Thi s is really ridiculous, is it not?" Ugly racial memories of the past flashed through my mind. Years ago, while driving from Ne w York t o teach a t Williams College , I was stopped on fake charges of trafficking cocaine . When I told the police office r I was a professor o f religion, he replied "Yeh , and I'm the Flying Nun. Let's go,

Can Men Worship? 24 nigger!" I was stopped thre e times i n my first ten day s i n Princeton fo r drivin g too slowly on a residential street with a speed limit of twenty-five mile s per hour. (West 1993: x) In the context o f race, gender signification s betra y their symboli c charac ter. On e i s not simpl y a man o r a woman . A Seriou s M a n ' s W o r s h i p Imagine a ma n wh o regard s hi s "manliness " t o b e a materia l featur e o f his being . H e i s th e objectiv e value—white , masculine . I f h e i s objec tively masculine— a whit e protrusio n o f flesh an d powe r stickin g itsel f out a t th e world—ho w doe s h e stan d i n relatio n t o God ? I f h e permit s God t o "enter, " s o t o speak , hi s identit y coul d b e lost . Bu t i f h e pene trates God , the n eithe r Go d i s blac k o r woma n o r homosexual , o r h e regards himsel f a s God. 9 At thi s poin t w e nee d t o tak e a paus e an d contrac t th e parameter s o f our discussion . I shoul d lik e t o sa y tha t I suspec t tha t th e relativis m implicit i n cultura l anthropologica l approache s t o th e questio n o f reli gious variatio n i s fallacious . Ther e i s th e fals e dilemm a o f a n exclusiv e disjunction betwee n a single religious Weltanschauung an d a multiplicit y of cultura l monad s eac h distinc t an d epistemologicall y problemati c t o the other . Thos e ar e no t necessaril y ou r alternatives . Ther e i s als o th e possibility tha t religion s hav e bot h share d an d differen t features—i f no t in thei r intrinsi c structure , certainl y s o i n virtu e o f th e historica l fac t o f cultural cross-fertilization . Thus , t o translat e anothe r religiou s worl d view int o one' s ow n i s not identica l wit h eithe r claimin g i t i s one's ow n or claimin g tha t i t is a versio n o f th e othe r t o begi n with . I t could b e th e discovery tha t i t i s neithe r one' s ow n no r anothers ' exclusively . Thus , my decisio n t o restric t m y discussio n t o th e Judeo-Christia n historica l situation(s) i s simpl y a functio n o f th e fac t tha t I simpl y kno w mor e about i t (o r them) . M y restrictio n doesn' t argu e fo r it s universalit y o r particularity. Onl y thi s author' s particularity . Let u s conside r Genesi s 1:1—5 , wher e Yahwe h i s introduce d a s a presenting o r constituting substance . In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form , an d void ; and darknes s was upon th e fac e of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

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And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from th e darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. (King James Version) Whatever th e author(s ) ma y hav e mean t i n thi s passage , i t i s clear tha t a grea t dea l o f my discussio n follow s almos t axiomaticall y fro m thi s cosmogony. It i s theologicall y problemati c t o clai m tha t Yahwe h "enters " any thing. Ye t i n th e Genesi s stor y somethin g i s adde d tha t wa s previousl y absent. Yahwe h i s clearly a positiv e force , a forc e tha t stick s ou t (o r in) , protrudes, an d enlightens . Yahwe h i s powerful . Yahwe h i s masculine . Yahweh i s white. There i s obviousl y somethin g problemati c abou t engenderin g an d racializing God . Althoug h Go d "needs " neithe r ski n no r penis , "He " certainly need s power . I n fact , th e orthodo x interpretatio n i s tha t h e i s potency (cf . Jone s 1973) . Tha t th e phallu s i s no t necessaril y a peni s and tha t gende r i s no t necessaril y a functio n o f genitali a (despit e it s etymological significance ) enabl e u s to dea l with a n obviou s "Catc h 22" ; even i f Yahwe h ha d femal e genitals , "she " woul d stil l b e a "he. " An d i f God ha d blac k skin ? Yahweh i s linke d t o th e light . I t doesn' t hel p matter s t o retor t her e that thi s linkag e i s only symbolic , fo r ou r poin t i s that gender , race , an d power ar e symboli c realitie s a s well . Tha t on e symbo l ca n tak e o n a n identity relatio n wit h anothe r i n ba d fait h i s conceded . Tha t doesn' t mean tha t th e identit y relatio n canno t b e critically interpreted . We no w fac e a numbe r o f problems . W e canno t questio n i n th e abstract, "Ca n me n worshi p wit h enthusiasm? " Thi s i s becaus e "men " has bee n reveale d t o b e a complex , ambiguou s concept . W e mus t no w ask, "Ca n white s worshi p wit h enthusiasm? " I t i s clea r tha t whit e women ar e alread y constructe d wit h a dua l problemati c situatio n i n ou r analysis, fo r the y ar e "men " int o who m i t i s generally considere d legiti mate to enter. I say "generally " becaus e there are complex ritual s aroun d legitimate entry of white women. In Christianity, fo r instance , the association o f cleanlines s wit h God' s relatio n t o Christ' s mothe r ha s lef t a symbolic heritag e o f a master's/power' s accessibilit y t o al l wome n an d the relegatio n o f som e wome n t o th e tra p o f becomin g sacre d artifacts . They ar e th e epitom e o f th e objec t o f violation . Bu t note , i t i s generall y legitimate t o enter white women whe n thei r symboli c whitenes s ha s bee n

Can Men Worship? 24 eliminated. A whit e woma n "womanized " i s symbolicall y a n emascu lated male . She is, at tha t point , "colored. " So we are left wit h th e white ma n a s our focus . How ca n suc h a figure receive God ? Perhaps w e should discus s what i s at stak e i f he is rendered incapabl e of receivin g God . Le t u s conside r th e Christia n notio n o f salvation . Salvation i s mor e tha n th e situatio n o f bein g brough t bac k t o lif e b y God. I t i s also th e realizatio n o f bot h deservin g t o b e i n th e Kingdo m o f God an d bein g there . On e need s firs t t o commi t a n ac t o f repentance . From th e Sartrea n standpoint , repentanc e i s loade d wit h futilit y i n a world i n which , a t leas t morally , loser s win . Onl y th e oppressed , i t seems, can attai n salvation . Eac h individua l bourgeoi s cannot, fo r exam ple, change th e relationshi p betwee n th e bourgeoisi e an d th e proletariat , yet h e i s nevertheles s responsibl e fo r suc h a relationship . Shoul d h e choose t o fight on behal f o f social justice or working-class emancipation , his projec t appear s bankrup t i n virtu e o f th e realizatio n tha t revolutio n is not for him. Th e whit e face s a simila r circumstance ; i n th e end , ther e is th e realizatio n tha t racia l justic e i s no t fo r whites. An d "men " an d "women"? T o b e a blac k woman , i t ha s bee n argued , i s t o b e a t th e bottom o f th e racial/gende r hierarchy . Thi s means , argu e som e blac k women theologians , tha t the y ar e th e embodimen t o f Chris t (se e Gran t 1989). T o b e a whit e ma n ma y ultimatel y mean , i n thi s historica l mo ment, t o b e theologically condemned . The whit e ma n finds himsel f facin g thre e possibilities , i f h e seek s salvation: (1 ) an identit y relatio n wit h God , (2 ) recognition o f a n ambig uous huma n situation , or (3 ) rejection o f th e whole theologica l problem atic. Sartre , a s i s wel l known , opt s fo r th e third , bu t h e retain s a grea t deal o f religiou s baggag e i n hi s conceptio n o f wha t i t mean s t o b e human: th e desir e t o b e Go d (cf . Bon i 1982 : 169-80) . Sartr e i s thu s i n support o f (3) , but hi s philosophica l conceptio n o f ma n stand s firmly i n (1). Sinc e ou r focu s i s o n religiou s salvation , (3 ) wil l no t concer n u s except insofa r a s it relates t o th e Sartrea n interpretatio n o f (1) . If th e whit e ma n opt s fo r (1) , h e attempt s no t onl y t o becom e God , but h e als o make s himsel f Man . Th e histor y o f th e whit e ma n a s Ma n need no t b e spelle d ou t here . Suffic e i t t o sa y tha t i t is , in th e least , th e history o f antiblac k racism . I f the whit e ma n become s God , the n ther e i s no nee d t o le t Go d "in. " He , th e whit e ma n interprete d a s God , enter s others. Bu t th e whit e ma n know s tha t h e i s no t God . H e know s this ,

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from th e Sartrea n perspective , no t onl y becaus e h e i s i n fac t no t God , but als o because a s a conscious bein g he is able to pose Go d as an objec t of hi s desir e wit h whic h h e i s no t identical . Th e argumen t i s complex , but i n brief for m i t is that i n order t o be conscious of an object, w e must be abl e t o "nihilate " th e object. W e must b e able t o pu t i t at a distanc e from ourselves . Josep h S . Catalan o summarize s Sartre' s comple x argu ment: One of the most strikin g thing s about Sartre' s notio n o f being is that h e maintains tha t th e principl e o f identit y i s synthetic. A is A; a tre e i s a tree . True , Sartre claims , bu t thi s identit y i s constituted b y its relatio n t o consciousness . Consciousness i s consciousness . False , Sartr e claims , fo r wh o o r wha t coul d constitute it s identity over time . Who or what could hol d i t in existence? God ? Perhaps. If h e existed; but , I believe tha t a proper Sartria n answe r i s that no t even God could create a knowing being that would be a knowing being; it would always hav e t o b e at a distance fro m itsel f t o b e aware o f itself . Without thi s lack o f identity , knowledg e woul d collaps e int o a n in-itsel f o f a mechanica l force. (1990: 66$-66) To tak e th e rout e o f a n identit y relatio n t o Go d i s a for m o f self deception. Th e white ma n ma y b e white an d henc e powerful , an d Go d may be powerful, bu t the white man is not God. Yet, if God is powerful , would no t Go d the n b e white an d therefor e symbolicall y identica l wit h the whit e man ? I f thi s i s so, then ho w coul d a whit e ma n b e deceivin g himself i f he declares himsel f God ? Wouldn' t h e be recognizing th e fac t of whitenes s a s Fano n urge d everyon e t o admi t "th e fac t o f blackness " (1967)? Ho w ca n h e b e deceivin g himsel f b y recognizin g th e symboli c truth o f himself ? We rais e her e a n equivocation tha t pushe s the white ma n int o optio n (2), t o stan d befor e Go d i n a wa y tha t enable s hi m t o recogniz e hi s incompleteness—that h e is existentially nothin g bu t sociall y situate d a s something. H e i s existentia l absence , bu t h e i s socia l presence . Th e antiblack worl d throw s blacks/wome n int o the non-realm o f the existential. To bring God "in" therefore require s a recognition o f his existential situation. Hi s existential situatio n i s that h e cannot b e saved a s a whit e man. If h e cannot b e save d a s a whit e man , can h e b e save d a s a huma n being? Her e th e problem take s o n a different dimension . Fo r the huma n being is an embodiment o f presence-absence. I f we interpret th e body a s presence, then we face th e same stoc k o f problems. The human bod y has

Can Men Worship? 24 to b e regarded i n differen t terms ; it ha s t o b e capable o f bein g entered — not i n th e sens e o f havin g a hol e o r bein g "possessed, " bu t i n th e sense o f bein g ope n i n it s embodiment . Th e huma n bod y ha s t o b e th e embodiment o f authenti c living , of authenti c "practice. " We ar e no w compelle d t o reconside r som e o f ou r previou s observa tions. Recal l tha t i t i s a for m o f ba d fait h t o den y one' s embodiment . I t is als o a for m o f ba d fait h t o den y one' s transcendence . Conside r als o that ba d fait h i s a chosen attitude ; otherwise, we would no t b e responsi ble fo r ou r ba d faith . I f i t i s inauthenti c t o mak e onesel f closed — because i t i s t o liv e o n th e leve l o f substantiation—an d i t i s a for m o f inauthenticity t o mak e onesel f completel y ope n (fo r th e sam e reason) , then th e notio n o f th e spiri t o f seriousnes s ha s t o b e revise d (cf . Sartr e 1992: 3-4) . Fo r th e proble m o f inauthenti c worshi p i s raised— a prob lem tha t coul d no t b e raise d i f worshi p in-itsel f wer e inauthentic . Bu t how coul d thi s be , sinc e worshipin g depend s o n th e conceptio n o f th e self a s open—tha t is , a s enthusiastic ? W e hav e alread y see n that , give n the interpretation s o f masculinit y an d femininity , whit e an d black , power an d weakness , an d presenc e an d absence , the white mal e figure i s mired i n a situation o f inauthenti c worship . We have added tha t fo r hi m to b e responsibl e fo r hi s situatio n require s th e possibilit y o f authenti c worship. What woul d thi s be ? Inauthentic worshi p i s th e reductio n o f huma n realit y t o an y on e aspect o f it s mode o f living . Thus no t onl y i s the presentatio n o f th e sel f as pur e presenc e a for m o f ba d faith ; i t i s als o a for m o f ba d fait h t o present th e sel f a s pur e absence . Th e strikin g conclusion , then , i s tha t worship i s inauthentic . Bu t w e see m t o hav e com e upo n a paradox . W e have argue d tha t pur e opennes s i s a n inhuma n mod e o f being . I f w e were ope n withou t choice s tha t constitut e bein g open , the n t o b e ope n to Go d woul d b e a mode o f bein g that i s no differen t fro m water' s bein g open t o ou r plungin g ourselve s int o it . A huma n mod e o f existenc e emerges wher e ther e i s choice . Authenti c worshi p mus t therefor e b e a form o f presentatio n o f one' s responsibilit y fo r one' s relatio n t o th e object o f one' s (presume d good ) faith . On e lets th e spiri t in . Conclusion The possibilitie s o f mal e worshi p considere d her e ar e mean t t o rais e some question s abou t religiou s practice s tha t ma y hav e a n impac t o n

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gender/race identity . The y ar e no t mean t a s an y definitiv e statemen t o n male religious ritual . What I hope the reader ha s begun t o consider i s the complexity o f th e proble m o f interpretin g gende r an d racia l role s i n religious contexts. If the symboli c become s ontological, then th e arra y o f rituals availabl e ma y experienc e wha t Judit h Butle r describe s a s "trou ble" (Butle r 1990 : preface) . Sh e use s th e ter m i n th e Sartrea n sense , where consciousnes s i s "clogged " an d live s itsel f a s unfreedom . Th e body live s i n man y way s tha t betra y suc h trouble . W e se e i t i n it s posture, it s motion, it s intensity—flesh attemptin g t o liv e on th e leve l of an idea l tha t i t i s not. Wha t th e mal e subject , an d particularl y th e whit e male subject , face s fro m thi s standpoin t i s th e problematizin g o f hi s religious experience . Worshi p i s for him , shoul d h e attemp t t o maintai n his masculine identit y i n the process , a homoerotic ritual . He i s a phallu s who let s "in " a phallus . Th e psychoanalytica l significanc e o f thi s obser vation i s obvious, but i t is my hope that examinatio n ma y follow beyon d the realm s o f homophobia , misogyny , an d racism . I f th e symboli c func tions o n a leve l tha t seem s almos t "ontological, " i t ma y b e fruitfu l t o consider th e possibilitie s o f a phenomenolog y o f th e worshipin g body . I leave that fo r furthe r stud y (se e part 4 of Gordo n 1995) .

NOTES I woul d lik e t o than k Carri e Schaffer , Leonar d Harris , Jacqueline Marina , William McBride, Renee White, Patricia Huntington, Gary Schwartz, and Bjorn Krondorfer fo r thei r helpfu l criticism s an d suggestion s o n previou s version s of this paper . I would als o lik e to thank th e Women's Studie s Program a t Purdu e University fo r providin g me with a forum i n which t o present this paper durin g the Fall 199 3 semester. 1. B y "worship " I mea n a practic e o r ritua l th e purpos e o f whic h i s t o encourage th e presenc e o f Go d o r a similarl y revere d figure. I us e th e wor d "practice" i n the spiri t o f John Rawls' s instructiv e essay . He writes, " I us e the word 'practice ' throughou t a s a sor t o f technica l ter m meanin g an y for m o f activity specified b y a system of rules which defines offices , roles , moves, penalties, defenses, an d s o on, and whic h give s the activity it s structure. As example one may think of games and rituals, trials and parliaments" (1980: 581). 2. Th e form o f ba d fait h discusse d i n this text i s the presentation o f image s in the mode of perceptions. Perceptions are effects; whereas images are presentations. One chooses o r effect s a n image , whereas on e suffers o r i s affected b y a perception. 3. I leave asid e her e th e metaphysica l proble m o f wha t woul d constitut e a world without objects. For wouldn't such a world b e an object?

Can Men Worship? 24 4. I leave aside here a discussion of mind-body dualism. Suffice i t to say that from th e standpoin t o f a Sartrea n analysis , th e dichotom y i s betwee n bein g situated and being unsituated. A corpse is a different kin d of being from a body. For a phenomenological perspective , see Schrag 1969 ; for a n analytical one , see chapter 3 in Nagel 1986. 5. Thi s aspect of th e body, the embodiment o f meaning, is developed i n the work o f Merleau-Pont y (1962) , especiall y par t 1 , chapte r 6 . Althoug h mos t philosophers se e great difference i n the analyses of Merleau-Ponty an d Sartre, it is the positio n o f thi s author tha t a t leas t o n th e leve l of th e bod y a s meaning, the difference ma y be a matter of emphasis; freedom, perspectivity , and meaning are different dimension s of the lived body. 6. A discussion o f th e phenomenologica l concep t o f constitutio n require s a separate study , bu t briefl y th e problem i s whether consciousnes s encounter s a n object constituted as a meaningful objec t or constitutes the object as meaningful. One i s a passiv e interpretatio n o f consciousnes s an d th e othe r i s active. Sartre takes u p thi s proble m i n hi s classi c polemic , The Transcendence of the Ego (1988). Fo r a n alternativ e discussio n o f th e problem(s ) o f constitution , se e HusserPs Cartesian Meditations (i960), especially th e third an d fourt h medita tions, and Solomon 1987 , chapters 10 , 13. 7. St . Augustine's efforts t o clean up the dirty business of theodicy left behind by th e Manichaean s too k hi m int o a seriou s quagmir e here ; see City of God, Book XIV: 10-12. He argued tha t Ada m an d Ev e sinned merel y by desiring the fruit o f knowledge . Ou r concer n i s wit h th e "nature " o f th e sin . Sinc e St . Augustine's argumen t depend s o n th e desire-'m-itse\f bein g sinful , w e coul d categorize hi s position a s a for m o f spiri t o f seriousness . Ada m an d Ev e were caught in a "Catch-22" : the problem of whether to obey or disobey God was a necessary condition fo r their freedom . 8. Thi s is implicit in St. Augustine's argument, that Adam and Eve sinned by virtue of desiring the fruit o f knowledge of good and evil. But his effort doesn' t get rid of the existential problem. The serious man would formulate th e problem thus: Where did suc h desir e come from ? Ou r poin t i s that th e desire i s ex post facto. The problem—whether t o ea t o f th e frui t o r not—prepare d th e groun d for desire . Thus ou r cas e i s stronger . Th e Fal l wa s implici t i n th e proble m o f freedom pose d by the injunction o f not eating from th e tree. 9. Leonar d Harris , whil e readin g a versio n o f thi s chapter , ha s note d tha t this consideration work s if and only if God is regarded, at least symbolically, as homo sapient . I here assume anthropomorphic imager y primaril y becaus e such is th e symbolis m o f th e Judeo-Christian heritag e i n whic h I a m makin g thes e investigations. REFERENCES

Saint Augustine. 1950. The City of God. Trans. Marcus Doas, with an Introduction by Thomas Merton. New York: Modern Library . Bergoffen, Debra . 1992 . "Castin g Shadows : The Bod y i n Descartes , Sartre , de

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Beauvoir, an d Lacan. " Bulletin de la Societe Americaine de Philosophie de Langue Francaise IV, nos. 2-3:232-43. Boni, Sylvain. 1982 . The Self and Other in the Ontologies of Sartre and Buber. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America. Butler, Judith. 1990 . Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge. Catalano, Joseph S . 1990 . "Successfull y Lyin g to Oneself : A Sartrian Perspec tive." Philosophy and Phenomenological Research L, no. 4 (June): 673-93. Fanon, Frantz . 1967 . Black Skin, White Masks. Trans. Charle s Lam m Mark mann. New York: Grove Press. Freud, Sigmund . 1961 . Civilization and Its Discontents. Trans, an d ed . James Strachey. Standard Edition. New York: W. W. Norton. Gordon, Lewi s R. 1995 . Bad Faith and Antiblack Racism. Atlantic Highlands , N.J.: Humanities Press. Grant, Jacquelyn . 1989 . White Women's Christ and Black Women's Jesus. Atlanta: Scholars Press. Husserl, Edmund . 1960 . Cartesian Meditations: An Introduction to Phenomenology. Trans. Dorio n Cairns . Dordrecht , Th e Netherlands : Martinu s Nij hoff. Jones, William. 1973 . Is God a White Racist? A Preamble to Black Theology. New York: Doubleday. Merleau-Ponty, Maurice . 1962 . Phenomenology of Perception. Trans. Coli n Smith. Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press. Nagel, Thomas. 1986 . The View from Nowhere. New York: Oxford Universit y Press. Rawls, John. 1980 . "Two Conceptions of Rules." In Philosophy of Law. 2d ed. Ed. Joel Feinberg and Hyman Gross. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth. Originally published in Philosophical Review 64 (1955): 3-13. Sartre, Jean-Paul . 1948a . Anti-Semite and Jew. Trans . Georg e Becker . Ne w York: Schocken Books. . 194 8 b. The Emotions: Outline of a Theory. Trans. Bernard Frechtman . New York: Philosophical Library. . 1955 . No Exit and Three Other Plays. Ne w York: Vintage. . 1956 . Being and Nothingness: A Phenomenological Essay on Ontology. Trans, and Intro. Hazel Barnes. New York: Washington Square Press. . 1988 . The Transcendence of the Ego: An Existentialist Theory of Consciousness. Trans, an d annotate d wit h Intro . Forres t William s an d Rober t Kirkpatrick. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. . 1992 . Notebooks for an Ethics. Trans. David Pellauer. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Schrag, Calvin . 1969 . Experience and Being: Prolegomena to a Future Ontology. Evanston, 111.: Northwestern University Press. West, Cornel. 1993. Race Matters. Boston: Beacon Press. Wilson, R . McL . 1967 . "Man i an d Manichaeism. " I n The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, vol . 5. Ed. Paul Edwards. New York: Macmillan.

TWE LV E

T h e Masculinit y o f Jesu s i Popular Religiou s Ar DAVID MORGA

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Popular America n piet y fro m th e secon d hal f o f th e nine teenth centur y t o the first hal f o f th e twentieth explore d differen t experi ences o f Jesu s a s a mal e ideal , constructin g hi s ministr y an d lif e i n terms o f hi s appea l t o men . Som e viewe d Chris t a s a gentle , effeminate , occasionally eve n homoeroti c friend ; other s portraye d hi m a s a n ethe real, mystical ideal ; and stil l other s sa w i n hi m a rugged , violen t revolu tionary. Conception s o f wha t Jesu s wa s lik e an d ho w h e migh t hav e appeared constantl y underwen t redefinitio n an d coul d eve n embrac e th e same visua l portrayal . I n a recen t stud y o f popula r respons e t o th e imagery o f Warne r Sallman , I discerne d a prominen t tendenc y amon g those who admired Sallman' s work (largel y women) t o see in his pictures of Jesus a visualizatio n o f a Christolog y o f friendship ; an d amon g thos e who dislike d hi s image s (primaril y me n an d mal e clergy ) a stron g con tempt fo r wha t the y considere d th e imagery' s effeminat e and/o r homo sexual characteristics (cf . Morga n 1996) . The latte r ofte n espouse d wha t I cal l a Christolog y o f th e sublime , a gendere d theologica l discours e which understand s Jesus a s unambiguously masculin e an d ofte n bes t lef t unvisualized. Eac h o f thes e response s i s a n interpretatio n roote d i n American religiou s histor y an d ha s mad e effectiv e us e o f image s t o promote it s experience o f Christia n piety . This chapte r wil l examin e th e 251

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12.i. Warne r Sallman , Head of Christy 1940 , oil on canvas. (By permission of Jessie C. Wilson Galleries, Anderson University). visual conceptio n o f Jesus an d th e treatment o f hi s masculinity b y focus ing o n th e receptio n o f on e imag e i n particular , Warne r Sallman' s Head of Christ (1940 ; figure I Z . I ) . I wis h t o demonstrat e th e ambiguitie s inherent i n th e appea l t o image s wit h regar d t o Christ' s masculinit y an d

The Masculinity of Jesus in Popular Religious Art 25 to sho w ho w image s hav e participate d i n popula r theologica l discours e and piety . Friendship with Jesus offers a n intimac y an d privac y that man y Chris tians sinc e th e nineteent h centur y an d th e ris e o f Dwigh t Moody' s gentler for m o f evangelis m hav e foun d appealin g (Butle r 1991 : 41-61). Informing an y numbe r o f revivalis t an d evangelica l hymn s o f th e las t century (e.g. , "Wha t a Frien d W e Hav e i n Jesus, " "Saviour , Lik e a Shepherd," an d Ir a Sankey' s " I A m Prayin g fo r You" ) wa s th e experi ence o f Jesus a s a tende r savior , th e comfortin g principl e tha t mitigate d the angr y fathe r deit y o f Calvinis m an d th e olde r revivalis m (se e nos . 583, 589 , 660 in Sankey, McGranaham, an d Stebbin s 1894) . The experience of Jesus a s frien d coul d eve n includ e a n intimac y tha t seem s homo erotic. The popula r hymn , "I n th e Garden, " foreground s a secre t meet ing between th e sou l an d th e "So n o f God" : I come to the garden alone While the dew is still on the roses; And the voice I hear, Falling on my ear; The Son of God discloses. And He walks with me, And He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known. (Rodeheaver 1939 : 187) In fact , th e eroti c characte r o f certai n instance s o f popula r religiou s culture seem s undeniable . In a boo k publishe d i n 1911 , aptly title d The Friendship of Jesus, th e dea n o f a Bibl e schoo l i n Ne w Yor k describe d the spirituality o f friendship wit h Jesus as one of privacy and homoeroti c intimacy. Speakin g o f hi s relationshi p wit h Jesus , Rober t Well s Veac h portrayed bot h Jesu s an d himsel f i n term s o f combine d opposites , e.g. , sweet an d strong , brav e an d gentle , joined i n a secluded quiet : We wal k an d wor k together , fo r H e i s eve r wit h me . Apar t fro m Hi s stron g sweet spirit I can be neither brave nor gentle. Very often w e seek a quiet place; it is a sacred tryst where love meets love with every passion purified . Again, in the wild rus h o f th e bus y worl d wher e H e love s so much t o mee t wit h thos e wh o toil, we mark off a little circle and talk together. Friendship with Jesus is the true sanctuary of the spirit; here we touch Go d breas t to breast and liv e anew in His love. (1911: 18)

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12.2. Gustav e Dore, Jonathan and David, engravin g after painting , n.cL {From Cobbin's Commentary on the Bible for Young and Old, vo l i . (Ne w York : Selmar Hess, 1876)},

The Masculinity of Jesus in Popular Religious Art 25 In languag e tha t perhap s wishe s t o emulat e th e eroti c mysticis m o f Teresa o f Avila bu t come s close r t o th e fantasie s o f Emm a Bovary , th e author sough t t o portra y friendshi p a s erotic , bu t no t sensual , a s "lov e with ever y passio n purified. " Bu t th e imag e o f touchin g Go d "breas t t o breast" doe s not see m entirel y purge d o f th e sensual . Friendship wit h someon e othe r tha n wit h Chris t coul d b e treate d similarly. A n engravin g o f th e famou s biblica l friends , Jonatha n an d David, produce d fro m a paintin g b y Gustav e Dor e an d use d i n th e American publicatio n o f Cobbin's Commentary on the Bible for Young and Old (1876) , i s a cas e i n poin t (figur e 12.2) . Th e stor y o f th e friendship bega n whe n Davi d appeare d befor e Saul , Jonathan' s father , after killin g Goliath. The smitte n Jonathan, whos e sou l wa s immediatel y "knit t o th e sou l o f Davi d [whom ] h e love d a s hi s ow n soul[, ] . . . stripped himsel f o f th e rob e tha t wa s upo n him , an d gav e i t t o David , and hi s armor , an d eve n hi s swor d an d hi s bo w an d girdle " ( 1 Samue l 18:1, 4) . The tw o "mad e a covenant " wit h on e anothe r o n th e basi s o f their love , whic h Jonatha n consecrate d b y givin g Davi d hi s clothing . After i t becam e clea r t o Sau l tha t hi s so n ha d allie d himsel f wit h David , he publicl y disgrace d Jonatha n wit h thes e words : "Yo u so n o f a per verse, rebellious woman , d o I not kno w tha t yo u hav e chosen th e so n o f Jesse t o you r ow n shame , an d t o th e sham e o f you r mother' s naked ness?" ( 1 Samuel 20:30) . Jonathan the n wen t t o David' s hidin g plac e t o warn hi s frien d o f Saul' s wrath . Friendshi p insert s itsel f i n th e plac e o f the angr y father . Th e tw o friend s "kisse d on e another , an d wep t wit h one another , unti l Davi d recovere d himself " (20:41) . Dor e picture d th e two friend s i n a secluded garden-like space (no t unlike the secret meetin g of "I n th e Garden") , on e frien d comfortin g anothe r wit h a n intimat e embrace (not e Jonathan' s han d beneat h David' s hair) . On e popula r commentator wrot e tha t Jonathan love d hi s frien d "wit h th e tendernes s of a woman " (Pierso n 1883 : 453). Th e contras t betwee n David' s rusti c clothing and Jonathan's finery, includin g the dagger a t which thei r hand s meet, recall s thei r first encounter , whic h th e Reveren d Cobbin' s Commentary sough t t o explai n a s a n attemp t a t makin g David , wh o ha d been dresse d a s a shepherd , "fi t t o appea r amon g th e peopl e o f [Saul's ] court" (273) . Friendship wit h Jesus i n nineteenth - an d twentieth-centur y Protestan t piety was likewise private, passionate, and situate d withi n a quiet garde n of picturesqu e beauty . I n contras t t o th e Christolog y o f th e sublime ,

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12.3. Warne r Sallman, Christ Our Pilot, 1950, oil on canvas. (By permission of Jessie C. Wilson Galleries, Anderson University).

The Masculinity of Jesus in Popular Religious Art 25 which equate d th e masculinity o f the Fathe r with hi s lofty inaccessibility , the Christology o f friendship , whic h s o many find visualized i n Sallman' s imagery, provide d acces s t o th e distan t Fathe r throug h th e friendl y Son . This is visualized i n a number o f pictures b y Sallman, such as Christ Our Pilot (1950 ; figure 12.3 ) wher e a privilege d relationshi p exist s betwee n older an d younge r males . Lik e th e hym n i t seem s t o illustrat e ("Jesus , Savior, Pilo t Me") , Sallman' s pictur e envision s Chris t pilotin g th e faith ful la d "ove r life' s tempestuou s sea. " Bu t Sallma n mad e n o referenc e t o the materna l elemen t i n th e hymn : "A s a mothe r still s he r child/Tho u canst hus h th e ocea n wild;/Boistrou s wave s obe y Th y will,/Whe n Tho u say'st t o them , 'B e Still! ' " (se e no . 366 , Sankey , McGranaham , an d Stebbins 1894. ) Instead , Sallman' s pictur e stresse s the masculin e charac ter o f th e relation : a mal e bondin g betwee n th e monumenta l Jesu s an d the tight-shirte d youn g sailor . Sallma n an d hi s appreciativ e publi c wer e probably concerne d t o find i n thi s an d othe r image s talisman s whic h addressed th e proble m o f securin g adolescen t male s withi n th e commu nity o f fait h b y conductin g the m throug h crucia l rite s o f passage . Th e task fo r th e imag e t o perfor m a s a gif t t o a youn g ma n consiste d o f visualizing hi s prope r relationshi p wit h Go d an d t o serv e as a marke r i n the passag e fro m yout h t o youn g adulthood . Th e imag e commemorate d and therefor e preserve d th e relationshi p betwee n th e gif t give r an d th e young male , despit e th e transi t fro m a lowe r ag e an d socia l statu s t o a superior one . In suc h image s a s Christ Our Pilot, Jesu s befriend s boy s and youn g me n i n orde r t o guid e the m o r t o teac h the m abou t hi s Father. Sallma n neve r portraye d Go d th e Fathe r i n hi s images , bu t consistently stresse d th e benevolen t Son , everyone' s Friend . Th e Christology o f friendshi p represente d Jesu s a s th e foca l poin t o f a devo tion tha t understoo d th e believer' s relationshi p t o th e distant o r invisibl e Father a s mediated throug h th e intercessory Son . In effect, th e friendshi p of Jesu s an d hi s visualizatio n i n Sallman' s devotiona l image s hav e ac complished fo r man y Protestant s wha t th e Virgi n an d he r votiv e image s (as well a s those o f othe r saints , male an d female ) hav e don e fo r Roma n Catholics i n America: mitigat e th e wrat h o f Go d an d ensur e th e benevo lent presenc e o f Go d i n one' s dail y life . Althoug h Protestant s hav e insisted o n representin g thi s intercessor y relationshi p i n th e singular , male figure of Jesus, his softened, gentle , quiet features i n many images — so offensive t o thos e wh o insis t o n hi s masculinity—i s likel y a n attemp t to imbu e a Protestan t Savio r wit h maternal , feminin e characteristic s

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regarded a s suitable fo r a benevolen t intercessor . Whe n th e categories o f male an d femal e ar e blurred , homophobi c viewer s associat e th e imag e with ga y sexuality . In fact , th e Head of Christ ha s evoke d a stark divergenc e o f response . The same fac e ha s inspired diametricall y oppose d reaction s amon g view ers. On e writer , fo r instance , responded t o a query abou t th e image wit h a stor y tol d t o hi m b y a loca l clergyma n wh o claime d tha t th e imag e could no t b e placed i n th e churc h buildin g becaus e i t wa s "to o muc h o f a come-o n fo r th e homo s i n th e paris h an d th e community." 1 B y con trast, a traditio n o f receptio n amon g conservativ e Christian s ha s see n the Head of Christ a s a distinctl y "manly " portraya l o f Jesus . I n 1943 , the Methodis t preache r T . Ott o Nai l quote d Sallma n a s statin g hi s intention thus : " I wante d t o mak e m y crayons pictur e a viril e Chris t fo r these rough days " (1943 : 6). Another write r speculate d i n the same year , when th e imag e ha d alread y bee n distribute d t o million s o f America n G.I.s, tha t th e pictur e ha d gaine d widesprea d acceptanc e becaus e al l o f Sallman's depiction s o f Chris t are uniform i n one respect—in emphasizing the "humanness" of the character. As a Sallman devotee once said, "He makes Christ a He-Man—not sof t an d effeminate." This factor , abov e al l others , ha s contribute d t o th e succes s o f hi s work . (Baylor 1943 : 26) Here, th e ver y humannes s o f Chris t i s identifie d a s hi s virility . T . Ott o Nail observe d tha t all types of people, many of them not professing Christians , have been attracted by the hig h brow , searchin g eyes , firm lips, forceful chi n o f th e Sallma n head . There is something in all of us that seeks out its strong manliness. (Nail 1943 : 6 ) The notio n o f a n instinctiv e respons e t o th e manl y authorit y o f Jesu s was formulate d fo r a popula r audienc e i n a bestsellin g boo k o f 1924 , Bruce Barton' s The Man Nobody Knows. Barton' s book , i n turn , re flected wha t ha d becom e in the first two decades of the twentieth centur y a concer n amon g Protestan t me n t o masculiniz e Christianit y b y re claiming i t from th e undu e influenc e o f wome n durin g th e Victoria n ag e (cf. Dougla s 1977 ; DeBer g 1990 : 75-98 ; Bederma n 1989 : 432-65) . Sallman recalle d i n th e earl y 1940s , afte r th e earl y succes s o f th e Head of Christ, tha t h e ha d receive d initia l encouragemen t fo r hi s vocatio n a s a Christia n artis t an d fo r hi s futur e projec t o f depictin g Jesu s fro m a

The Masculinity of Jesus in Popular Religious Art 25 faculty membe r o f Mood y Bibl e Institute, E. O. Sellers . In a forthcomin g biography o f Sallman , Jac k R . Lundbo m date s th e conversatio n wit h Sellers t o 1914. 2 Bu t th e dat e remain s unspecifie d i n th e frequentl y published an d varian t account s whic h appeare d fro m 194 3 o n (cf . Elli s 1944: 5-6 ; Nai l 1943 : 7). The fulles t versio n wa s publishe d i n 194 7 b y a frien d o f Sallman's : One Saturda y afternoo n [Sallman ] wa s calle d int o th e dean' s offic e wher e th e conversation went something like this: "I understan d tha t you'r e a n artist , Sallman , and I' m intereste d i n knowin g why you are attending the institute." "Well, I'm here because I wanted to increase my knowledge of the Scriptures. I want to be an illustrator of biblical subjects." "Fine! There is great need fo r Christia n artists . Sometime I hope you give us your conceptio n o f Christ . An d I hope it' s a manl y one . Most o f ou r picture s today are too effeminate. " "You mean to say you think Jesus was a more rugged type? More of a man's man?" "Yes, accordin g t o th e wa y I rea d m y Bible . W e kno w h e walke d grea t distances and slep t out unde r the stars; he was rugged an d strong. He preached in the desert, so He must hav e been tanned. More than that , the Word say s he set his face 'like a flint' to go down to Jerusalem, so he wasn't soft or flabby. We need a picture o f tha t kin d o f Christ , Sallman , an d I hope yo u wil l d o i t some day." (Peterson 1947 : n ) 3 Another versio n o f th e stor y adde d tha t Jesus wa s "th e Ma n wh o drov e the moneychanger s fro m th e Temple , an d face d Calvar y unafrai d an d triumphant" (Bevi s 1965 : $). 4 Th e accoun t suggest s tha t Sallman' s des tiny wa s t o respon d t o th e nee d fo r a n authenti c depictio n o f Jesus wh o had suffere d emasculatio n a t th e hand s o f artists . Althoug h Sallma n and thos e writin g hi s stor y remembe r hi s conversatio n wit h Seller s a s antedating th e 192 4 charcoal , an d therefor e servin g a s it s warrant , th e account resemble s a treatment o f Jesus that appeare d i n the same year i n The Man Nobody Knows. Barto n faulte d artist s fo r perverse , misleadin g images of th e savior , whom Barto n portraye d a s the executive authority , magisterial salesman , accomplishe d advertiser , an d manl y personalit y par excellence . Barto n sa w i n th e founde r o f Christianit y th e charte r fo r the moder n America n businessman . Barton' s wa s a viril e Chris t wh o was mean t t o contras t markedl y wit h th e feminizatio n o f Jesu s an d Christian life . Althoug h Barto n di d no t begrudg e Mar y he r importance , he saw a telling symptom i n he r fam e an d th e lon g disregard fo r Joseph :

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with th e glorificatio n o f Mary , ther e ha s bee n a n almos t complet e neglec t o f Joseph. The same theology whic h ha s painte d th e so n a s soft an d gentl e to the point of weakness, has exalted th e feminine influenc e i n its worship, and denie d any large place to the masculine. (1925: 40-41) Barton objecte d t o what h e considered th e typical representatio n o f Jesus as a delicate "lam b o f God" : A physical weakling ! Wher e di d the y ge t tha t idea ? Jesus pushe d a plan e an d swung an adze; he was a successful carpenter . H e slept out doors and spen t his days walking around hi s favorite lake . His muscles were so strong that when he drove the money-changers out, nobody dared to oppose him! (n.p.) Barton repeatedl y complaine d o f th e inadequac y o f artisti c depiction s o f Christ. Almos t al l painters , h e stated , "hav e misle d us " o n th e appear ance o f Jesus. "The y hav e show n u s a frai l man , under-muscled , wit h a soft face— a woman' s fac e covere d b y a beard—an d a benig n bu t baffled look " (42-43) . Barto n identifie d a proble m whic h Sallman , whether h e was familiar wit h Barton' s boo k o r not , came to consider hi s mission a s a Christia n artis t t o solve . Th e accoun t o f hi s conversatio n with Seller s at Mood y serve d a s warrant an d call. 5 Ironically, th e popula r discours e o n th e virilit y o f Chris t wa s eventu ally turne d agains t Sallman' s picture . Whil e man y hav e considere d th e virility o f Sallman' s Chris t t o b e th e measur e o f it s authenticity , other s have found th e image unacceptably effeminate , wha t on e Luthera n semi nary professor , echoin g Barton , denounce d a s " a prett y pictur e o f a woman wit h a curlin g bear d wh o ha s jus t com e fro m th e beaut y parlo r with a Hal o shampo o . . . [not ] th e Lor d wh o die d an d ros e again! " (Roth 1958 : 9) . Ho w shal l w e accoun t fo r thi s dramati c chang e i n Jesus—from He-Ma n t o crossdresser ? Historica l analysi s o f th e recep tion o f Sallman' s imag e durin g th e 1940 s an d 1950 s shoul d compar e the positiv e an d negativ e response s t o th e pictur e wit h th e conflictin g conceptions o f Jesu s Chris t a s th e historica l figur e an d persona l savio r of evangelica l Christianity . Disagreemen t centere d o n th e masculinit y o f Jesus an d indeed , i n som e instances , eve n hi s gende r wa s calle d int o question. O n th e othe r hand , man y Christian s embrace d i t becaus e thei r personal savior , whil e necessaril y masculine , wa s nevertheles s a Jesu s befriended i n th e persona l relationship , indeed , i n th e privat e wal k "i n the garden " o f one' s faith-life , wher e "H e walk s wit h me , an d H e talk s with me, and H e tells me I am his own." Th e hardiness and virilit y whic h

The Masculinity of Jesus in Popular Religious Art z6i many hav e claime d t o se e i n Sallman' s Chris t ma y b e a psychologica l construction necessar y t o allo w fo r a feminine , nurturin g relationshi p with Jesus which conceive s of salvatio n no t i n the angry terms of Calvin ist atonement , bu t a s th e persisten t an d faithfu l lov e o f a friend . Thi s God offer s guidanc e an d friendship , no t judgmen t an d retributio n a s th e motive fo r belief. 6 Th e principa l appea l o f thi s Jesus wa s consolatio n i n an untrustworth y an d bruta l world , a s th e word s b y E . G . Taylo r i n a popular hym n b y th e evangelica l compose r Georg e Stebbin s suggest : "Closer yet , O Lord , m y Rock , Refug e o f M y Soul;/Drea d I no t th e tempest-shock, Tho ' th e billow s roll./Wildes t stor m canno t alarm , Fo r to me , can com e n o harm , Leanin g o n Th y lovin g arm;/Closer , Lord , t o Thee" (se e no. 2.7 7 in Sankey, McGranaham, an d Stebbin s 1894) . While som e migh t defin e masculinit y i n term s o f paterna l gentlenes s and conside r th e determine d loo k o f th e Head of Christ t o signif y th e figure's divinity , mos t admirer s o f Sallman' s pictur e see m t o vie w i t through a n ideologica l filter whic h predispose s the m t o se e wha t the y want t o see . Conside r a 194 8 articl e i n Christian Life entitle d "Di d Christ Loo k Lik e This?" The author illustrate d th e article with Sallman' s Head of Christ an d a hea d o f Jesu s b y Heinric h Hofman n (figur e 12.4 ) that wa s ofte n excerpte d fro m Hofmann' s large r painting , Jesus and the Rich Young Man (1889) . "Hoffma n [sic], " sh e wrote , "i n anothe r da y portrayed Chris t a s an appealing , almos t feminin e character . I n contrast , Warner Sallman , a contemporary , ha s draw n fro m th e scriptur e 'H e se t his fac e lik e a flin t t o g o dow n t o Jerusalem ' a firm, mor e masculin e figure" (Lindber g 1948 : 19) . Whil e i t i s tru e tha t us e o f Hofmann' s image belonge d t o a n earlier generatio n i n the material culture o f Ameri can piety , i t is difficult t o see the differenc e whic h thi s autho r discerns. 7 But she wrote withi n twentieth-centur y conservativ e Protestantism' s dis course o n Christ' s virility , which derive d fro m th e earlier fundamentalis t concern t o secur e Christianit y fro m th e dominanc e o f wome n (cf . Beder man 1989) . In this preoccupation wit h virility , visual evidence could tak e secondary importance . The article in Christian Life blissfull y ignore d th e appearance o f bot h pictures , indeed , thei r strikin g likenes s t o on e an other, becaus e of the need t o posit a n other , a feminine opposit e require d to defin e th e masculine . Sinc e th e visua l evidenc e wa s lacking , th e dis course moved t o provide th e appropriat e polarity . The imag e conforme d to it s descriptio n rathe r tha n th e reverse . Th e discours e abou t virilit y appropriates image s t o itself , assimilate s the m suc h tha t on e see s wha t

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12.4. Heinric h Hofmann , Head of Christ, detai l fro m Christ and the Rich Young Man, 1889 , oi l o n canvas . (B y permissio n o f Riversid e Church , Ne w York).

The Masculinity of Jesus in Popular Religious Art 26 one i s tol d t o see , wha t i s ideologicall y significant . Althoug h th e dis course ma y clai m tha t it s representation o f realit y i s unadulterated, eve n authorized b y divine revelation a s in the case of a late night dream whic h Sallman reporte d wa s th e sourc e o f hi s image, 8 suc h representatio n i s of course ideologicall y engaged . Indeed , on e wonder s whethe r popula r religious ar t i s no t generall y premise d o n a discursiv e visio n whic h precedes i t an d predispose s it s reception. I f thi s i s true, then th e likenes s of Christ—hi s femininit y o r hi s masculinity—i s define d discursively . Likeness a s physica l resemblanc e amount s t o seein g wha t on e presume s should b e there. In other words , people believ e a n imag e look s lik e Jesus because the y confor m th e image' s feature s t o thei r expectation s abou t Jesus. Suc h popula r religiou s ar t a s Sallman' s i s receive d a s reinforcin g what peopl e already believe , telling the m wha t the y already know . Tha t is why the y recognize th e image , why i t seems so like Jesus. 9 In th e end , believer s se e wha t the y ar e taugh t t o se e an d scor n wha t they ar e taugh t t o fear . Th e ma p o f a huma n worl d i s draw n ove r a topograph y o f nee d an d fear . Withi n thi s eve r shifting , constantl y reconnoitered terrain , th e bod y an d it s gender s ar e politicall y conteste d and th e identit y o f Jesu s i s a s unstabl e a s th e histor y o f th e searc h fo r his identity . Thos e wh o embrac e Sallman' s image s o f Jesu s attemp t t o naturalize th e discours e tha t inform s thei r fear s an d needs . Th e devou t seek i n hi s depiction s a n imag e o f wha t the y wis h th e worl d t o be . Th e function o f the devotional imag e for man y Protestants i s to resist change, to fix the protea n characte r o f experienc e b y merging ma p an d territory . But th e attemp t t o privileg e on e cod e b y inscribin g i t over th e surfac e o f experience i s doome d t o erasure . T o shift metaphors , th e attemp t t o secure an ancho r agains t th e storms tha t rag e without i s forever compro mised b y ambivalenc e within : believer s nee d mor e tha n on e Jesu s an d have foun d him , uneasily , i n th e sam e image , Warner Sallman' s Head of Christ.

NOTES 1. Lette r 33 1 of 53 1 letters received b y the author fro m reader s o f popula r religious magazines in which an ad was placed soliciting response concerning the role Sallman's images have played i n devotional life . Ail the letters are now on file i n the Sallman archives, Anderson University, Anderson, Indiana. 2. Jac k R. Lund bom, Masterpainter: Warner £. Sallman, typescript, 26 . The

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biographical not e o n th e bac k cove r o f Religious Masterpieces, publishe d b y Kriebel an d Bate s i n 1956 , states tha t Sallma n attende d Mood y fro m 191 2 t o 1917. Bates material, Sallman archives, Anderson University. 3. Ernes t O. Sellers was at Moody from 190 8 to 1918 , where he served firs t as a n assistan t i n th e Musi c Departmen t an d then , fro m 191 3 unti l 1918 , as director o f Nigh t Classes , an d taugh t course s i n pedagogy , chil d study , an d Sunday School classes during the day (see George H. Crutcher's Introduction t o Sellers's Personal Evangelism [1923]: vi-vii). Although Seller s wa s neve r dean , his position of director of Night Classes and the fact that he left Mood y in 1918 to serve as a member o f the Speaker's Burea u o f the Y.M.C.A. in Europe dates his conversatio n wit h Sallma n (wh o ha d enrolle d i n a Saturda y evenin g Bibl e class—see Lundbom, Master painter,26) to the war years. 4. Depiction s o f th e violen t Jesu s cleansin g th e templ e ar e a s commo n i n Sunday Schoo l illustratio n a s the y wer e i n th e academi c religiou s ar t o f th e nineteenth century which inspired so much devotional and instructional imagery in th e twentieth century . Heinric h Hofman n produce d a drawin g o f th e scene, see The Hofmann Gallery of Original New Testament Illustrations (Philadelphia: A. J. Holman 8 c Co., 1891) ; Julius Schnorr vo n Carolsfeld als o produced a well-know n versio n o f th e them e i n Die Bibel in Bildern (Leipzig : Geor g Wigland Verlag, 187?). 5. I do not wish to overemphasize the similarity between the Sallman account and Barton' s boo k o r t o argu e fo r a direct influence . Barton' s lo w Christolog y was certainly not acceptable to Sallman or evangelicals. Barton offered a psychological account of Christ's life, one that was meant to appeal to its readership by describing the motives and instincts that drive all "manly men." Christ's miracles were explained b y the force of his magnetic personality, not as the supernatura l events that Sallma n an d mos t conservative Christian s woul d hav e insisted the y were. 6. Sallma n rarel y depicte d a crucified Chris t an d hi s audience di d no t wan t him to do so. When asked by a colleague while producing Sunday bulletin covers for th e Methodist Publishin g Hous e i n th e 1930s , whether h e had eve r consid ered portraying Christ as the terrible judge of the Apocalypse as described i n the first chapter o f th e Boo k o f Revelation , Sallma n i s said t o hav e replied : "ther e would be no appeal for such a version." See letter 8, Sallman archives, Anderson University. 7. Hofman n (1824-19n) , a teacher at Dresden's important academ y of art , produced Jesus and the Rich Young Man in 1889 . Reproductions o f the face of Jesus fro m thi s imag e circulate d widel y i n th e Unite d States , appearin g o n al l manner of devotional items in religious supply house catalogs. It is no exaggeration t o sa y tha t Hofmann' s imag e o f Jesu s represente d Jesu s fro m 190 0 t o World War II, when Sallman's image largely replaced it in popularity. Yet many Christians are still familiar wit h Hofmann's Head of Christ. 8. Ther e ar e numerou s version s o f th e drea m an d it s inspiration . Fo r a discussion of them, see Morgan (1996).

The Masculinity of Jesus in Popular Religious Art 26 9. Thi s i s no t t o sugges t tha t "hig h art " i s fre e o f discourse , bu t tha t it s function ma y be more one of generating, extending or even negating rather than corroborating existin g discourse . Yet Tom Wolfe' s satirica l The Painted Word (1975: 62 et passim) argues that mid-century American avant-garde art followe d from critical discourse rather than vice-versa.

REFERENCES

Barton, Bruce. 1925. The Man Nobody Knows. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merill. Baylor, Bruce. 1943. "A Man's Artist." Sunday School Promoter 5/2 (May): 2429. Bederman, Gail . 1989 . "Th e Wome n Hav e Ha d Charg e o f th e Churc h Wor k Long Enough: The Men and Religion Forward Movement of 1911-191 2 and the Masculinizatio n o f Middle-Clas s Protestantism. " American Quarterly 41:432-65. Bevis, Katharine. 1965 . "H e Painte d a Religiou s Masterpiece. " Sunday School Messenger, Marc h 21 , 5. Butler, Jonatha n M . 1991 . Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling: Heaven and Hell in American Revivalism, 1870-1920. Ne w York: Carlso n Publish ing. Cobbin, Ingram, Rev. 1876 . Cobbin's Commentary of the Bible for Young and Old. Ed. E. J. Goodspeed. Vol. 1. New York: Selmar Hess. DeBerg, Betty. 1990. Ungodly Women: Gender and the First Wave of American Fundamentalism. Minneapolis : Fortress Press. Douglas, Ann. 1977. The Feminization of American Culture. Ne w York: Knopf. Ellis, Howard. 1944 . Story of Sallman's "Head of Christ". Indianapolis: Kriebel and Bates. Lindberg, Beth. 1948 . "Did Chris t Look Lik e This?" Christian Life, December, 19. Morgan, David. 1996. " 'Would Jesus Have Sat for a Portrait?': The Likeness of Christ i n th e Popula r Receptio n o f Sallman' s Art. " I n Icons of American Protestantism: The Art of Warner Sallman, ed. David Morgan . New Haven: Yale University Press. Nail, T . Otto . 1943 . "H e Preache s a s H e Paints. " Classmate 50 (December) : 6-7. Peterson, Sylvia E. 1947 . "The Ministry o f Christia n Art. " The Lutheran Companion 55/14 (April 2): 10-12. Pierson, A . T. , Rev . 1883 . "Saul-David-Jonathan. " I n Half Hours with the Lessons of 1883. Philadelphia: Presbyterian Board of Publication. Rodeheaver, Homer , e t al. , eds . 1939 . "I n th e Garden. " I n Christian Service Songs. Winona Lake, Ind.: Rodeheaver, Hall-Mack. Roth, Rober t Paul . 1958 . "Chris t an d th e Muses. " Christianity Today 2/1 1 (March): 8-9.

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Sankey, Ir a D. , Jame s McGranaham , an d Georg e C . Stebbins . 1894 . Gospel Hymns. Chicago: The Biglow & Main Co. Sellers, E. O. 1923 . Personal Evangelism: Studies in Individual Efforts to Lead Souls into Right Relations to Christ. New York: George H. Doran Co. Veach, Rober t Wells . 1911 . The Friendship of Jesus. New York : Flemin g H . Revell Co. Wolfe, Tom. 1975 . The Painted Word. Ne w York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

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Why . .. ha s there bee n an extraordinar y amoun t o f wor k o n "th e body" i n recen t years ? I n on e sense , i t i s logica l tha t th e body , once thought t o b e the metonym o f nature, would follo w upo n th e deconstruction o f gende r an d sexuality , thereb y removin g anothe r foundational concept . In another sense, however, "bodyology " parallels the complex obsession with the body in late capitalist societies, the anorexic/bulimic object tha t engages, at one and the same time, in a feeding frenzy an d a relentless thinning, fasting, tightening, and sculpting. An d fro m stil l anothe r perspective , thi s fascinatio n wit h the bod y coincides with th e moment o f it s disappearance—the dy ing AIDS body most dramatically , bu t also the death o f a "natura l body," replace d b y cosmetic an d sex-chang e surgery , genetic engineering, scientifically produce d wombs , and othe r "organ s withou t bodies." —Domn a C . Stanton, Discourses of Sexuality In a heavily draped societ y [a s in the late nineteenth century] , even a partial disrobing was an act of self-disclosure. —E. Anthony Rotundo, American Manhood The contemporar y Wester n personalit y itsel f i s preponderantl y a visible self, its identity embodied i n external performance.... [T]h e self tends to be construed as a purely sensual phenomenon. —Kenneth R. Dutton, The Perfectible Body 267

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One of the major element s . . . that need s work [done ] on it, is the role of iconography o f dress and setting, and especially performers , the mal e type s tha t ar e used , por n stars ' image s an d s o on , all drenched in ideological meanings. —Richar d Dyer , Now You See It

Ecological theoris t Lesli e Whit e observe s tha t th e earlies t scientists looke d a s far awa y fro m huma n experienc e a s one might look , namely a t th e stars . Howeve r "eventually , a s researcher s learne d mor e about thing s a t a distance , an d a s th e socia l science s matured , scholar ship turne d t o studie s eve r close r t o the self an d the essentials o f huma n experience" (quote d i n Burrough s an d Ehrenreic h 1993 : 2). Among th e attention t o those "essentials, " we may now note the recent proliferatio n of writing s on the human body , and indeed severa l volume s on women' s bodies hav e alread y appeared . Kennet h R . Dutto n studie s "th e perfect ible [male ] body " i n term s o f wha t h e call s "huma n socia l anatomy " (1994: 13). Hence m y attentio n t o th e mal e bod y ha s a context , a s i n Terenc e Turner's referenc e t o the body a s a social text : "th e surface o f the body , as the common frontie r o f society, the social self , and the psychobiological individual , become s th e symboli c stag e upo n whic h th e dram a o f socialization i s enacted, an d bodily adornment (i n all its culturally multi farious forms , fro m bodypaintin g t o clothin g an d fro m feathe r head dresses t o cosmetics ) become s th e languag e throug h whic h i t i s ex pressed" (cite d i n Burrough s an d Ehrenreic h 1993 : 15) . Suc h a tex t becomes on e that represent s a particula r socia l codin g o f th e reaches of identity: "th e presentatio n o f th e bod y i n a particula r an d recognizabl e shape o r patter n (whethe r o f bod y decoratio n o r o f it s sub-species , clothing) represent s a kin d o f code , whic h i s mean t t o b e rea d an d understood a s a n answe r t o th e question : Wh o a m I? " (Dutto n 1994 : 15). Indee d w e ma y spea k wit h Le o Bersani , i n The Freudian Body (1986: 85) , o f "th e mythologizin g o f th e human " a s a n aspec t o f th e social enforcement o f ideal norms of citizen selfhood. I n another publica tion Bersan i note s th e power o f the media "'t o manufactur e subjectivit y itself,' an d i n s o doin g t o dictat e th e shap e o f a n identity . Th e 'genera l

Baring the Flesh 26 public' i s a t onc e a n ideologica l construc t an d a mora l prescription " (Bersani 1987 : 19). * This chapte r explore s som e possibl e religio-mythica l meaning s o f th e many bar e socia l bodies/text s tha t confron t u s i n publi c medi a today . Following a quic k overvie w indicatin g th e scop e an d th e restriction s under whic h I operate , I direc t som e remark s t o th e importanc e o f learning t o analyz e mor e public , popular , iconograph y tha n i s usua l i n academic discipline s (her e I am i n particula r indebte d t o th e method s o f the Ne w Historians 2 a s wel l a s t o Davi d Freedberg' s The Power of Images 1989) . The n I presen t a sor t o f catalogu e o f th e contemporar y male body , an d th e way s tha t bod y i s idealize d an d normalize d b y a tyrannical mode l tha t i s essentially anti-natural . Subsequently , I turn t o the post-patriarcha l situatio n i n whic h men , n o longe r women , ar e th e object o f th e "gaze, " befor e certai n religiou s element s ar e engaged . While I hav e n o firm answers , I' m curiou s abou t th e implication s o f my observations : d o the y reflec t a mor e positiv e o r a mor e negativ e regard fo r th e huma n body ? D o the y no t substantiat e widesprea d rejec tion o f concept s o f a transcendental/divine , i n contras t wit h th e human bodily? T o wha t exten t i s masculinit y a functio n o f socia l fact s suc h a s these iconographi c issues ? I s the ne w nudit y a n eschatologica l nudity , a stripping awa y o f a patriarcha l laye r o f th e cultur e an d returnin g t o some pre-enculturate d level , or a discover y o f som e significanc e inheren t in th e physica l mal e bod y tha t Wester n cultur e ha s heretofor e foun d only i n women' s bodies ? (Bu t o f cours e teachin g Humanitie s again , I keep returnin g t o th e idealize d Gree k kouroi, an d s o find tha t "wha t goes around, come s around " fo r ye t anothe r cycle.) T h e B o d y a s Socia l T e x t As a n importan t socia l text , th e representatio n o f th e huma n body , specifically her e th e exten t o f it s coverage o r baring , will reflec t underly ing cultura l values , includin g religiou s shaping s o f deities ' model s fo r humankind. 3 In suc h a context , th e "baring " o f th e mal e bod y toda y cannot bu t impres s an y attentiv e cultura l critic . Wha t I cal l gratuitous nudity, becaus e unmotivate d b y the need s o f simpl e transfe r o f informa tion abou t a product , surround s u s no t jus t i n men' s publications , bu t across th e rang e o f th e publi c language s o f magazine s an d advertisin g (see figure 13.1) .

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13.1. "Gratuitou s Nudity. " (B y permissio n o f Giann i Versace , Milano . Th e photographer i s Bruce Weber and the model is Jeff Munroe. )

Baring the Flesh 27 Some examples: bot h th e New York Times an d Details ( a ne w maga zine aime d a t style - an d status-consciou s youn g men ) reviewe d 199 3 mens' fashio n shows , wherei n severa l model s wor e n o shirts , jus t vest s or sweate r vests , ope n dow n t o th e navel , well-develope d pectoral s bursting forth . Twenty-nin e page s o f on e issu e o f Details (Jun e 1993 , 165 page s i n all ) feature d at-least-partly-nud e youn g men , ou t o f 13 2 pages tha t ha d illustrations—that' s on e i n ever y fou r pages ! An d i n a feature o n Parisian-styl e men' s clothing , o f si x scene s wher e th e male' s trousers wer e visible , five portraye d the m unzipped , noticeabl y barin g the crotc h area. 4 Elsewhere , th e relationshi p o f th e partly-clothe d mal e icon i n a n advertisement , an d a product , i s ofte n obscure , althoug h th e partial nudit y ma y add a sensuous quality, as in Energizer's advertisin g a hard, col d flashlight batter y b y stagin g a muscular , mostly-nud e Africa n American mal e heftin g a n (exaggerate d mock ) batter y ove r hi s head . Representations o f th e mal e i n advertisin g an d clothin g magazines , and mor e recentl y i n th e spat e o f men' s exercis e journals , see m t o hav e been selecte d les s o n th e basi s o f consume r awarenes s o r logi c tha n o f feelings: thes e ar e almost-religiou s claim s rathe r tha n appeal s o n th e basis o f moder n science . I t i s har d no t t o fee l confronte d b y somethin g numinous whe n facin g a recen t Obsessio n cologn e a d tha t consist s o f a candid photograp h o f a mal e body , nud e fro m jus t abov e th e peni s t o just belo w th e chin , adorne d onl y wit h th e bran d nam e an d th e word s "FOR ME N FO R TH E BODY. " O r starin g bac k a t th e thre e member s of a roc k ban d o n th e cove r o f a n issu e o f Rolling Stone, totall y un clothed, bu t wit h thei r hand s decorousl y cuppe d ove r thei r non-musica l instruments, an d th e nam e o f th e grou p running—hardl y accidentally — in a banne r jus t belo w thei r crotches : Red Hot Chili Peppers. O r whe n confronted b y musicia n Bobb y Brown , i n a n advertisemen t fo r hi s al bum, It's the Next Step, hi s muscula r bar e bac k turne d towar d us , framed b y a n outfi t o f blac k leathe r tha t apparentl y ha s sleeve s an d a strip acros s th e yok e t o for m a neck, that' s all . The extent o f representation s o f th e partly- or nearly-nud e body , fles h bared t o th e poin t tha t i t shout s ou t a n intrusiv e subtex t t o th e produc t or topi c bein g illustrated , i s striking . Surel y advertiser s an d illustrator s are no t jus t followin g a fad . Rather , suc h trend s i n bod y representatio n may signif y dee p cultura l change. 5 Th e discussio n o f "partial " texts / bodies i n thi s instanc e i s parallele d i n th e textur e o f thi s paper— I rais e

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a numbe r o f issue s that canno t b e treated extensively , jus t a s I ask man y questions tha t canno t ye t (i f at all ) b e answered . That ther e i s a previousl y unsurpasse d amoun t o f mal e nudit y i n popular cultur e i s eviden t fro m man y suc h advertisement s an d fro m Peter Watrous' s New York Times observation s (1991 ) abou t mal e semi nudity i n MTV . I t i s amazing , actually , ho w we'v e naturalize d suc h bareness, a s i n th e living-roo m atmospher e o f a Jocke y underwea r a d with si x down-home , smilin g me n fro m variou s profession s wearin g absolutely nothin g bu t undershorts , o r th e ad s wit h th e smirkin g bo y model (Mark y Mark ) wh o queries , "D o yo u hav e Calvi n Klei n under wear on?"—foun d no t onl y i n newspaper s an d i n magazines , bu t stretched alon g th e entir e sid e o f cit y bu s placards . I coul d multipl y examples—students an d colleague s brin g the m t o m e al l th e time—bu t let m e not e anothe r aspec t o f thi s mal e flesh now bein g bare d al l aroun d us: th e exercis e magazine s an d severa l o f th e men' s clothin g companie s must hav e ver y cleve r photographers , t o ge t catalogu e shot s o f s o ver y much o f th e mal e physiqu e withou t quit e showin g th e genitals—al though th e outlines ar e often quit e distinc t (se e figure 13.2) . For example , th e Internationa l Mal e clothe s compan y base d i n Sa n Diego ha s a range of thongs—swimwea r o r underwea r wit h nothin g bu t a strin g o r a stri p o f clot h formin g th e t-back—o r exercis e unitard s whose sid e hipline s com e u p abou t a s hig h a s a man' s navel . Th e mos t revealing typ e tha t isn' t utterl y transparen t come s i n eithe r a jockstra p or a unitar d tha t ha s strap s fro m th e botto m o f th e crotc h pouc h u p around th e but t t o the waistline, the rea r i s reduced t o a thong , the fron t to a stri p o f fabri c tha t jus t cover s th e vitals , then gap s befor e th e strap s that g o aroun d t o th e thon g i n back . Holl y Brubac h observe s tha t i n th e International Mal e catalogue , "anonymou s mal e genitali a ar e show n about t o burs t fro m mes h thongs , fro m strin g bikinis , fro m blac k lac e briefs, fro m re d jockstraps. . . . Bikinis gathered int o a seam a t th e cente r back exaggerat e th e buttocks ' cleavage " (1993 : 68) . I wan t her e t o explor e som e o f th e significanc e o f thes e yard s o f exposed masculin e ski n an d muscle , an d t o examin e historica l argu ments, such a s those o f Le o Steinberg i n his influential boo k The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion (1983) . Perhap s rather irreverently , I brin g alongsid e analysi s o f popula r cultur e materi als, suc h a s th e photograph s o f totall y nud e Sl y Stallon e i n Vanity Fair (November 1993) , Pete r Watrous' s attentio n (1991 ) t o th e har d bod y

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13.2. "Burstin g fro m Thongs. " (Gre g Sovel l an d Mik e Tawill , o f Basi c Re sources, Inc., 2(x)ist Industries, Inc., New York City, were extremely cooperative in providing this illustration; the photographer i s David Morgan.)

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gym-culture o f th e 1980s , an d th e wid e expanse s o f mal e flesh i n soa p operas an d MTV , an d Suzann a Andrews' s articl e tha t note s tha t whil e women ca n no w b e represente d i n th e nud e i n films, "whe n a ma n i s uncovered . . . the reaction i s that h e is extremely vulnerable" (1992 : 13, my emphasis) . "O n film, audience s hav e com e t o accep t seein g wome n naked. The y hav e als o com e t o accep t dreadfu l scene s o f throat s bein g cut, face s bashe d i n an d bodie s blow n t o piece s [wherea s in ] a movi e culture i n which almos t everythin g els e is shown, mal e nudit y i s still to o scary" (14) . Th e obscen e ha s com e t o b e equated , fo r al l practica l purposes, no t wit h anti-huma n violence , bu t wit h th e mal e genital s (Davis 1991 : 7). Pop Culture/Representation s In a collectio n entitle d Men, Masculinity, and the Media (Crai g 1992) , Fred J . Fejes' s revie w o f empirica l studie s o f mas s communicatio n re search indicate s tha t "i n medi a studies , th e topi c o f masculinit y i s onl y at the very earliest stages of emerging as a research are a i n its own right " (Fejes 1992 : 9) . It i s clear, however , tha t mos t o f th e tim e me n ar e stil l represented i n ver y traditiona l patriarcha l role s (12). 6 Simila r researc h status ha s t o b e ascribe d t o practica l semiotic s an d pragmati c iconogra phy a s well, an d ther e hav e bee n a numbe r o f methodologica l advance s in th e wor k o f ar t theorist s a s wel l a s medi a analyst s (cf . Schor' s sche matic an d inclusiv e survey , 1988 ) tha t hav e interpretiv e promise . Whil e I cannot develo p her e a comprehensive overview , I will indicat e som e o f the aspects o f thi s new scholarshi p tha t I rely upo n i n my analysis . Clearly images matter, a pictur e bein g wort h a thousan d words , an d so forth , an d a n idealize d figure suc h a s th e muscular , well-develope d body, a s Dutto n note s (1994 : 191 ) "i s a s muc h a cultura l an d imagina tive construc t a s i t i s a physica l object. " Bu t agains t th e significanc e o f the picture d o r iconographi c come s th e whol e logocentri c bia s o f ou r millenium, i f we think o f the iconoclasti c fervo r tha t wa s reflecte d i n th e great Christia n schis m betwee n Eas t an d Wes t aroun d 100 0 C.E. , o r reaching bac k ye t anothe r millenium , i f on e want s t o dat e i t fro m Aristotelian an d anti-Platoni c denigratio n o f th e incorporea l o r spiritua l as oppose d t o th e material. 7 Th e person-on-the-stree t belie f i s tha t im ages ar e secondary , temporary , an d on e seldo m respond s t o the m di rectly. But against such an assumption, Freedberg's The Power of Images (1989) argue s tha t i f image s wer e s o meaningless , s o un-affecting , por -

Baring the Flesh 27 nography law s woul d b e laughable , th e iconoclasti c controvers y woul d never hav e happened , n o natio n woul d prosecut e thos e who defac e suc h public emblem s a s flags o r currencies , an d th e comicboo k industr y an d Mad magazin e woul d g o out o f busines s overnight . Nor ca n th e issu e b e self-consciou s versu s unconsciou s attention : "just becaus e some people pay no attention t o images , walk straigh t pas t them, o r ar e generall y indifferen t t o the m doe s no t reliev e u s o f th e burden o f harkin g t o thos e wh o do : i t wa s a fine thin g i f th e analysi s o f response proceede d onl y fro m th e state s o f min d o f thos e wh o concen trate!" (107 ; Freedberg' s subjectiv e grammar) . Henc e w e hav e t o dea l with wha t Maus s an d Durkhei m referre d t o a s social rathe r tha n experi mental facts : "w e nee d no t tes t whethe r image s are exactly as efficaciou s as the y ar e sai d o r see n t o be : it is enough that they are believed or proven to work in their particular circumstances" (280 , Freedberg' s emphasis). At th e sam e time , w e nee d t o remai n awar e o f th e historica l setting : our cultural eyes see nudity differently afte r year s of exposure to Honcho or Hustler. Manet' s Olympia o f 186 3 i s a differen t culture-fac t fo r u s than fo r it s origina l viewin g audience , whic h sa w i t a s insufficientl y respectful o f Georgionni' s o r Titian' s splayed-out , idealized , nud e women. Contemporar y viewers ' "views " ar e differentl y oriente d tha n were thos e a centur y ago : w e ar e no t particularl y upse t b y th e Calvi n Klein ad s i n whic h youn g couple s pul l a t th e unbuttone d waist s o f thei r partners' jeans , bu t man y peopl e ar e upse t b y Rober t Mapplethorpe' s extremely phalli c an d ofte n homoeroti c image s (doubtles s th e sam e people wh o hav e slep t an y numbe r o f night s unde r hi s elegan t photo graphs o f flowers tha t ar e replicate d frequentl y i n hotel rooms) . The clinica l ter m fo r cloakin g th e effec t upo n u s o f artwork s i s repression; repressio n ma y become suppression whe n the subject encode s cultural taboos , suc h a s mal e nudit y traditionall y ha s bee n i n Chris tendom. Ho w els e di d National Geographic fun d it s first decade s tha n by providing th e first full y sanctione d popula r image s o f nudity , always , of course nudity i n cultures other than thos e inhabiting the white middle class American livin g room , an d hardl y eve r fronta l males ? Wha t wa s i t about Mapplethorpe' s photograph s tha t arouse d s o muc h enmit y i n th e 1990s i f not hi s representations o f mal e nudes , often eroticall y titillatin g male nudes? 8 Arousing, tickling (titillat e is from th e Latin fo r tickling , or "to excit e [another ] pleasurably , superficiall y o r erotically"— American Heritage Dictionary, 3r d ed.) , o r stimulatio n t o action . No t onl y t o

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sexual action , b e i t noted , bu t morally , t o wa r (se e th e stron g propa ganda image s i n Sa m Keen' s Faces of the Enemy, 1986) , o r t o follo w causes (th e severa l collection s o f photograph s b y childre n i n Sout h American slum s tha t invit e th e viewe r t o contribut e financially t o th e children's welfare) , o r t o mak e lon g journey s (i n orde r t o experienc e firsthand th e healin g propertie s o f a particula r sprin g o r religiou s icon) , and s o forth . Freedberg's geniu s i s to deconstruc t ho w w e ar e accustome d t o treat ing women , primitives , an d othe r declass e categorie s a s inferio r becaus e they trea t image s differently : ho w man y time s hav e w e hear d th e ol d chestnut abou t ho w " a primitive " though t th e camer a woul d stea l he r or hi s soul? 9 Ye t surel y w e ough t t o refe r t o a certain affectiv e primitiv ism i n wha t happen s i n a successfu l Nik e Ai r ad , o r a Calvi n Klei n perfume ad , or a n advertisemen t fo r Reques t jeans . Marketing psycholo gists assur e u s tha t viewer s believ e tha t w e will achiev e th e qualitie s modeled i n th e ad, o r a t leas t tha t som e aspec t o f th e mode l wil l becom e ours whe n w e mak e th e purchas e o f th e image d object . John Berger' s Ways of Seeing (1972) , th e cove r tex t o f whic h begin s "Seeing come s befor e words, " remain s a crucia l cultura l tex t disclosin g how th e lur e o f th e glamo r advertisemen t work s b y sellin g u s a future , perfected imag e o f ourselves , assumin g tha t w e bu y th e produc t repre sented. Freedber g als o note s ho w on e fuse s wit h th e represente d image : "When w e see the resembling image, we elide it with th e living prototyp e it represents, unless . . . aesthetic differentiatio n b y way o f attentio n an d abstraction supravenes " (1989 : 276)—h e i s referring t o a ver y differen t set o f icons , bu t hi s poin t transfer s easily . "Fusio n precede s analyti c suspension" (277) , which i s one reaso n student s wh o hav e bee n expose d to Berger' s Ways of Seeing develo p critica l attitude s towar d th e sur rounding cultur e tha t mak e the m fee l superio r t o thei r still-fuse d peers . I would sa y the y becom e mor e effectivel y perceptiv e citizens , a s well , and I consider semiotic-iconographi c educatio n a t leas t a s importan t a s conveying whic h empero r o r pop e succeede d anothe r i n Wester n politi cal o r religiou s history . In thi s particula r context , Dutto n i s correc t i n stating that "th e de-coding o f the muscular mal e bod y i s one of the mor e problematic issue s i n th e analysi s o f contemporar y imagery , whethe r serious o r popular " (1994 : 337) . In short , there is more going on in the recent public baring of male flesh than a resolutely logocentric culture might recognize (se e figure 13.3). "We " (th e everyda y publi c th e advertise r ca n depen d upo n t o se e

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13.3. "Th e Availabl e Mal e Body. " (Gre g Sovel l an d Mik e Tawill , o f Basi c Resources, Inc., 2(x)ist Industries, Inc., New York City, were extremely cooperative in providing this illustration; the photographer is David Morgan.)

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the images ) will not admi t readil y t o having erotic responses to the bare d male flesh even when w e do—which i s one reaso n wh y s o much o f wha t we ar e addressin g ca n see m gay-oriented , whil e a t th e sam e tim e a straight, ordinar y Jo e ca n sa y tha t he' s jus t gettin g of f o n th e muscula ture, the clothing, the styles, or whatever "safe " category comes to mind . Brian Pronge r (1990 ) describe s way s th e mal e bod y i s playe d u p i n advertising, an d ho w aspect s o f ga y lif e ar e attractiv e t o straights . Simi larly, Michae l Moo n an d Ev e Kosofsk y Sedgwic k (1990 : 28 ) commen t acerbically o n ga y mal e figures i n cinem a wh o mode l themselve s fo r th e straight male . Repeatedl y on e hears , "Bu t no t i n th e [presumabl y asex ual] wa y I loo k a t it" ; bu t simila r disaffirmation s greete d Steinberg' s Sexuality of Christ (1983 ; se e Freedber g 1989 : 13 , 17) . Th e usua l as sumption i s that surel y "religiou s art, " a t least , must b e asexual . New Historica l an d othe r recen t critica l approache s as k post-Freud ian question s abou t derivatio n an d th e originary : fo r instance , i s there a direct connectio n betwee n th e brain , perceivin g o r lookin g a t porn , an d erotic o r sensua l impulses ? Wh y i s it that sometime s a certain imag e or a certain passag e on e read s evoke s a n immediat e physica l response ? D o certain material s activat e differen t brainwav e patterns ? Bu t I wonde r what els e i s activated , an d wh y i t i s that pornograph y work s a s wel l a s it seem s t o wor k fo r som e peopl e a t som e times , a s wel l a s wha t othe r sorts o f material s wor k i n th e sam e way . Ar e there , fo r instance , certai n shapes tha t g o bac k t o th e mother' s breast , certai n way s o f experiencin g one's environmen t tha t g o bac k t o th e womb , an d henc e ar e inflexibl y impressed i n th e format s o f th e psyche ? Th e successfu l us e o f porno graphic videotape s t o stimulat e non-copulatin g gorilla s a t a Japanes e zoo (reporte d i n Details, Septembe r 1993 : 46-47 ) suggest s tha t Homo sapiens i s no t th e onl y specie s turne d o n b y filmic representation . Lik e the issue s posed b y Skinner boxe s o r th e movi e Clockwork Orange, thi s is a questio n o f socia l conditioning , bu t i t als o concern s psychosocia l issues such a s how deitie s are represented an d gendered . Of course , tha t questio n raise s other s abou t advertisin g language : Why doe s the yellow double-humpe d " M " o f McDonald s sel l hamburg ers? I s tha t wha t sell s hamburgers ? In turn , thes e question s see m corre lated wit h body-type s theor y i n psychology . Why , i n ou r society , doe s the smoothl y muscled , "sculpted " mesomorp h tak e o n th e significanc e that h e does , wherea s i n othe r culture s i t wa s th e larg e body , o r th e medieval anorecti c femal e bod y tha t seem s t o hav e bee n repeate d agai n

Baring the Flesh 27 recently i n the post-Twigg y thinnes s o f th e idea l America n femal e body ? And ho w i s the sensual impuls e related—Steinberg's writing s forc e u s t o consider thi s question—to th e religious, mystical experience ? There i s something mor e tha n mer e genital eroticism—perhaps some thing religious—in th e expanse o f mal e flesh no w bein g revealed, s o tha t one ha s t o as k wha t dee p huma n experienc e i s bein g tapped . Henc e questions suc h as : Does th e situatio n sho w a trus t i n huma n abilitie s a s one move s awa y fro m a n establishmen t theocrac y i n plac e sinc e th e founding o f th e country , o r i s ther e somethin g eve n mor e universal archetypal abou t th e square-shouldere d an d firm-muscle d male ? Th e pectorals o r abdominal s o f such a n idea l figure seldo m reflec t th e norma l state of development, a s one realizes from th e snapshots o f men sen t int o the "readers ' picks " sectio n o f mal e fles h magazine s lik e Play girl, non professional model s i n contrast t o thos e o f men' s clothin g catalogues, o r from direc t observations o f strongly muscled worker s suc h as carpenters, roofers, o r roa d crew s tha t on e i s likel y t o se e working wit h thei r shirt s off. Suc h factor s lea d m e t o thin k abou t th e femal e bod y an d th e parallels i n the revealing o f femal e fles h withi n m y own lifetime : Playboy began sheddin g som e of the taboos tha t Penthouse the n remove d totally , and subsequentl y othe r explicitl y pornographi c material s becam e lega l and widespread . Bu t agai n questions : Wh y thi s particula r bod y shape ? Which aspect s o f th e body ? Doe s th e fac t tha t th e peni s stil l remain s covered i n th e Wes t (i n recen t Calvi n Klei n cologn e ads , a completel y nude mal e lies on his stomach) indicat e tha t i t i s metonymi c t o th e (aniconic) divine ? O r i s th e issu e th e conundru m tha t th e anatomicall y small, uncontrollabl e peni s i s s o unreliabl e a signifie r fo r th e almight y mythoform phallus ? An d ar e ther e identifiabl e subtype s beneat h th e body physiologie s tha t wor k a s innat e releasin g mechanisms , th e wa y Joseph Campbel l ofte n referre d t o physiologica l base s o f mythologica l materials? 10 T h e P o r t r a y a l o f t h e Idea l M a l e B o d y What th e powe r o f image s entail s i s wel l illustrate d i n contemporar y male iconography : th e concep t o f "mode l tyranny " tha t m y colleagu e Stephen Karatheodori s develope d (1993 ) fo r a critiqu e o f th e imag e o f women i n th e communication s media , transfer s easil y t o th e presen t context. Bu t th e transferenc e t o me n ma y no t b e immediatel y obvious ,

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as Dutto n suggest s i n a commen t tha t appear s o n a pag e abov e a photographed ro w o f si x youn g Chippendal e model s wit h bo w tie s drawing attentio n t o thei r nude , impeccabl y modele d pectoral s an d abdominals: The "aspirational" male image—tall, lean, tanned, and muscular—has a greater influence i n definin g men' s view s o f themselve s (an d o f othe r men ) i n Western societies tha n i s acknowledge d b y thos e wh o believ e tha t onl y wome n hav e fallen victim to the "beauty myth." (1994: 185) The tyranny o f a few isolate d somati c features determine s the parameter s of th e idea l bodies . Fo r example , a magazin e colum n b y Pau l Hochma n (1993) reveal s th e rol e o f Marti n Sullivan , ever y on e o f whos e bod y measurements "s o closel y matche s th e world' s [! ] statistica l mea n tha t design house s fro m Ralp h Laure n t o th e Ga p t o Arman i t o J. Cre w hir e him a s thei r fit model , th e huma n mannequi n wh o trie s o n samples. " With "thirty-eight-inc h hips , a thirty-three-inc h inseam , a forty-inc h chest," Marti n set s th e prototype s o f clothing : mediu m i s his body , an d "about 8 0 percen t o f anythin g anybod y buy s i n th e Unite d State s ha s been o n [him ] at on e point. " Male mode l tyrann y i s quit e rea l i n som e quarters . Richar d Stenge l (1992: 77 ; see also Mishkin d e t al . 1987 ) note s tha t abou t sixt y percen t of cosmeti c surger y a t th e Beverl y Hill s Institut e o f Bod y Sculptin g i s performed o n males ; h e worrie s abou t th e anxiet y produce d b y th e search fo r th e svelte , muscular , youthfu l bod y displaye d i n th e media , when suc h a physique i s as unattainabl e fo r mos t male s a s the Madonn a body i s for mos t women . Mythologies an d religion s idealiz e particula r way s o f bein g human — Eve i s t o remai n subjec t t o Adam , fo r instance—an d o f reflectin g a society's physica l models—appropriat e gende r displa y i s clea r i n th e countless representation s o f Adam , reflectin g ho w Christia n me n wer e ideally t o loo k durin g variou s periods . A brie f catalogu e o f contempo rary bod y codes/type s (se e Moo n an d Sedgwic k 1990 ; Stanto n 1992 ) that determin e wha t to p dog s loo k lik e woul d includ e mos t o f th e following: 1. The body is hairless. Poo r Willia m Holden ! In 195 5 h e ha d t o shave hi s chest repeatedl y fo r th e movi e Picnic, becaus e o f th e unwritte n rule o f th e da y fo r ar t photography , namel y tha t th e mal e bod y mus t b e aestheticized b y bein g mad e metonymi c wit h marbl e (Coha n 1993 : 222, illustrated o n 202 ; se e als o th e stud y o f th e aestheticizin g o f Roc k

Baring the Flesh 28 Hudson's bod y b y Meye r 1991) . I don' t thin k i t i s jus t a hair y man' s observation tha t remarkabl y enough , model s i n catalogues o r ga y maga zines are almos t alway s hairles s (Moh r note s that hairines s i s a specialt y item i n ga y por n catalogues , alon g wit h bondag e o r watersports , 1992 : 148). It ha s bee n year s sinc e I wa s force d throug h th e athleti c regime n o f the publi c school s an d wa s mad e awar e ho w m y hair y bod y seeme d th e odd-one-out ever y time , bu t i n subsequen t experience , I learne d tha t very fe w grownu p me n ar e a s "clean, " a s th e sex-ad s pu t it , a s th e models. Nor fo r tha t matte r d o many people have tans that leav e no pal e areas whatsoeve r i n th e crotch—earlie r representation s o f th e painte d or photographi c mal e nud e i n th e severa l retrospectiv e collection s no w available disclos e tha t th e fully-tanned , hairles s bod y i s onl y a recen t paradigm. For the ancient Greek s who modele d muc h o f Western masculin e self consciousness, the appearance o f bod y hai r marke d th e end o f one phas e of maleness—the perio d i n which on e migh t b e adopted b y a somewhat senior man , wh o introduce d th e yout h int o society , an d als o enjoye d sexual acces s t o hi s body—an d th e beginnin g o f th e secon d phase , tha t of bein g the senio r male , who i n turn adopte d youn g me n befor e turnin g primarily t o wome n fo r sex . Som e me n wer e accuse d o f shavin g thei r faces ver y closel y s o a s t o continu e t o appea r beardless , an d hai r ap pearing o n th e rear-en d o f a yout h wa s particularl y a sig n o f statu s change. 1 x 2. Wha t I impl y b y referin g t o classica l antiquit y i s tha t th e mal e body represente d i n a larg e sectio n o f ou r publi c imager y toda y i s likewise pre-hairy, pre-nubile, adolescent; i n shor t i t idealize s th e neotenic body of the older child, no t tha t o f th e grownup . Ar e w e afrai d o f being grownup ? Th e questio n follow s a lon g perio d o f adulatio n o f youth i n ou r society , bu t I wonder i f we'v e misinterprete d i t i n term s o f avoiding ol d age , rathe r tha n i n term s o f wantin g t o retur n t o th e relatively less-demandin g tim e o f childhoo d whe n a n apparentl y tran scendent fathe r looke d ou t fo r us . Ideal s wor k i n curiou s way s t o driv e sectors o f th e economy , bu t i t woul d b e informativ e t o se e jus t ho w models o f th e retiremen t year s hav e change d ove r th e las t fifty years , a s well a s ho w th e childhoo d mystiqu e ha s gaine d s o muc h influenc e upo n midlife existence—bodil y image s wil l doubtles s chang e i n parallel , i n each case . 3. W e migh t questio n th e categor y o f th e "natural, " afte r suc h refer -

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ences, bu t the n tha t issu e wa s alread y raised : wha t woul d appea r t o b e the nor m fo r men , hirsutenes s (Davi s 1986) , i s i n fac t seldo m idealize d except whe n merchandizin g th e hunte r o r lumberjac k look . Nor , w e may suggest, is the small svelte frame —or th e opposite i n lifters, massive over-articulated bodies —particularly "natural. " Th e develope d muscu lar bod y tha t look s s o spectacular i n competitions an d photograph s get s that loo k onl y afte r week s o f no-fat , high-protein , an d vegetable/frui t diets, alon g wit h hug e dail y dose s o f diuretic s tha t drai n th e moistur e from th e flesh to the extent that jus t befor e competitions , a lifter's speec h slurs, hi s wal k slow s t o a shuffle , an d hi s tongu e stick s t o hi s teeth . Simultaneous us e o f steroid s ca n cos t u p t o $100,000.0 0 a year , an d increase testosteron e level s b y a factor o f 2000. 1 2 In man y publication s today , th e flesh o f th e coverbo y undergoe s extensive treatmen t i n th e photographi c studio , removin g freckle s an d blemishes, and heightenin g muscl e definitions . Obviousl y ther e i s just a s much mode l tyrann y goin g o n wit h respec t t o male s a s ha s bee n tru e of wome n fo r a lon g time . N o wonde r Rober t Bly' s Wildma n seem s appealing—it's th e bod y mos t o f u s alread y hav e (well , giv e o r tak e the muscles ; sometime s I wouldn' t min d bein g described , a s Arnol d Schwarzenegger ha s been , a s lookin g lik e " a condo m stuffe d wit h wal nuts," Hoberma n 1991) . 4. The body is active. No t muc h choic e o n thi s one—activit y i s identified repeatedl y i n an y o f th e material s I'v e considere d a s a n inde x of masculinity. It is "natural" n o less than th e idealized women' s appear ance, althoug h i n fact , image s o f handsome , muscula r mal e bodie s ar e achieved onl y a s resul t o f extremel y har d wor k an d subsequen t photo manipulation i n th e darkroom . However , a s Dye r observe s fro m th e backgrounds utilize d fo r mal e pinup s an d i n flesh magazines , the y mus t appear t o b e natura l (1992 : 116) . Melod y Davi s note s (1991 : 10-11 ) that i n photograph y actio n i s almos t de rigueur ior male , passivit y fo r female nudes . Sh e suggests (13 ) tha t i n thi s context, homophobi a ca n b e understood a s bein g a self-protectio n o f insecur e male s agains t slippin g back int o a passive, acted-upon childhoo d stage . In a widely-cited essay , Leo Bersan i suggest s tha t on e appropriat e synony m fo r phallocentris m is the denia l tha t passivit y ca n eve r b e positive (1987 : 217) . No wonde r local men's movement s hav e needed frequentl y t o begi n with session s o n learning ho w passivit y i s not a n hyperallergeni c strai n o f masculinity ! 5. Th e bod y i s large and hard: sometimes , a s Erns t va n Alphe n

Baring the Flesh 28 suggests, i t become s a displacemen t fo r th e lim p peni s tha t on e canno t always contro l (1992 : 179 ; similarly Fussel l 1993 : 580) . Certainl y ther e are analogie s betwee n bodybuildin g an d sexualit y tha t woul d bea r ou t such a point . Jonathan Goldberg' s rathe r snid e treatmen t o f Schwarzen egger cite s th e parallel s betwee n th e "pump, " th e feelin g tha t come s when a muscle i s full o f bloo d an d shor t o n oxygen , an d sexua l orgasm : "it's a s satisfyin g a s coming, " say s Schwarzenegge r (Goldber g 1992a : 175). O f cours e i f al l o f th e bod y ha s orgasmi c potential , the n th e phallos-penis woul d b e denie d it s power , doubtles s on e o f th e reason s for th e many eas y parodies o f hypermasculinit y (Goldberg : "a s excessiv e coming, the pum p disconnect s phallu s an d penis, " 1992 a 176) . In bodybuilding , a s Goldber g note s (176-77; likewis e Dutto n 1994 : 177), ther e i s an all-inclusiv e narcissis m tha t extend s th e ide a o f huma n perfectibility t o th e drea m o f immortality ; Dutto n speak s o f a n "arche typal bodil y configuration " desire d b y th e lifter . Migh t suc h perfec tionism no t represen t a sor t o f religio-materialis t conservatism , prepar ing th e bod y fo r it s physica l resurrectio n i n th e nex t life , o r a n atavisti c recourse to the progenitor Ada m (Fussel l 1993 : 593)? In a contemporar y bodyology, othe r religiou s issue s woul d hav e t o b e face d i n discussin g the perfectabilit y o f th e body—suc h a s doctrine s o f concupiscenc e o r original sin , anthropology , huma n fallibility , creation , eschatology , an d the natur e o f th e godhead/s . Th e Adami c idealis m may , a s Dutto n suggests (1994 : 176 , 178 ) represen t les s a religiousl y oriente d mode l than a n anti-contemporar y reactio n tha t harken s bac k nostalgicall y t o a more active , pre-technological lifestyle . 6. A t an y rate , among th e body-reshaping s contemporar y consumer s are eager t o purchase i s the fulfillment o f the dream o f the massive penis: for a se t fe e o f fou r thousan d dollars , a surgeo n i n Beverl y Hill s offer s penile augmentatio n procedures . Thes e offe r a s muc h a s fifty percen t gain i n size—but th e operatio n ha s to b e repeated o r abou t hal f th e gai n will disappear , an d th e procedur e relocate s one' s ow n bod y fa t t o th e penis, so that th e bodie s presente d b y some lea n youn g surfe r customer s lack extra fa t t o transfer. Anothe r alternative , the penile implants chose n by thousand s o f males , allo w a ma n t o hav e intercours e wit h a fully erect penis, bu t lackin g al l penile sensatio n (se e Doty 1993 : 39). 7. Finally , strangely enough , fo r al l its beauty, the mal e bod y i n mas s media representation s toda y neve r looks very interested in anything, or happy. Lik e Kierkegaard , I d o no t complai n tha t th e time s ar e evil ,

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but tha t the y ar e banal ; henc e anothe r aspec t o f contemporar y mal e iconography tha t intrigue s m e is the numbe r o f apparentl y bore d visage s who lif t weight s o r contor t themselve s throug h Solofle x o r Universa l exercise machines , o r wh o mode l unitard s o r teeshirt s i n clothin g cata logues. Perhaps th e heigh t o f th e mie n i s that foun d i n Guess ! advertise ments, wher e th e cowbo y o r grease r alway s need s a shav e an d usuall y grimaces. 13 Even male s pai d t o ge t "blisse d out " wit h a woma n o r anothe r mal e in por n magazine s seldo m smil e o r displa y an y facial characteristi c tha t wouldn't b e a possibl e byproduc t o f a designe r drug , bu t hardl y com pares with usua l expressions o f pleasure. I'm reminde d o f an ol d Playboy joke wher e th e directo r o f a por n film instruct s th e coupl e jus t filmed in flagrante delicto t o d o a replay , "Bu t thi s time , Sam , tak e th e cigarett e out o f you r mouth! " I canno t bu t b e reminde d o f th e maske d face s o f bot h gender s tha t sometimes confron t m e i n th e classroo m unti l w e ge t t o kno w on e another a bit , o r student s ge t irritate d a t me , or amused . I suspect a sor t of self-protectivenes s goin g on , an d I a m reminde d o f th e Stoi c qualit y of ataraxia b y whic h on e learne d no t t o car e to o muc h i n a n urba n world o f constan t change , no t t o pu t one' s person a to o muc h ou t i n th e open, bu t rathe r t o retrea t inwardly , t o hav e a quie t cente r i n onesel f and find one' s values within. Such a posture depende d upo n a worldvie w that sa w a universa l Logo s permeatin g al l flesh (se e Gou x 1992)— a reasonability quit e beyon d th e apparen t "postmodernist " chaos—an d the expressio n o f toda y seem s anchore d i n muc h les s self-awar e o r philosophical perspectives. 14 Certainly I am no t suggestin g tha t w e wan t mor e hyperagitate d peo ple; an d we'r e alread y saturate d wit h tha t America n Smil e tha t th e department stor e cler k flashes a s sh e debit s one' s credi t car d account . But I find somethin g lacking , somethin g curiousl y amiss , whe n al l th e healthy musculatur e doesn' t lea d t o somethin g mor e tha n face s devoi d of expressivenes s an d personality , eve n afte r ever y toot h ha s bee n ad justed t o th e exac t vertical , an d ever y pimpl e cosmeticall y hidden . Gen dering i s one o f th e scene s i n whic h w e ar e instructe d abou t playin g th e roles tha t sustai n socia l interactio n withi n genderin g scenario s today . I am no t encourage d b y the fac t tha t ofte n th e mos t splendidl y develope d Soloflex bodie s ar e topped b y mechanically blank , affectles s faces .

Baring the Flesh 28 M e n a s Object s o f th e Gaz e Having introduce d th e concep t o f mythi c determinatio n o f th e culture' s gaze i n a previou s sectio n o f thi s chapter , i t i s not unfounde d t o cit e th e Dutch semioticia n Miek e Ba l o n thei r equivalence : "Th e gaz e i s . . . th e visual equivalen t o f myth . I t i s a readin g attitud e tha t fixes th e objec t and build s o n th e illusio n tha t th e objec t exist s outsid e o f time , space , and th e viewer' s body " (1991 : 148 ; see als o Ba l an d Bryso n 1991 : 190 , 199; an d Karatheodori s an d Dot y 1995) . "Outsid e o f time , space , an d the viewer' s body " i s th e real m o f "th e natural " a s w e hav e confronte d that illusio n repeatedl y here . As developed b y Laur a Mulve y (1989 ) an d others, th e Lacania n concep t o f th e gaz e ha s t o d o wit h way s culture s self-replicate, i n particula r wit h respec t t o thei r hermeneutica l significa tions o f gende r displays . That concep t i s close t o Freud' s observatio n o f how on e ca n kno w an d no t kno w somethin g a t th e sam e time , what h e calls "tha t blindnes s o f th e seein g ey e whic h i s s o astonishin g i n th e attitude o f mother s t o thei r daughters , husband s t o thei r wives , an d rulers t o thei r favorites " (195 5 [1895] : 117m) . In a n earlie r wor k wit h a colleagu e (Karatheodori s an d Dot y 1995) , we trac e th e establishmen t o f th e objectifyin g gaz e o f "Man " bac k t o Renaissance humanism , i n the artisti c perspectivism followin g Masaccio ; humanist understanding s o f th e productio n o f meanin g generate d a sor t of visua l machin e i n th e us e o f one-poin t linea r perspectivism . I t wa s a machine fo r producin g spectators , an d th e subjec t positio n produce d was markedl y tha t o f males , whose socia l action s duplicate d th e contro l of appearance s i n the political order . Indeed , perspectivis m ha s provide d a hegemoni c narrativ e o f consciousness , b y teachin g u s ho w t o se e an d what t o loo k at . Later , Freu d taugh t u s ho w littl e o f self-consciousnes s was implicated i n the lookin g itself, how i n spite of Enlightenmen t ideal s of equalit y an d fairness , narcissistic , eroti c subtext s alway s replicate d the viewin g machinery , an d ho w unti l th e presen t thos e subtext s hav e primarily bee n monofoca l i n term s o f lookin g fro m th e mal e t o th e female a s th e objec t o f desire . "T o represent, " postmodernis t ar t criti c Craig Owen s see s clearly, "i s to subjugate " (1992 : xv). While Owen s sough t t o clarif y jus t ho w muc h o f ou r vi e wing-gazing is materiall y determine d an d culturall y impressed , an d henc e ou r nee d for cautio n i n treatin g "image s tha t appea r t o b e natural , inevitable ,

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universal, immutable," th e earlier an d no w classi c analysis o f "th e gaze " in th e art s wa s Laur a Mulvey' s "Visua l Pleasur e an d Narrativ e Cin ema." 15 Mulve y note d tha t "woma n . . . stands i n patriarcha l cultur e a s a signifie r fo r th e mal e other , boun d b y a symboli c orde r i n whic h ma n can liv e out hi s fantasie s an d obsession s throug h linguisti c comman d b y imposing the m o n th e silen t imag e o f woma n stil l tie d t o he r plac e a s bearer, no t maker , o f meaning " (1989 : 15) . Henc e th e correlation s male:active, womanrpassive . Bu t woma n bot h represent s a pleasur e t o see (scopophilia ) an d remind s male s o f th e possibilit y o f castration — since, fro m th e phallos-bearin g mal e hegemoni c perspective , sh e seem s to hav e bee n castrated (21) . In films, th e initia l targe t o f Mulvey' s attention , th e absenc e o f th e male controllin g gaz e withi n th e vie w o n th e scree n i s striking (22) . Th e deadly wor k o f tha t gaz e i s don e b y implication : "th e powe r t o subjec t another perso n t o th e will sadisticall y o r t o th e gaz e voyeuristicall y i s turned ont o th e woma n a s th e objec t o f both " (23) . "Goin g fa r beyon d highlighting a woman's to-be-looked-at-ness , cinem a build s th e wa y sh e is t o b e looke d a t int o th e spectacl e itself " (25) , an d "th e camer a becomes th e mechanis m fo r producin g a n illusio n o f Renaissanc e space , flowing movement s compatibl e wit h th e huma n eye , a n ideolog y o f representation tha t revolve s aroun d th e perceptio n o f th e subject ; th e camera's loo k i s disavowe d i n orde r t o creat e a convincin g worl d i n which th e spectator' s surrogat e ca n perfor m wit h verisimilitude " (26) . In other words , the spectator i s simultaneously trapped—withi n hi s ow n voyeurism an d projections , rathe r tha n reality . Mulvey's initia l essa y opene d critica l perspective s previousl y unreal ized, an d i n he r reflection s upo n i t te n year s later , sh e reshape d som e o f her Freudia n perspective s i n the light o f Lacania n thought , reconsiderin g the inside/outsid e dichotom y upo n whic h s o much o f he r earlie r analysi s had relied . Subsequently , othe r analyst s hav e confirme d o r qualifie d Mulvey's analysis . Owens , fo r instance , observe d tha t "mor e tha n th e other senses , th e ey e objectifie s an d masters . I t set s a t a distance , main tains th e distance . In ou r culture , th e predominanc e o f th e loo k ove r smell, taste , touch , hearing , ha s brough t abou t a n impoverishmen t o f bodily relations. . . . The momen t th e loo k dominates , th e bod y lose s it s materiality" (1992 : 178) . Jonathan Goldber g (1992a ) als o ha s note d aspect s o f a ga y gaz e directed towar d bodybuilders , ye t thi s topi c i s seldo m discusse d withi n

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13.4. "Th e Gaze Reversed." (Th e Liberto Jean Compan y ha s gone out of business. Several attempts were made—unsuccessfully, a s it turned out—t o contac t agents of the company an d their publicists in order to obtain forma l permissio n for use of this illustration.) literature abou t th e spor t (Dutto n recognize s homoeroti c aspects , bu t primarily trace s the wider issue s of eroti c voyeurism , o f th e perfec t bod y as a pleasur e symbol , 1994 : 8 , 16 , 344-45) . The designe r o f th e Libert o jean advertisemen t i n whic h a femal e i s show n photographin g a youn g man's bar e tors o (se e figure 13.4 ) simpl y canno t hav e bee n ignoran t o f the lon g histor y o f feminis t discours e abou t th e gaze , which i s her e no t transcended bu t merel y reversed , accordin g t o ou r culture' s tyrannizin g gender dichotomizatio n (critique d i n chapter 2 of Dot y 1993) . Already distinguished b y analyses of the film The Son of the Sheik an d the mal e pinup , i n Only Entertainment (1992) , Richar d Dye r capture s something o f th e issu e a t hand , i n term s o f th e "activ e viewer"/"passiv e viewed object " dichotomy : "Th e ter m 'se x object ' implie s a certai n passivity, a perso n jus t 'there ' fo r th e viewe r t o gaz e upon . Se x object s are pinned up , fixed, t o b e looked at . This submissivenes s accord s easil y with the female se x role, which i s so heavily defined i n terms of passivity ;

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but wha t happen s whe n i t i s a ma n wh o i s the se x object? " (9% Dutto n qualifies Dyer' s interpretation , 1994 : 338-44) . According t o Esquire magazin e (Davi s 1986) , Bruc e Weber , th e pho tographer wh o "turne d me n int o sex objects , an d gav e u s on e mor e thing t o worr y about, " understand s th e ne w condition s o f th e gaze . Studying th e famou s Calvi n Klei n a d o f a young ma n wearin g onl y well stuffed whit e undershorts , sho t fro m below , a y-shape d whit e stuccoe d building abov e him , echoin g th e upsid e dow n tapin g o f th e shorts— a photograph no t onl y reproduce d i n hundred s o f magazin e an d newspa per advertisements , bu t screene d ont o a massiv e billboar d tha t loome d over Times Squar e fo r months 16 —Peter Davi s comments : The photograph fo r thi s advertisement, whic h ostensibl y sol d Calvi n Klei n un derwear an d i s accused of selling a subversive version o f male sexuality a s well, was take n b y Bruc e Weber . Bruc e Webe r i s th e fashio n photographe r sai d t o have taken ma n out of the gray flannel suit and t o have put him in underpants, said to have done more to change the look of me n than anyon e since Adam, to have reversed i n fact, th e trend towar d concealmen t begu n b y Adam. Someone even said that Go d created Adam , but i t took Bruc e Weber to give him a body. (1986: 340) Esquire write r Davi s remark s upo n hi s ow n apperception s o f Weber' s photographs o f youn g mal e bodies : how I felt wa s tha t Bruc e Weber's photograph s attracte d an d repelle d m e and the scar y par t finally was no t th e attractio n bu t th e repulsion . Th e flicker of uneasiness the y cause d a s th e flesh crawled—toward th e pictures ? awa y fro m them?—was th e margi n betwee n glea m an d threat . Th e picture s expose d no t only those portrayed i n them but also those who looked. A new view of self was involved here , on e tha t wome n woul d recogniz e bette r tha n men , on e wit h a political as well as a psychological meaning. Men had become objects now, now and forever . The sourc e o f th e threa t i s no t ou r fea r tha t Bruc e Weber' s me n ar e mor e attractive t o wome n tha n w e are . Th e Marlboro ma n i s mor e attractiv e t o women than we are, but we are not jarred b y him, and we do not look and look and loo k agai n a t th e Marlbor o man . I t i s th e differenc e betwee n Zeu s an d Apollo. Zeus rules; Apollo appeals. The Calvin Klein model in the underpants is a divine creature an d h e beckons. Beckoning, he attacks a man's concept o f his own sexuality, his own heterosexuality. (1986: 346) Davis leave s u s u p i n th e ai r wit h respec t t o th e "attack " h e experi enced, bu t Erns t va n Alphen' s perceptiv e stud y (1992 ) o f th e work s o f Francis Baco n suggest s tha t th e Britis h painte r worke d precisel y agains t

Baring the Flesh 28 the traditiona l stereotypica l replication/idealizatio n o f th e mal e bod y that i s the flip-side o f "th e gaze." Bacon intended t o reject (phallocentric ) wholeness an d t o produc e fragmentation . H e state s tha t "wha t I wan t to d o i s t o distor t th e thin g fa r beyon d th e appearance , bu t i n th e distortion t o bring it back to a recording o f the appearance" (va n Alphe n 1992: 166) . Hence Bacon' s frequen t recours e t o disfigure d people—jus t what Melod y Davi s (1991 ) finds recurren t i n th e si x photographer s sh e studies, wh o d o no t believ e tha t th e mal e bod y nee d b e "pretty. " Wit h respect t o Bacon , va n Alphe n note s (1992 : 168 ) tha t "al l figures ar e fragmented a s if they [were ] dwarfs o r paralytics . Every figure, deforme d or not , i s disfigured. " Important wit h respec t t o m y curren t contex t i s bot h tha t fe w othe r painters i n th e Wes t hav e focuse d s o extensivel y upo n th e mal e body , and tha t "th e Wester n constructio n o f masculinit y i s on e o f th e majo r stereotypical discourse s challenge d b y Bacon " (va n Alphe n 1992 : 168) . Challenged, deconstructed , reconsidered . Baco n challenge s an d a t th e same tim e reconceive s th e traditio n b y whic h th e nud e ha s bee n pre sented—that i s t o sa y "th e femal e nude , tha t toke n o f th e masculin e gaze, fetis h o f th e Wester n eye , an d mos t characteristi c representatio n of objectification. " O f cours e suc h a representatio n entail s importan t economic ramifications , sinc e "b y th e nineteent h centur y th e femal e nude ha d supplante d th e mal e nud e i n academi c tradition . Th e femal e nude ha d b y mid-centur y i n Pari s becom e th e mos t profitabl e an d state sponsored subjec t fo r painters " (Davi s 1991 : 1), and therefor e th e mos t salable i n the ar t market . Similar real-worl d contour s ar e n o les s eviden t today : "i n 1976 , Jacqueline Livingston , i n a well-documente d case , wa s dismisse d fro m Cornell becaus e she photographed he r husband , father-in-law , an d smal l son nude " (Davi s 1991 : 159-60) . Davi s note s tha t ther e ha s bee n suc h an absenc e o f mal e nude s tha t whe n the y hav e appeared , the y hav e drawn abou t the m a stron g animu s o f taboo . Onl y sinc e abou t 197 8 "has th e critical an d curatoria l silenc e surrounding th e male bod y begu n to dissipate " (Davi s 1991 : 3), while th e frequen t us e o f th e mor e o r les s nude mal e mode l date s onl y t o th e lat e 1980s . In th e ar t world , tha t fac t i n itsel f i s fascinating : Mir a Scho r note s that a person who would seek to learn about the physionomy of male genitalia solely through the visual documentation o f painting and sculpture (rathe r than that of pornography) would b e sorely puzzled by the discrepancy between the evidently

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phallocentric worl d o f culture , of politica l an d sexua l dominanc e b y men, and the les s tha n impressiv e appendag e t o representation s o f mal e nude s i n art . (1988:3) In jus t suc h a n ideologicall y pregnan t context , Terr y Eagleto n ob serves tha t "i t i s i n th e significan t silences o f a text , i n it s gap s an d absences tha t th e presenc e o f ideolog y ca n b e mos t positivel y felt . I t i s these silence s whic h th e criti c mus t mak e 'speak ' " (1976 : 34) . Likewis e Mieke Ba l (1991 ) return s repeatedl y t o th e gaps , th e omissions , th e ignorings o f wha t ha s becom e establishe d i n canonica l perspectives . Phallic "wholeness " a s a masculo-phallocentri c construc t i s calle d int o question radically . Wha t contemporar y re/construction s o f masculinity / religiosity migh t constru e a s re/constructiv e remai n possibilitie s o f th e post-phallocentric gaze , perhap s th e post-religiou s gaz e a s well , give n the usua l freightin g o f "religious. "

Religious Elements/Apori a Various meaning s o f "religious " prohibi t masculo-/logo-centri c clarit y in my concludin g section . N o longe r merel y "traditionall y patriotic, " which i s what religio seems to have meant i n Roma n culture , "religious " now usuall y indicate s somethin g havin g t o d o wit h th e transcenden t o r divine. But , followin g th e etymologica l evidenc e i n th e American Heritage Dictionary (3 d ed. , 1992) , I remain a partisa n o f th e derivatio n o f religion fro m linguisti c roots indicatin g ligature o r (t o insight a different , Sanskrit, root ) yoga, namel y a tying-togethe r o f significances . Hence , over agains t the recent history o f usage , I prefer t o emphasize th e holisti c acting tha t peopl e d o i n th e nam e o f religion , includin g establishin g hermeneutical system s that regulate and preserv e a society's myths, rites, and symbols , includin g i n thi s instanc e icon s o f masculinit y (Dot y 199 3 exhibits m y perspectives wit h regar d t o this framework) . Given tha t etymology , m y "religious " elements/aporia s nee d no t in volve god s o r goddesses , bu t ma y indee d focu s upo n ho w peopl e mak e meanings, an d especiall y th e significance s o f bein g human , a s image d within religiou s communitie s tha t accep t commo n attribution s o f mean ings. Suc h a positio n seem s t o mak e mor e sens e tha n th e opinio n prom ulgated b y Rosari o Assunt o i n th e Encyclopedia of World Art, namel y that th e mor e spiritualize d a religion , th e mor e aniconi c i t wil l b e (vol .

Baring the Flesh 29 7, 1963 : col . 801 , [mis-]cite d b y Freedber g 1989 : 54 , wh o note s tha t "nothing her e is borne ou t b y historical o r ethnographi c evidence"). 17 Except fo r m y reference s t o Steinberg' s stud y o f Renaissanc e Christ imagery, thi s chapte r ha s ha d fe w reference s t o eithe r th e divin e o r the non-materia l transcendent , traffickin g instea d i n th e ver y materia l elements of masculine corporeality an d thei r possibl e significatio n today . Consequently, i f I may b e allowed t o let "religious " stand fo r a broadest possible concep t fo r articulatin g existentia l meaning , wit h o r withou t "gods/goddesses" (o r a s I argue d i n Dot y 1986 : 33-35 , "suprahuman " entities o f whateve r sort) , i t seem s usefu l t o identif y severa l possibl e significations fro m th e material s presente d i n this essay . Polysemy rathe r tha n monotheis m ha s bee n a persona l a s wel l a s professional quir k fo r decades , and thos e who know m y various publica tions will recognize once agai n th e tricksterish, multivalen t hermeneutic s that ha s bee n a leitmotif . Eschewin g th e singl e normativ e answer , post modernist, postfeminis t reading s ough t t o ope n outward s towar d a plu rality o f meanings , withi n th e variou s setting s (n o longe r th e assume d "we" o f th e past ) o f ou r lives . Henc e th e wid e rang e o f observation s shared i n th e essa y an d th e man y question s pose d canno t b e brough t t o a reductiv e singl e focus ; th e question s ar e no t resolved , bu t indee d eve n more are posed i n this conclusion. Honorin g suc h an attitude , I conclude by outlinin g a variet y o f way s t o interpre t th e religiou s significanc e o f what I have explored: 18 1. I hav e referre d t o Le o Steinberg' s Sexuality of Christ (1983 ) sev eral times; in this iconographic stud y of the ostentatio genitalium Christi, the directio n o f one' s gaz e t o th e genital s o f th e infan t Jesus , Steinber g noted tha t durin g a ver y lon g perio d o f Christianity , th e proble m o f religious belie f wa s not , a s i t i s today, th e divin e elemen t i n th e Christi e event, bu t th e human . I n such a context th e genitals of th e bab y signifie d innocence, no t shame , bu t abov e al l th e rea l flesh (henc e th e ter m Steinberg develops , "humanation") . Likewise , th e erectio n eviden t o n many portrayal s o f th e dea d Jesu s signifie d no t macho-eroticis m bu t divine rule even ove r death. 19 Today, however , excep t i n som e Latinat e Catholi c altars , the concep t of a nud e Christ , le t alon e a representatio n wit h genitals , i s almos t inconceivable. In fact, eve n the representation o f Jesus as so truly huma n as t o appreciat e a goo d jok e i s mos t unusual : a 199 3 mai ^ orde r cata logue o f Playboy lingeri e an d erotic a offere d print s o f Fre d Berger' s

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"The Laughin g Christ. " I t i s "s o powerful, " w e ar e told , tha t "Playboy still get s request s fo r reproduction s ove r twenty-tw o year s afte r i t wa s first published. " If for muc h o f Christian history , Jesus is represented a s "th e Represen tative Man, " wha t migh t i t mea n tha t s o muc h nud e mal e fles h no w appears everywhere ? I s thi s litera l unveilin g (apokalypse o r revelatio) a sign o f a n (o r the ) apocalypti c era? 2 0 If , symbolicall y Christ' s nakednes s becomes a n inde x o f hi s humanity , doe s mor e nakednes s toda y mea n more belie f i n ou r humanit y an d les s belie f i n som e concep t o f deity ? The questio n seem s senseles s excep t i n th e lon g traditio n o f th e imitatio Christi: Margare t Walter s note s (1978 : 73-74 ) ho w painter s modele d a beaten, torn , an d strippe d Christus , and eve n i n something lik e the grea t Isenheim altar, a suppurating, morbi d bod y that was commissioned fro m Grunewald b y th e Anthonites, a hospital order specializing in the care of those ill with plague, with leprosy, an d wit h th e terribl e ne w diseas e syphilis . Whe n th e sic k arrive d a t Isenheim, they were taken to pray before a n image of God in their own diseased shape, which perhaps helped them to objectify an d accept their tragic condition. (1978: 73-74) Such identificatio n wit h th e scourge d Chris t (75-76 , illustrated , 92 ) le d the artist Albrecht Diire r to detail hi s Self-P }orttait as the Man of Sorrows of 152 2 with th e specifi c lineament s o f hi s own bod y an d visage . In th e framewor k o f Steinberg' s analysis , doe s th e mal e flesh s o readily displaye d toda y indicat e a newfoun d o r rediscovere d trus t i n th e human condition , a new humanism , jus t whe n w e hea r i n critical theor y of "posthumanis t discourse" ? Doe s i t mea n tha t whe n w e toda y ap proach th e fleshly an d eve n th e genita l n o longe r a s tabooed , bu t a s simply everyday, full y secular , w e no longe r believ e in the importanc e o f the physical/sexual ? O r d o w e believ e i n it , bu t no w i n a hegemoni c ranking abov e th e spiritual , non-embodied ? O r ar e we remanded merel y to the auto-erotic , masturbatory (Fussel l 1993 : 581), to olde r traditiona l patriarchal control-fantasies ? Afte r all , th e earlie r nud e Christu s wa s a s much th e specificall y intende d objec t o f th e gaz e a s wer e women , later . Such a fantasmi c realit y abou t th e bod y i s quit e awkwar d t o integrat e with th e illusionar y natur e o f anothe r powerfu l masculin e ideal , i n tha t "the iron y o f th e illusio n i s that a t hi s most powerful , ou r superhero , th e bodybuilder, i s virtually powerless . Flexin g o n stage , at th e heigh t o f hi s seeming virility , he' s pumpe d s o ful l o f steroid s tha t he' s literall y impo -

Baring the Flesh 29 tent" (Fussel l 1993 : 587) . Henc e severa l postmoder n alternatives : Wha t would i t loo k lik e t o hav e a Gold' s Gy m Christu s o n th e cove r o f th e Christmas-liturgy bulletin ? Wh y woul d Sylveste r Stallone' s nud e bod y seem appropriat e fo r th e cove r o f Vanity Fair, bu t no t fo r tha t sam e bulletin cover ? I n wha t way s ca n th e sam e phenomeno n (increasin g display o f mal e flesh ) betoke n differen t iconographi c valence s i n th e Renaissance (th e godhea d wa s reall y human ) an d toda y (th e huma n i s really divine) ? 2. Usin g th e phallo s a s synecdoch e fo r th e whol e representatio n o f masculinity, Melod y Davi s suggest s tha t i t indicate d "a n unbreachabl e schism betwee n ancient s an d Christians " (1991 : 4; see also Gou x 1992) . Given tha t historica l differenc e i n attitudes towar d th e represented phys ical masculine , a s wel l a s th e subsequen t centurie s i n whic h Christianit y and sexualit y hav e ha d (t o sa y th e least ) a lon g histor y o f dialogue , where a t thi s poin t i s tha t religion' s mos t representativ e teachin g abou t the body , abou t gendering , abou t sexuality?—ther e ar e fe w suc h libera l treatments o f sexualit y a s James Nelson' s (1988 , 1992) . Is it not tim e t o revision "Athen s an d Jerusalem" i n term s o f masculin e sexuality , indee d of sexuality a s such? What doe s it mean tha t th e excluded "pagan, " wit h all it s glorificatio n o f th e idealize d kouros an d kore, i s no w par t o f th e mainstream representatio n o f th e human , i n contras t t o s o man y centu ries of abnegatio n o f physical beaut y withi n Christianity ? 3. Rathe r mor e difficul t t o sketch , bu t n o les s importan t fo r al l that : does th e ver y fleshiness o f th e material s w e hav e scanne d no t indicat e a contemporary trus t i n th e fleshly, th e concrete-bodily , tha t previou s generations hav e no t shared ? Updik e (qu a Goldstei n 1993 : 506 ) speak s of bodybuilders ' "power " a s bein g somethin g exemp t fro m time , tran scendent. Wher e ar e w e vis-a-vi s earlie r body-admirin g civilizations , classical Greec e primar y amon g them ? Ough t w e tur n t o the m fo r nurturance, o r ar e the y s o fa r remove d fro m u s i n cultura l histor y tha t they ar e irrelevan t referents ? Wha t wil l shap e th e ne w canon s o f idea l reference, particularl y i n a tim e o f disma y wit h respec t towar d scriptur ally represented genderin g tha t i s now voice d b y postfeminist scholars ? What migh t i t mea n t o th e shap e o f America n religion s t o hea r from thei r pulpit s no t anti-materialistic , bu t body-affirmativ e messages , sermons proactiv e towar d th e flesh instea d o f shunnin g it ? Ca n w e conceive "non-sexis t men' s bodies " whos e non-hegemonic , non-sexis t contours shar e the proleptic qualitie s heretofor e image d primaril y withi n

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science fiction, ye t whos e possibl e realization s exten d acros s grea t ex panses o f possibl y enacte d mode s an d model s o f huma n selfhood ? 4. Give n th e enchantmen t i n ou r societ y wit h th e bulemic/skinn y female body , ought on e anticipate that a similar fascinatio n will promot e the skinn y mal e bod y t o th e socia l ideal ? Th e nor m o f a 3 8 inc h waist , mentioned above , would argu e otherwise, bu t "medium " i n men's cloth ing usuall y indicate s a 30-3 2 inc h waist , s o tha t Dutton' s commen t alongside a photograp h o f a slende r youn g male , pose d wit h hi s jean s unbuttoned t o expose his underwear, i s to the point: "Th e contemporar y Western idea l is slimness, reflecting athleti c competitiveness an d youthfu l vigor withi n a socia l syste m geare d t o promotin g thes e a s ideals " (1994 : 180). Especially i n ligh t o f suggestion s tha t bod y weight/appearanc e i s ge netically determined , t o wha t exten t ough t religio-ideologica l model s instantiate ideal s o f slightness ? I f person s concerne d t o scou r children' s books fo r instance s o f racis m o r sexis m hav e ha d a clear mandate , wha t would empowe r other s no w t o legislat e agains t "bodyism" ? Obviously "mode l tyranny " i s no t jus t a matte r o f men' s clothin g catalogues o r flesh magazines . Mora l car e fo r th e language , b e i t word s or icons , ough t t o b e clear . I f Dye r (1992 : 131 ) i s correc t i n assertin g that "por n ha s rathe r cornere d th e marke t o n th e representatio n o f sexuality," an d tha t "muc h tha t i s happenin g i s als o seekin g t o brea k down th e categor y 'sexuality, ' understoo d a s 'genita l sexuality, ' an d replace i t wit h a ne w understandin g an d experienc e o f th e bod y i n human existence " (169) , the n wha t i s lef t fo r th e real m o f th e non pornographic? Ho w migh t th e non-pornographi c b e represente d i n a postmodern, no-holds-barre d situatio n wher e th e boundarie s o f th e transgressive ar e seldo m sharpl y defined ? Wher e withi n religiou s hege monies migh t transgressiv e boundarie s b e appropriately established ? To b e sure , issue s o f representatio n ar e deepl y problemati c i n post foundationalist cultures . Fo r example , Le o Bersan i (1987 : 198 ) high lights th e mora l issue s i n treatin g ga y me n an d person s wit h AIDS i n terms o f car e fo r ou r publi c discours e an d it s consequences ; h e woul d speak o f " a crisis of representation" whe n the incursion o f HIV is treated as a n unprecedente d sexua l threat , o r whe n i t i s treate d i n term s o f protecting straight peopl e in the future rathe r tha n healin g contemporar y sufferers.21 Perhap s i t i s no t customar y t o refe r t o th e role s o f religion s in disciplining the communal discours e an d catalogu e o f representations ,

Baring the Flesh 2 but precisel y wha t characterize s th e hermeneutica l componen t o f reli gions i s the selectio n o f roo t metaphor s an d thei r particular mythi c an d spiritual elaboration . I n ou r immediate context , ho w migh t religiou s diction allo w contemporar y gende r consciousnes s a rol e i n double checking theological formulation s an d ritual texts ? 5. I s the contemporary fascinatio n wit h th e perfect mal e bod y (phal lic? the word derive s from L . fascinum, a phallic-shaped amulet ) merel y another indicatio n o f ou r culture' s dedicatio n t o th e cul t o f yout h (se e Dutton 1994 : 170 , 335-55) , an d ho w i s i t differen t fro m th e idealizin g of th e svelt e femal e body , i f i t i s different? Emphasi s upo n yout h toda y in terms of a large percentage o f the population i s not striking, althoug h that argumen t woul d lea d on e t o expec t man y mor e model s ove r fifty years old, as well. As I mentione d whe n codin g th e body-handsom e above , th e focu s upon youth may represent merely a cultural immaturity, a refusal t o fac e aging o r th e restriction s o f wha t Asia n India n cultur e refer s t o a s th e householder stag e (on e o f th e sequentia l ashramas). Diete r Lenze n (1989) argue s fo r a radica l Christia n root : th e recen t emphasi s upo n freeing th e inne r chil d an d psychologica l anamnesi s ma y b e merel y a replay o f Christia n admonition s t o becom e a s littl e children . Lenze n considers this emphasis upon youth to result from an apocalyptic process that essentiall y nullifie s history. 22 Certainly , worshippin g youth , a soci ety ma y fai l t o pla n fo r th e futur e (urba n planning ) o r indee d fo r th e present moment (politics) . Lawrence Grossber g refer s t o th e bab y boome r generatio n tha t wouldn't an d won't gro w ou t o f th e values an d experience s o f it s yout h (1992: 184) . Mor e recentl y w e hea r abou t "thirteeners"— thos e wh o comprise th e followin g generation , bor n betwee n 196 1 an d 1981—wh o do no t hav e th e luxurie s o r th e brigh t prospect s o f thei r predecessors , and wh o challeng e ou r sterotyp e o f carefre e youthfulness . I am talking , in term s o f religion , abou t disenfranchisement , whic h frequentl y i n th e history o f th e world' s religion s accompanie s religiou s revivalism , i f no t revolution o r carg o cul t formation. 23 Presumably , then , th e "fascina tion" i s no t jus t phallic-patriarcha l dominant , bu t als o r e visionary, "share th e goodies " redress-seekin g aggressio n o f th e younge r genera tion, who, after all, are the most likely to be able to develop the idealized body. I n thi s case , muscle s mea n no t admirin g huma n developmen t s o much as sentiments of "i n your face," "u p yours!"

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6. Ho w differen t fro m traditiona l patriarcha l view s ough t a contem porary regar d fo r th e mal e bod y be ? T o wha t exten t i s th e muscula r body correlate d wit h o r differentiate d fro m th e caring , sensitiv e mal e persona? Wher e ar e th e traditiona l religiou s organization s i n thi s con text? Ough t on e spea k o f a Presbyterian body , a Churc h o f Chris t body , a liberal-Jewis h body , an d s o forth ? Ho w i s such a poin t differen t fro m Barbara Myerhoff' s importan t suggestio n (1978 : 257 ) tha t a religio n i s transmitted an d maintaine d primaril y throug h it s cultura l inflections ? How i s th e bod y tha t live s ou t suc h cultural-religiou s inflection s distin guished fro m th e kashrut (Jewis h dietar y customs) , fo r instance ? Ou r traditional religiou s separation s betwee n fles h an d ide a ma y nee d sig nificant reconsideration , a s w e tak e seriousl y th e embodied , materialis t incorporations o f religiou s experiences . Les s idealizing , rationalisti c ab stractions o f wha t religion s migh t b e like ; mor e materialistic , encorpo rated concretion s o f ho w mythico-religiou s perspective s ar e enacted : a full y postfeminis t perspectiv e wil l no t b e satisfie d wit h rationalisti c explanations o f historica l derivations , bu t wil l deman d a n accountin g o f lived-out experientia l perspective s fro m within . Again , development s within gende r studie s driv e advance d analyse s beyon d earlie r parochia l limits. 7. Certainl y th e machin e ha s bee n a majo r "divinity " o f th e late nineteenth an d twentiet h centuries , an d i t i s no t coincidenta l tha t th e body a s a machine i s a recurren t them e today . In Body Theology, Jame s Nelson note s that th e male counterpart t o the feminist-liberationist guid e entitled Our Bodies Our Selves wa s entitle d Man's Body: An Owner's Manual—"there i t is : th e bod y i s lik e a car—somethin g t o own , use , and kee p i n goo d operatin g conditio n fo r maximu m performance " (1992: 106-7). 2 4 One dange r o f suc h a Cartesia n mode l i s it s dualism : "to o ofte n w e have been taught b y culture, by religion, and b y medicine that our bodie s are somethin g quit e differen t fro m ou r rea l selves . We hav e learne d tha t our rea l selve s exist i n our mind s o r ou r spirits , while ou r bodie s ar e bu t intricate machines" (125) . How migh t contemporary gende r studies hav e an impac t upo n traditiona l dualisti c worldviews , s o tha t healt h (earlier : wholth) become s onc e agai n a concep t o f integra l harmon y betwee n th e mind an d th e body ? Another dange r i s that th e machine-lik e bod y come s t o see m a sor t o f armoring; i t will ensur e tha t there' s n o slippag e betwee n bod y an d soul , or oute r an d inne r worlds . A usefu l wor k fo r comprehendin g mal e

Baring the Flesh 29 iconography, Anthon y Easthope' s What a Man's Gotta Do: The Masculine Myth in Popular Culture (1990 : 55) , trace s th e manne r i n whic h portrayals o f nationa l issues—hi s exampl e i s th e 198 2 Falkland s epi sode—may represen t a n extensio n o f jus t suc h a patriarcha l mod e o f thinking. Accordingly , allegorie s ar e develope d i n whic h th e insid e (th e nation) i s threatene d fro m th e outsid e (th e aggressor) ; meanwhil e w e (those inside ) ar e stable , unified , an d rational , bu t the y (thos e outside ) are considere d dangerousl y labil e an d slippery , an d s o forth . Jonatha n Goldberg (1992b ) persue s a similar line of thought on the "sodomizing " of Sadda m i n th e Persia n Gul f War : i t i s obviou s tha t th e languag e o f masculine machiner y translate s easil y int o term s o f subjectio n o f a n enemy. Elsewhere, Goldber g analyze s image s o f Arnol d Schwarzenegge r i n order t o demonstrat e th e parallel s betwee n hi s cybor g movi e role s an d his bodybuildin g roles . Neithe r i s "natural, " th e wa y th e ordinar y hu man bod y is : "th e cybor g body—th e bodybuilder' s body—i s 'grown' . . . . I f the bod y tha t surround s th e machine someho w 'humanizes ' i t . . . the 'human ' tha t th e cybor g represent s i s th e produc t o f quit e othe r technologies—a huma n produce d throug h an d succeedin g a s simula tion" (1992a : 186) . The sort s o f de-armorin g o r re-naturin g necessar y fo r psychic an d social healt h ar e clea r i n contemporar y psychotherap y an d i n man y aspects o f th e men' s movements : learnin g ho w t o shar e emotions , t o express affection , an d s o forth , ar e foca l activitie s i n retreat s an d monthly drummin g sessions ; th e armo r o f th e machine ma y no t b e a s deeply se t a s phalli c patriarch y ha s intended . Personally , I woul d b e suspicious of a religious organization that did not offer attentio n to some of th e discipline s tha t ca n hel p disengag e th e machine-lik e carapace . I t helps t o b e awar e o f historica l contexts : i n previou s generations , i t would hav e bee n unthinkabl e fo r a self-respecting mal e no t t o cr y copi ously a t a funera l (se e Rotund o 1993) . Th e machine o f ou r ow n da y may segue into a sharply contrasting model as the end of the millenniu m approaches (Grung e rock?). 8. Wil l Rosco e provide s ye t anothe r strikin g possibilit y a s w e dra w together some ways of responding to the bared flesh of today : is it not possible to see in the gay [only?] fascination with bodybuilding, costuming, tattooing, and piercing, and with the physical and psychological extreme of sadomasochism, in particular . . . a radical transformatio n o f the body [similar to self-castration , a s i n th e Atti s myth ] tha t constructs a new identity, th e

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removal o f a par t i n a metaphorica l operatio n o f self-birth ? (1993 : 119 ; my emphasis) The mythi c backgroun d i s that o f th e divin e child o r th e hermaphrodite ; while Roscoe' s suggestio n o f a reorientin g interpretatio n o f th e modifie d male body needs to be elaborated considerably , hi s essay helpfully begin s the work o f developin g a mythography tha t i s not limite d to the expecta tions o f th e Western dual-gende r system , a s that i s explored helpfull y b y Howard Teic h i n th e sam e volume , i n a n essay entitle d "Homovision : The Solar/Luna r Twin-Ego " (1993) . 9. Wha t d o th e observation s o f thi s chapte r hav e t o d o wit h tradi tional spiritualit y an d th e socia l rol e o f religions ? Ar e ther e way s i n which mal e spiritualit y ough t t o be , o r ca n be , o r migh t b e oriente d toward mor e physica l form s tha n on e no w finds? Shoul d synagogues / churches nationwid e joi n hand s wit h th e Fellowshi p o f Christia n Ath letes to model th e Christia n bod y a s the physically well-develope d body ? In that case, hasn't th e YMCA/YMHA movemen t bee n the real represen tative o f Christianit y an d Judais m i n th e twentiet h century?—not e th e functional importanc e o f men' s organization s i n th e late-nineteent h cen tury, especially. 25 Wher e I live , Souther n Baptis t Churc h buildin g com plexes incorporat e weightliftin g room s i n thei r hug e gymnasiu m struc tures. 10. Dutto n suggest s that th e emphasi s upo n th e muscled youn g bod y represents no t onl y nostalgi a fo r a mor e pristin e past , a poin t note d above, bu t als o th e lates t incarnatio n o f epi c herois m (1994 : 345) . Consequently, th e youthfu l figures i n Calvi n Klei n advertisement s ar e analogous t o th e model s o f antiquity : "i n man y way s th e moder n heir s of th e Gree k vas e athletes " (352) . Bu t furthe r exploratio n o f thi s inter pretive optio n woul d necessaril y entai l revisionis t view s o f th e her o today, a s wel l a s th e fac t tha t th e sculpted , muscle d woman ha s als o appeared a s a recent counterpart t o the male, and i n fact i n the Terminator movies , challenge s th e ver y notio n o f masculin e supremac y (se e th e extensive overview , Aisenber g 1993) . 11. Finally , anathema s agains t patriarch y ar e no w traditional , bu t are ther e opening s i n th e material s i n thi s essa y t o wha t Kaj a Silverma n (1992) term s "non-phalli c masculinities" ? Isn' t phallicis m basicall y th e bigness o f th e muscles/bod y transferre d t o everything me n manipulate — guns, income , house , cars ? Hence : everythin g male s touch , no t jus t th e penis. Even , b y transference , one' s wome n (o r a t leas t thei r breasts ) o r

Baring the Flesh 29 male love r o r spouse , an d beyon d that , one' s athleti c childre n (t o distin guish the m fro m mother-pride , whic h seem s mor e generalized)—al l these have to see m large r tha n life , or a t leas t larger tha n th e possession s of others . Certainly , a s Lawrenc e Grossber g note s (1992 : 506) , "i f th e body i s al l w e have , havin g los t th e sou l hypothesize d b y old-tim e religion, then makin g a spectacle o f abundant materia l possession s is ou r era's specia l for m o f dandyis m an d bourgeois e vanit y alike. " S o i s th e masculine simply a byword fo r consumerism ? I s consumerism essentiall y phallic? The phalli c i s th e totalizing/singularizing , that-which-can-dominate , oversee; th e mal e gaz e i s tha t o f th e possessor . An d th e possesso r i s conservative, fetishizing , an d concealing . Easthop e sting s wit h hi s com ments abou t th e "concealing, " hidin g aspects : despite al l tha t ha s bee n writte n ove r th e pas t twent y year s o n femininit y an d feminism, masculinity has stayed pretty well concealed. This has always been its ruse i n orde r t o hol d o n t o it s power . Masculinit y trie s t o sta y invisibl e b y passing itsel f of f a s norma l an d universal . Word s suc h a s "man " an d "man kind," use d t o signif y th e huma n species , trea t masculinit y a s i f i t covere d everyone. (1990: 1) When masculinit y present s itsel f a s normal , i t automaticall y make s th e feminine see m devian t an d different . With respec t to the totalizing claim, as Davis notes (1991 : 23) , Robert Mapplethorpe's photographi c wor k followe d jus t suc h a conservativ e aesthetic: "th e ful l bod y become s a phallu s tha t symbolize s th e fantas y penis o f powe r an d strength " (69, cf . 75), an d tha t imag e i s represente d as flawles s an d totalizing : "i n th e bodybuilde r physique s o f Mappleth orpe's ideal, there is not a sag or wrinkle, nothing to interrupt th e surfac e beauty, seamles s a s studio paper " (72) , stray bod y hai r a s unwelcom e a s excess flab . What migh t i t mea n t o brin g suc h auto-erotic , masturbator y contro l fantasies int o contras t wit h othe r imagining s o f th e contemporar y male ? I hav e i n min d particularl y thos e o f painter s Franci s Bacon , Eri c Fischl , Paul Cadmus , an d Lucie n Freud—al l o f the m repea t image s i n whic h the mal e bod y i s deconstructed , fragmented , an d onl y agonizingl y brought int o relationships wit h othe r men . While i t is dangerous t o rea d artworks a s narrativ e preachment s (jus t wha t happene d t o Giacometti , whose sculpture s wer e widel y interprete d a s visualization s o f "existen tialist man, " ye t wh o repeatedl y insiste d tha t h e wa s onl y producin g

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pure art) , i t i s n o les s legitimat e t o as k abou t contemporar y artists ' representations o f gender—eve n whe n a s fragmente d an d blurre d a s i n cubism—since visua l an d plasti c artist s ofte n stan d a t th e threshol d o f the new metaphorin g an d iconograph y b y which w e come to understan d ourselves anew . But for no w tha t projec t mus t awai t researc h time . Leo Steinberg's importan t wor k tha t opene d ar t histor y t o ne w direc tions an d tha t ha s bee n utilize d her e fo r a ne w masculinist 26 approach , was a decad e ol d a t th e tim e o f writin g thi s essay . Somethin g o f th e necessary humilit y o f writin g academi c pros e i s inculcate d i n suc h a n instance, in tha t Steinberg' s concludin g sentenc e i s just a s appropriate t o the tentativ e reache s o f this essay a s it was t o thos e o f his : The field I have tried t o enter i s unmapped, an d unsafe , an d mor e far-reachin g than appears from m y present vantage. Much of what I have said is conjectural and surely due for revision... . I have risked hypothetical interpretations chiefl y to show that, whether on e looks with the eye of faith o r with a mythographer' s cool, the full content of the icons discussed bears looking at without shying. And perhaps from on e further motive : to remind the literate among us that there are moments, eve n i n a word y cultur e lik e ours , whe n image s star t fro m n o pre formed progra m t o becom e primar y texts . Treate d a s illustration s o f wha t i s aleady scripted, they withhold their secrets. (1983: 108)

NOTES A very brief bu t illustrated versio n of this essay was presented at a combined meeting o f th e Ga y Men' s Issue s i n Religio n Grou p an d th e Men' s Studie s i n Religion Grou p o f th e America n Academ y o f Religion , Novembe r 1993 . The essay has benefited fro m critiques by Ute Winston and the editor of this volume. 1. Silverma n 1992 : 16 is excellent on showing how certain hegemoni c ideas get to be part of the entire concept of the world as vraisemblance, a process that is crucia l t o understandin g th e long-entrenche d equatio n o f symboli c phallo s and physica l penis . Sh e seek s t o identif y wher e i n ou r ow n cultur e i t break s down, 2 ; and sh e suggests that ideolog y may hav e little to do with consciousl y held ideas, 17. 2. I have in min d primaril y th e tur n t o material s o f po p cultur e previousl y overlooked, bu t a s "bod y history, " ther e ar e othe r aspects , a s pointe d ou t b y Goldstein 1993 : 505: "Like so much recent historiography tha t ha s focused o n the private sphere , body histor y seek s to redirec t attentio n awa y fro m leaders , policies, and institutions, and toward the daily physical life of ordinary people." 3. Les t m y claim see m unfounded, her e is Sam Fussell's description o f "th e early twentieth-centur y traditio n o f th e muscula r Christian , [now ] turne d in ward" (1993 : 594). Not toward Christian charity but toward deltoid definition :

Baring the Flesh 30 The bod y ma y b e th e templ e o f th e Lord , bu t th e gy m i s th e plac e o f worship, and i n this church fo r th e secular , one may experience commu nion (let's lift together) , exaltation (th e pump), confirmation (th e mirror), benediction (th e trainer's nod) , resurrection (th e promise of a new, purer body), ablution (th e post-workout shower) , redemption (th e expiation of sin an d guil t throug h physica l frenzy) , an d eve n divin e selectio n (genet ics—anointed b y God) . A s i n an y religion , doub t an d skepticism , th e artist's assets, are the disciple's worst sins. 4. Details, October 1994 , issue. A delicious sendup of Details will be found in the January 199 4 issue of The Spy as a section entitled Retails, pp. 37-47. 5. Dot y 1993 : chapte r 6 , "Narcissu s an d th e Narcoti c o f th e Self-Bod y Image," i s backgroun d t o muc h o f th e discussio n here . On e imag e elemen t I have not developed is the conditioning of our seeing by the various publications in th e wak e o f Playboy; we wil l hardl y se e Manet' s Olympia i n it s shockin g contrast t o th e earlier , delicate , an d denature d femal e nude s unles s w e ca n bracket the more recent explicitness of showing-forth o f the suppressed. Kent and Morrea u 1985 : 57-58 cit e a contemporary paralle l t o Olympia in the derision and abuse that greeted th e Women's Images of Men exhibits at the London Institut e o f Contemporar y Art s i n 1980 . They not e parallel s betwee n the Manet and the well-known painting by Sylvia Sleigh, Philip Golub Reclining, 1971, i n tha t bot h model s bein g painted star e bac k a t th e viewe r (inappropri ately, in the traditional genre of the nude), 95-96. 6. Fejes' s (1992 ) researc h surve y and , i n th e sam e volume , Strate' s articl e (1992), ar e valuabl e i n groundin g suc h a n analysi s a s this , whic h i s largel y impressionistic. Strate' s wor k i s excellent i n demonstratin g ho w "th e myt h o f masculinity" o f ou r cultur e answer s question s abou t "Ho w doe s a ma n act ? What doe s h e do? " Whil e focuse d upo n hi s advocac y o f homosexua l society , Mohr's " 'Knights, Young Men, Boys': Masculine Worlds and Democrati c Values," chapter 6 in Gay Ideas (1992), is valuable i n developin g a n iconograph y of the masculine. A volume of essays on masculine images in Hollywood cinema (Cohan an d Har k 1993 ) look s useful , bu t i t reache d m y des k onl y a s I wa s correcting the final manuscript. 7. Se e Hillman 1979 , an essay that is crucial to understanding the psychological significance of the great schism. More recently, Mieke Bal's work contributes enormously t o th e deconstructio n o f th e bia s o f th e verba l i n ou r culture ; see especially 1991. 8. Althoug h ther e wer e variou s way s t o explai n th e reaction s agains t th e Mapplethorpe exposing of the penis, often erec t (and as a subtext, possessed by African America n males) , Brooks note s tha t "Mapplethorpe' s photograph s . . . do no t overwhel m u s with th e tremendou s presenc e o f th e phallus , bu t rathe r they offer fo r bemused , even amused, inspection th e penis doing its thing. These photographs ar e ultimatel y demystifying , somethin g tha t muc h o f ou r cultur e apparently is not yet ready to accept" (1993 : 279). The age-old problem is how to demystif y an y subjec t aroun d whic h a societ y ha s se t suc h carefu l guard s

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against seein g differently , i.e. , accordin g t o a demystifyin g o r depotentiatin g hermeneutics. 9. Th e fall 199 0 issue of Aperture magazine (no . 121), entitled The Body in Question, i s devoted t o closer-to-hom e contemporar y taboo s abou t photogra phy—see for instanc e Ginsberg and Riche y (1990) , on the right to photograp h children i n th e nude . Revisionis t essay s i n Bryson , Holly , an d Moxe y 199 1 explicate ways in which the direction of the viewing gaze is inculcated. 10. Obviousl y this sort of iconograph y mus t b e opened u p in parallel to the types of material s considered—as th e New Histor y no w examine s persona l o r business records for details—an d i t must develop some of the semiotic sophistication advance d b y Bal and Bryso n 1991 ; BaPs emphasis upo n readin g fo r th e missing representations , th e gap s i n th e "text, " i n severa l o f he r works , i s important. Likewis e one must sometimes bea r with som e of th e dreck tha t on e tends to ignore; Steinberg, 1983: 85, notes: "there are several reasons why an art historian migh t want to look at bad art"—at poo r early copies, for instance, of a grea t painting , even when th e latte r survive s i n nea r perfec t condition . I n an essay contemporar y wit h this , I suggest tha t th e late r epistolar y nove l raise s a whole series of useful interpretiv e questions about the Pauline epistles. Teachers within religious studies must then perforce intrude such matters as the physiological ramifications o f participatin g i n religious ritua l o r th e ultimately biologica l shapings of images of God/dess the Father/Mother. 11. Ther e ar e severa l example s o f complaint s o f butt-hai r i n th e collectio n known a s Th e Gree k Anthology . Wit h respec t t o facia l hai r i n antiquity , ac cording t o Calass o 1993 : 86 , th e first tw o hair s wer e name d Harmodiu s an d Aristogiton. 12. Se e firsthand accounts of these conditions in Hedegaard 199 3 and Fussell 1993. Fussell note s ho w th e idealize d lifte r bod y falsifie s th e sought-afte r blu e collar worker's body (590 ) to the extent o f becoming what Fussell calls " a selfwilled grotesque " (582) , an d detail s th e extraordinar y regime n involvin g diet , constant strainin g exercise, and use of drugs—all part of what he sees comprising on e appea l o f th e bodybuilde r subculture , namel y it s appea l a s a sor t o f outlaw mentalit y (585) . Dutton note s tha t "practicall y al l to p competitor s fo r the las t twent y year s o r mor e hav e bee n steroid-users—althoug h mos t hav e publicly denie d th e fact " (1994 : 280-81) ; no w th e bodie s o f "natural " body builders look "unnatural" b y comparison! 13. I t too k m e a lon g time t o realiz e tha t th e Gues s compan y sol d jeans . I finally mad e the connection when I saw the logo on a pair that someone walking in front o f m e was wearing, certainly no t fro m i t being obvious i n the ads. But then an ad for Italian socks recently featured a young man standing on one foot , wearing nothing but a jockstrap, so who's to say what explicit means? 14. I t is developed not so much consciously (whic h is the case when a recent widow i s complimented o n he r "stoicism" : "Sh e hardly showe d a tear!" whe n her husband died ) as unconsciously, perhaps as an ingrained trai t of the bodies of those who watch s o much television. A Memphis State study found tha t half a contro l grou p wh o reste d ha d n o dro p i n metaboli c rat e afterward , wherea s

Baring the Flesh 30 the othe r half , afte r watchin g a popula r T V sho w fo r th e sam e period , ha d a drop averaging minus fourteen percen t (reporte d i n Eating Well: The Magazine of Food and Health, 3/15/1993 , 19) . Th e pre-Worl d Wa r I I promis e o f th e expansion o f consciousnes s tha t televisio n woul d brin g no w seem s ironicall y bitter, indeed. 15. Mulve y 1989 : chapter 3 , originally written i n 1973 , published i n 1975, and augmented late r in "Changes : Thoughts on Myth, Narrative an d Historica l Experience," chapter 14. 16. Pete r Brooks notes that in such instances, "advertising has achieved what no artistic or literary genre could: making the private body a subject of everyday public discourse , especially visua l discourse" ; "advertisin g ha s create d a highly coded public discourse of the private" (1993: 257-58). Furthermore, one accomplishment of contemporary advertising is the eroticization o f male underwear, a process whic h ha d t o conten d wit h heavie r layer s o f socia l repressio n an d perhaps indifference. T o fetishize th e male anatomy through it s underwear too k some doing , an d th e subsequen t creatio n o f male-styl e underwea r fo r wome n was an act of cute cultural transgression wholl y characteristic o f late twentiethcentury sensibility. 17. Bu t on the other han d I find too abstract an d distancing Connor's mor e inclusive statement, 1992 : 140: The iron y i s tha t th e rejoinin g i n aestheti c theor y o f spiri t an d sense , intellect an d body , for m an d content , i s simultaneousl y a n authenti c at tempt to restore the immediacy of the human body from it s brutal abstraction int o exchange-valu e an d a n abstrac t idealizatio n whic h i s th e ver y sign o f th e sunderin g tha t i t attempt s t o heal ; th e aestheti c i s her e bot h wound and cure. 18. I a m muc h take n b y th e developmen t o f Bakhtin' s "heteroglossia, " i n line with Derrida' s "dissemination, " particularl y a s developed b y Bal and Bry son, 1991 : They develo p a visua l semiotic s tha t i s abl e t o hee d th e multipl e voices in an artwork an d in viewers at various times. Such a perspective uses the fragmentation o f the text, that was the first task of structuralist methodology, as a means of keeping ideological criticism fro m searchin g for "the " meaning and thereby fallin g bac k int o a naive revanchism. Allowing for a variety o f possible clotures her e recognizes tha t ther e i s no singl e mascuiinis t "answer " an y mor e than ther e i s a single feminist answer , an d invite s the reader mor e fully t o take up the debate. 19. Caroly n Walker Bynum (1991: see chapter 3, "The Body of Christ in the Later Middl e Ages : A Reply t o Le o Steinberg" ) feel s tha t Steinber g read s to o many contemporary idea s back into the medieval world, especially those touching sexuality, and hence misses alternative iconographic and theological matters. Certainly th e immediate claims of the boo k strik e the reader a s excessive, but I find that thi s i s tru e onl y unti l th e larg e numbe r o f example s ar e canvasse d seriously. A single wor k migh t b e questionable , bu t no t i n th e contex t o f th e

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sheer mas s o f representation s o f th e tw o ke y scenes , an d o f parallel s i n th e theological and homiletical teaching that he cites. I d o no t hav e th e resource s t o follo w u p o n Perniola' s observation , 1989 : 245, abou t th e wor k o f George s Bataille : "Bataill e worke d withi n a traditio n that assign s grea t spiritua l valu e t o undressing . Afte r Sain t Paul , thi s spiritua l value foun d a n importan t expressio n i n Sain t Jerome's proposition , nudus nudum Christum sequi (to follow the naked Christ naked), which became a highly developed idea in the Middle Ages." 20. I n hi s postscrip t t o Steinber g 1983 : 202 , John W . O'Malle y caugh t a nearby resonance : "we might have a deliberate pla y on th e idea o f Revelation. ' Velum is a veil, while revelare means to unveil.. .. Thi s God, in other words, is unveiled, revealed, in these scenes as truly and fully man. " 21. Bersani' s brave article is also a dense and convoluted one, and one has to read i t several times before garnerin g al l of it s information, bu t i t is one of the most effective discussion s of the moral implications of representation, and of the power of media to manufacture meanin g by labeling, shaping the social categories b y whic h variou s group s self-identif y (i s "gay " somethin g lik e a n "ethni c identity"?) Als o valuabl e wit h respec t t o th e crisi s o f representation : Crai g Owens's cours e bibliographie s fo r Visualizin g AID S an d Visua l AID S (1992 : 355-65); and see the large-scale art project reported in Boffin an d Gupta 1990 . 22. I a m gratefu l t o Danie l C . Noel , whos e privatel y circulate d Lyonesse Letter no. 6, 11 August 1993 : 4, drew my attention to Lenzen's work. 23. Grossberg' s scathing denunciation of the past decade, 313, aptly summarizes some of th e separating seam s i n the bod y politic : Relations o f inequality , domination, an d oppression , man y o f whic h wer e beginnin g t o b e dismantled , have become the taken-for-granted structur e of social organization. Command ing political alliances have been fractured an d assumed political allegiances have been shattered. The lines dividing the population have been redrawn, sometimes in ne w ways , bu t alway s wit h les s flexibility and mobility . Th e mos t visibl e manifestation o f these changes is the redistribution o f income , which i s now as dangerously skewed as that of many third-world economies. On the Thirteeners, see Howe and Straus s 1993 , although on e longs for les s observation and clever design, and more penetrating socio-moral design. 24. A n extraordinary portraya l o f th e machine-lik e body—a s promis e an d as threat—can b e traced through the indices to both volumes of Theweleit 1987, 1989. 25. Se e Mangan an d Walvi n 1987 , and Carne s 1989 . Rotund o 1993 : 221 notes ho w frequentl y physica l strengt h an d strengt h o f characte r wer e equate d in the many fraternal movements . 26. Yes , I thin k i t i s tim e t o captur e "masculinist " fo r ou r analyses , i n parallel t o "feminist. " Previousl y I have used i t in a negative way , more-or-les s equated with "patriarchal. "

Baring the Flesh 30 REFERENCES

Aisenberg, Nadya . 1993 . Ordinary Heroines: Transforming the Male Myth. New York: Continuum. Alphen, Ernst van. 1992 . Francis Bacon and the Loss of Self. Essay s in Art and Culture. London: Reaktion. Andrews, Suzanna. 1992 . "She's Bare. He's Covered. Is There a Problem?" The New York Times Magazine, 1 November, 13-14 . Bal, Mieke. 1991 . Reading "Rembrandt": Beyond the Word-Image Opposition. Cambridge New Art History and Criticism. New York: Cambridge University Press. Bal, Mieke, and Norma n Bryson . 1991 . "Semiotics an d Ar t History. " The Art Bulletin 73/2:174-208. Bersani, Leo . 1986 . The Freudian Body: Psychoanalysis and Art. Ne w York : Columbia University Press. . 1987 . "Is the Rectum a Grave?" October 43:197-222. Berger, John. 1972 . Ways of Seeing. London: The British Broadcasting Corporation and Penguin Books. Boffin, Tessa , an d Suni l Gupta , eds . 1990 . Ecstatic Antibodies: Resisting the AIDS Mythology. London: Rivers Oram. Brooks, Peter. 1993 . Body Work: Objects of Desire in Modern Narrative. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Brubach, Holly. 1993. "Mail-Order America." The New York Times Magazine, 21 November, 54-61 , 68-69. Bryson, Norman , Michae l An n Holly , an d Keit h Moxey , eds . 1991 . Visual Theory: Painting and Interpretation. Sa n Francisco: HarperCollins. Burroughs, Catherine B. , and Jeffrey Davi d Ehrenreich , eds. 1993 . Reading the Social Body. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. Bynum, Carolin e Walker . 1991 . Fragmentation and Redemption: Essays on Gender and the Human Body in Medieval Religion. Ne w York: Zone Books. Calasso, Roberto. 1993 . The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony. Trans . Tim Parks. New York: Dutton. Carnes, Mark C . 1989 . Secret Ritual and Manhood in Victorian America. New Haven: Yale University Press. Cohan, Steven . 1993 . "Masqueradin g a s th e America n Mal e i n th e Fifties : Picnic, William Holden , an d th e Spectacl e o f Masculinit y i n Hollywoo d Film." In Male Trouble, ed. Constance Penley and Sharon Willis. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Cohan, Steven , an d In a Ra e Hark , eds . 1993 . Screening the Male: Exploring Masculinities in Hollywood Cinema. New York: Routledge. Connor, Steven . 1992 . Theory and Cultural Values. Cambridge, Mass.: Blackwell. Craig, Steve, ed. 1992 . Men, Masculinity, and the Media. Research on Men and Masculinities, 1. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage.

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Davis, Melody. 1991 . The Male Nude in Contemporary Photography. Philadel phia: Temple University Press. Davis, Peter. 1986 . "The Man Who Undressed Men." Esquire June, 338-45. Doty, William G. 1986 . Mythography: The Study of Myths and Rituals. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. . 1993 . Myths of Masculinity. Ne w York: Crossroad. Dutton, Kenneth R. 1994 . The Perfectible Body: The Western Ideal of Physical Development. London: Cassell. Dyer, Richard. 1990 . Now You See It: Studies on Lesbian and Gay Film. New York: Routledge. . 1992 . Only Entertainment. New York: Routledge. Eagleton, Terry . 1976 . Criticism and Ideology: A Study in Marxist Literary Theory. London: Verso. Easthope, Anthony. 1990 [1986]. What a Man's Gotta Do: The Masculine Myth in Popular Culture, i d ed . Boston: Unwin Hyman. Fejes, Fred J. 1992. "Masculinity as Fact: A Review of Empirical Mass Communication Research on Masculinity." In Craig 1992: 9-22. Freedberg, David . 1989 . The Power of Images: Studies in the History and Theory of Response. Chicago : University of Chicago Press. Freud, Sigmund . 195 5 [1895] . Studies on Hysteria. Standard Edition . Vol . 2 . London: Hogarth. Fussell, Sam. 1993. "Bodybuilder Americanus." Michigan Quarterly Review 32/ 4:577-96. Ginsberg, Allen, and Joseph Richey. 1990 . "The Right to Depict Children in the Nude." Aperture 121: 42-51. Goldberg, Jonathan. 1992a . "Recallin g Totalities : The Mirrore d Stage s o f Ar nold Schwarzenegger." differences: A journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 4/ 1: 172-204. . 1992b . Sodometries: Renaissance Texts, Modern Sexualities. Stanford: Stanford Universit y Press. Goldstein, Laurence. 1993 . "Introduction" t o an issue on The Male Body, part 1. Michigan Quarterly Review 32/4:503-9. Goux, Jean-Joseph. 1992 . "Th e Phallus : Masculine Identit y an d th e 'Exchang e of Women'." differences: A journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 4/1:40-75. Grossberg, Lawrence. 1992. We Gotta Get out of This Place: Popular Conservatism and Postmodern Culture. Ne w York: Routledge. Hedegaard, Erik. 1993. "Making It Big." Details, October , 136-43,192 . Hillman, James. 197 9 [1976] . "Peaks an d Vales: The Soul/Spirit Distinctio n a s Basis for the Differences betwee n Psychotherapy and Spiritual Discipline." In Puer Papers, Hillman, et al. Dallas: Spring Publications. Hoberman, J. 1991 . "The Self-Mad e Man : Arnol d ttber Alles. " Village Voice 36/j, 1 2 February: 53, 58, 62. Hochman, Paul. 1993. "seventh avenue." Details, Septembe r 1993 , n.p. Howe, Neil, and Bil l Strauss. 1993 . I 3t^J Gen: Abort, Retry, Fail? Ne w York : Random House/Vintage.

Baring the Flesh 30 Karatheodoris, Stephen. 1993 . "Male Desire in the Political Economy of Sexual Difference." Ed . Willia m G . Doty . I n Gender, Race, and Identity, ed . C . Barrow, K. Frank, J. Phillips, and R . Sanderlin. Chattanooga , Tenn. : Southern Humanities Press. Karatheodoris, Stephen, and William G . Doty. 1995 . "Humanism an d the Birth of Perspective in Renaissance Painting: Toward a Sociology of the Gaze." In Picturing Cultural Values in Postmodernist America, ed. Doty. Keen, Sam. 1986 . Faces of the Enemy: Reflections of the Hostile Imagination. San Francisco: HarperCollins. Kent, Sarah , an d Jacquelin e Morreau , eds . 1985 . Women's Images of Men. London: Writers and Readers. Lenzen, Dieter . 1989 . "Th e Temporalit y o f World-View s an d Self-images. " Essay trans . Phili p N . Hewitt . I n Looking Back on the End of the World, Jean Baudrillard , e t al . Ed . Dietma r Kampe r an d Christop h Wulf . Trans . David Antal. Semiotext(e) Foreign Agents. New York: Semiotext(e). Mangan, J. A., and James Walvin, eds. 1987 . Manliness and Morality: MiddleClass Masculinity in Britain and America. Manchester, England: Manchester University Press. Meyer, Richard . 1991 . "Rock Hudson' s Body. " I n Inside/Out: Lesbian Theories, Gay Theories, ed. Diana Fuss. New York: Routledge. Mishkind, Mar c E. , e t al . 1987 . "Th e Embodimen t o f Masculinity : Cultural , Psychological, an d Behaviora l Dimensions. " I n Changing Men: New Directions in Research on Men and Masculinity, ed. Michael S. Kimmel. Newbury Park Calif.: Sage. Mohr, Richar d D . 1992 . Gay Ideas: Outing and Other Controversies. Boston : Beacon. Moon, Michael , an d Ev e Kosofsk y Sedgwick . 1990 . "Divinity : A Dossier , A Performance Piece , A Little-Understoo d Emotion. " Discourse 13/1:12-39 . Reprinted in Sedgwick, Tendencies, 1993 . Mulvey, Laura . 1989 . Visual and Other Pleasures. Bloomington : Indian a Uni versity Press. Myerhoff, Barbara. 1978 . Number Our Days. New York: Simon and Schuster. Nelson, Jame s B . 1988 . The Intimate Connection: Male Sexuality, Masculine Spirituality. Louisville , Ky.: Westminster/John Knox . . 1992 . Body Theology. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox . Owens, Craig. 1992 . Beyond Recognition: Representation, Power, and Culture. Ed. S. Bryson, B. Kruger, L. Tillman, and J. Weinstock. Berkeley : University of California Press . Perniola, Mario . 1989 . "Betwee n Clothin g an d Nudity. " Trans . Roge r Fried man. In Zone 4, Fragments for a History of the Human Body, Part Two, ed. Michel Feher, Romona Naddaff, and Nadia Tazi. New York: Urzone. Pronger, Brian . 1990 . The Arena of Masculinity: Sports, Homosexuality, and the Meaning of Sex. London: Gay Men's Press. Roscoe, Will. 1991 . The Zuni Man-Woman. Albuquerque : Universit y o f Ne w Mexico Press.

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Roscoe, Will . 1993 . "Dreamin g th e Myth : A n Introductio n t o Mytholog y fo r Gay Men. " I n Same-Sex Love and the Path to Wholeness, ed. Rober t H . Hopcke, Karin Lofthus Carrington , and Scott Wirth. Boston: Shambhala. Rotundo, E. Anthony. 1993. American Manhood: Transformations in Masculinity from the Revolution to the Modern Era. New York: HarperCollins/Basic Books. Schor, Mira. 1988 . "Representations of the Penis." M/E/A/N/I/N/G: Contemporary Art Issues 4:3-17. Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky. 1990 . Epistemology of the Closet. Berkeley : University of California Press . Silverman, Kaja. 1992 . Male Subjectivity at the Margins. New York: Routledge. Stanton, Domn a C . 1992 . "Introduction : Th e Subjec t o f Sexuality. " I n Discourses of Sexuality: From Aristotle to AIDS, ed. Domna C . Stanton. Ratio: Institute for the Humanities. Ann Arbor: University Michigan Press. Steinberg, Leo. 1983. The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion. New York: Pantheon. Stengel, Richard. 1992 . "Me n a s Se x Objects." M [ a magazin e fo r men ] 9/10 : 7*-79. Strate, Lance. 1992 . "Bee r Commercials : A Manual o n Masculinity. " I n Crai g 1992: 78-92. Teich, Howard. 1993 . "Homovision: The Solar/Lunar Twin-Ego." In Same-Sex Love and the Path to Wholeness, ed. Rober t H . Hopcke , Kari n Lofthu s Carrington, and Scott Wirth. Boston: Shambhala. Theweleit, Klaus . 1987 . Male Fantasies. Vol . 1 : Women, Floods, Bodies, History. Trans. Stephen Conway. Theory and History of Literature, 22. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. . 1989 . Male Fantasies. Vol . 2: Male Bodies: Psychoanalyzing the White Terror. Trans . Erica Carte r an d Chris Turner. Theory and History of Literature, 23. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Walters, Margaret . 1978 . The Nude Male: A New Perspective. Ne w York : Penguin. Watrous, Peter . 1991 . "Po p Turn s th e Tables—Wit h Beefcake. " New York Times, 10 February, Arts and Leisure section, 1, 27.

FOURTEEN

Epilogue JAMES B

. NELSO

N

The titl e of thi s volume i s well-chosen. As the editor state d i n the introduction , i t i s impossibl e t o spea k o f men' s relation s t o Go d without speakin g a t th e sam e tim e o f thei r ow n bod y perceptions . H e reminded u s that , i n spit e o f th e spirit-bod y spli t i n classi c dualism , th e male bod y wa s no t rendere d insignifican t b y men . I t remaine d a n im portant spiritua l battleground . Indeed , men' s understanding s o f thei r bodies hav e bee n par t o f thei r claim s fo r divinely-conferre d preferentia l status. Men' s god s ar e inseparabl e fro m thei r interpretation s o f thei r bodies. Thus, thi s boo k attempt s t o d o body theology (se e Nelson 1992) . Bu t the task i s not easy . We struggl e wit h way s t o conceptualiz e thes e thing s because ou r bod y perception s liv e s o deepl y withi n u s tha t the y ar e difficult t o reflec t upon . Ou r interpretation s simpl y see m t o b e us—th e natural an d give n par t o f wh o w e are . A s a philosophe r onc e said , "B e careful ho w yo u describ e th e world. I t is that way! " The tas k i s difficult als o becaus e th e enterpris e o f bod y theolog y itsel f is relativel y new . Surely , a s i s ampl y illustrate d i n thes e essays , ou r forebears perceive d th e worl d an d it s ultimat e meaning s i n significan t ways throug h thei r bodies . Nevertheless , th e consciousness o f thi s pro cess i s relativel y new . Tha t i s illustrate d b y th e fac t tha t throug h th e 3ii

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centuries mos t Jewish an d Christian s writing s abou t bod y an d sexualit y have bee n essentiall y one-directional . Thos e writing s bega n wit h reli gious perceptions (scriptures , ecclesiastical pronouncements, or theologi cal doctrines ) an d the n move d t o bodil y applications . I t wa s believe d that religion' s trut h wa s receive d quit e independentl y o f ou r bodily sexual experience , an d tha t trut h simpl y neede d t o b e applie d t o th e body. This persisting failure t o take bod y experience a s part of the consciou s theologizing process was significantly linke d t o the fact tha t mal e theolo gians largel y shape d thes e religiou s traditions . The y typicall y assume d that theolog y wa s fundamentall y a matte r o f spiri t an d mind , no t body . In Christianity , unde r th e influence o f th e ancient classica l world' s body denigrating dualism , this was particularly pronounced . Yet , it was some what tru e eve n i n a Jewis h traditio n relativel y fre e fro m th e body spirit split . Theologically, th e ne t resul t ha s bee n a mor e deductiv e tha n inductive approach , a movement fro m th e abstrac t t o th e concrete, fro m religious proposition s t o bod y applications . What i s relatively ne w (an d ampl y illustrate d i n th e foregoin g pages ) is that bod y experience s ar e importan t theologica l data . Th e movemen t of theologica l liberalis m beginnin g i n German y earl y i n th e nineteent h century establishe d huma n experienc e a s a legitimat e an d importan t theological source . Includin g bod y understanding s i n th e definitio n o f experience, however , cam e muc h later . In th e las t thir d o f th e twentiet h century th e disciplin e o f bod y psycholog y ha s establishe d th e fac t tha t bodies, fa r fro m bein g onl y photographic-lik e receptors , ar e activ e sources o f meaning s an d worl d view s (se e Fische r 1986) . Eve n mor e significant fo r thi s enterpris e ha s bee n th e impac t o f th e feminis t an d lesbian/gay liberatio n movement s i n recent decades . For understandable if-regrettable reason s within a continuing patriarchy, me n hav e generall y been les s consciou s o f thes e things . On e o f th e cost s o f th e patriarcha l practice o f takin g th e mal e experienc e a s normativ e fo r huma n experi ence is that me n hav e becom e invisibl e to themselves. We rarel y measur e the measurin g stic k itself . But now tha t mal e self-consciousnes s i s dawn ing, and thi s boo k ha s becom e possible . Body theolog y i s dialogical . I t mus t b e a n ongoin g conversatio n be tween bod y experience s an d meanings , o n th e on e hand , an d religiou s perceptions, o n th e other . W e mov e no t onl y fro m ou r bodie s t o ou r

Epilogue 31 gods bu t als o i n th e othe r direction a s well . The conversatio n move s i n both directions, for each reality affects th e other. Consider th e meaning s o f ou r sexualit y a s a cas e i n point . Withou t recourse t o specificall y religiou s insights , we ca n see that huma n sexual ity alway s involve s fa r mor e tha n genita l sex . Sexualit y embrace s ou r ways bein g i n th e worl d a s male-bodie d an d female-bodie d persons . I t includes th e gende r meanings tha t w e lear n fo r ou r biologica l sex . I t includes th e meanings w e attac h t o ou r varie d sexua l orientations . It involve s ou r bodil y hungers , passions , an d need s fo r connection . I t involves th e very sensualit y o f ou r bodil y existence . Whil e w e ca n mak e such claims without grounding them in a particular religious perspective, we nee d no t sto p there . Som e o f u s wan t als o t o brin g specificall y religious meanings to the body. As a liberal Protestant Christian and one very consciou s o f Christianity' s rootednes s i n Judaism , I claim bot h a strong incarnationalism (th e divine is revealed through human flesh) and a stron g commitmen t t o th e radica l goodnes s o f creation , includin g bodies an d thei r sexuality . Fro m m y religiou s perspectiv e I see huma n sexuality expressin g the divine mystery of ou r creation. I see sexuality a s a fundamenta l dynami c i n ou r longin g fo r intimac y an d i n ou r destin y to communion. I see it basic to th e divine-human connectio n an d one o f the great arenas for celebrating the source of lif e itself. Thus, not onl y d o men's bodie s give shap e to their perceptions o f th e ultimate, men' s god s als o shap e an d potentiall y transfor m thei r bod y understandings. Tha t convictio n i s als o ampl y illustrate d i n thes e es says—in som e o f the m explicitly , i n other s mor e implicitly . Whil e th e accents vary , th e writer s commonl y emplo y socia l constructionis t per spectives tha t emphasiz e ou r activ e rol e a s socia l being s i n shapin g ou r body meanings . Eve n th e tw o contributor s wh o ar e fairl y indebte d t o the mythopoeti c men' s movemen t esche w th e stron g essentialis m an d assumptions o f intrinsi c bod y meanings tha t characteriz e muc h i n tha t movement. Social constructionis m i s a hopefu l posture , an d thi s i s a hopefu l volume. It is filled with a variety of claims that men's bodies do not hav e to b e "tha t way." Men' s bodie s ar e not fate d t o b e controlling, violent , radically individuated , preoccupie d wit h phalli c values , racist, armored , mechanistic, o r disconnecte d fro m clos e mal e friendship . Men' s bodie s can, indeed , becom e mor e fulfillin g an d life-givin g t o themselves , t o

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others, an d t o th e planet . No t onl y ca n the y b e transformed , bu t als o they must . I se e thi s mora l commitmen t flowing throug h thes e pages . The contributor s writ e no t a s disintereste d observer s o f th e mal e scene , but rathe r wit h persona l investmen t an d passio n fo r change . But chang e towar d what ? On e majo r theologica l issu e tha t run s through al l o f thes e essays , I believe, is the call for an erotic transformation of men's bodies. Tha t cal l appear s i n a variety o f ways . Men's nee d of an d hunge r fo r th e eroti c i s obviou s i n Robi n Hawle y Gorsline' s homoerotic reflection s o n th e crucifie d Chris t an d i n Scot t Haldeman' s celebration o f masturbatio n a s goo d new s fo r th e body . Ero s i s bot h evident an d problemati c i n th e longin g fo r mal e friendshi p tha t bot h Philip Culbertso n an d Willia m G . Dot y explore . I t i s ther e i n Lewi s R . Gordon's descriptio n o f th e mal e body' s opennes s an d vulnerabilit y necessary fo r worship . I t i s present i n Bjor n Krondorfer' s struggle s wit h vulnerability i n mal e bod y autobiographies . Doty' s secon d essa y raise s intriguing question s abou t th e eroti c physicalit y o f mal e nakednes s i n current popula r culture . S o also , Davi d Morgan' s exploratio n o f th e popular religiou s art depictin g Jesus i s infused wit h issue s of mal e homo eroticism, bot h i n it s attractivenes s an d i n th e fear s tha t suc h eroticis m engenders. Michae l L . Stemmeler' s liberatin g ange r fo r a n empowere d gay religious identit y i s fueled b y eros, as is Garth Baker-Fletcher' s ange r as h e analyzes th e distorte d ero s i n whit e racis t construction s o f Africa n American mal e identity . The tw o remainin g contributors , Tom F . Driver and Set h Mirsky , identif y particula r issue s surroundin g ero s o n whic h I want t o comment . Driver' s autobiographica l essa y identifie s th e eroti c distortions o f mal e narcissis m tha t hav e produce d a n imag e o f a self made Go d demandin g ou r absolut e allegianc e an d worship . A s h e face s his ow n mortality , Drive r als o movingl y explore s a man' s eroti c hunge r for th e incarnat e hand s o f God . Mirsk y write s a stron g critiqu e o f reactionary essentialis t masculinitie s whos e politic s preclud e feminis t agendas. Hi s argument , a s I rea d him , lead s t o th e question , wha t ar e the erotic s o f gende r justice ? I shall attemp t t o connec t thes e issues , for I believe they ar e germane t o the erotic question s raise d b y all of th e othe r contributors. Since i t seem s eviden t t o al l thes e writer s tha t w e me n hav e no t bee n well-conditioned t o embrac e eros , a fe w backgroun d comment s abou t men, eros , an d th e sacre d ar e i n order. l Embracin g ero s is , o f course , significantly differen t fro m prizin g th e virilit y an d genita l se x tha t typi -

Epilogue 31 cally mar k traditiona l masculinity . "Rea l men " priz e sex , bu t find ero s foreign. W e learned ou r formativ e lesson s about manhoo d b y cutting th e erotic mothe r bond s an d identifyin g ourselve s ove r agains t anythin g suggesting th e feminine , includin g gayness . Hence , thos e aspirin g t o manhood lear n t o devalu e eros—th e dimensio n o f lov e tha t know s hunger, need , desire , passion , sensuality , an d th e yearnin g fo r fulfillin g connections. Instead, w e learn self-sufficienc y an d th e rational contro l o f all thing s bodily , qualitie s deeme d muc h mor e appropriat e t o Wester n masculine spirituality . Eros make s me n anxiou s abou t thei r deepes t bodil y feelings . I t als o makes religiou s me n anxiou s becaus e i t raise s fundamenta l question s about th e theologie s me n hav e writte n an d believe d t o b e true . Ou r primal experienc e o f identit y throug h separatio n ha s buttresse d th e reli gious belie f i n God' s absolutenes s an d otherness . I n suc h a view , divin e perfection mean s completeness . Go d i s never needy . Throug h th e centu ries patriarchal theolog y largel y imaged Go d a s unilateral, non-relationa l power, glorifie d b y th e weakness an d dependenc y o f humanity , deficien t in th e eroti c powe r o f mutuality . Tha t tendency , i n turn , i s directl y related t o th e phalli c focu s o f masculin e identit y an d henc e masculin e spirituality. The phallus, the prized mal e erection, is taken a s the quintes sential symbo l o f manliness , an d th e idealize d phallu s i s big , hard , an d up. S o w e hav e accente d thos e value s i n th e divine . God , too , mus t be big , hard , an d up : sovereig n i n power , righteou s i n judgment , th e transcendent Other . W e hav e los t th e bod y revelatio n o f th e sacre d tha t might com e throug h ou r genita l softnes s an d vulnerability , experience s as male a s the phallic . But i t is threatening t o liv e with a Go d s o imaged . Thu s masculinize d theology compensate d b y attributin g t o th e divin e a one-side d an d uni lateral love . Divine love , the model fo r prope r huma n love , became shee r agape—sacrificial self-giving . Whil e ther e i s importan t trut h here , hal f truth take n a s th e entir e realit y become s distorted . So , ou r theologie s cheapened, devalued , eve n vilifie d th e eroti c an d relegate d i t t o th e pornographic. Ero s wa s characterize d a s egocentrism , selfish , narcissis tic, and regrettabl y self-loving . Hunger , desire , passion, an d yearnin g fo r fulfillment wer e banishe d a s inappropriate t o spirituality . The proble m wit h suc h spiritualit y i s no t onl y tha t i t disconnect s u s from ou r ow n bodies , it also disconnects u s from th e neighbor an d fro m our passio n fo r justice . I f w e canno t fee l th e powe r o f ou r ow n bodil y

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life, w e canno t fee l th e bodil y realit y o f socia l violence , racism, poverty , or environmenta l abuse . The powe r o f ou r mora l agenc y i n th e worl d i s diminished. Patriarchal religion' s concer n fo r controllin g th e bod y ha s thu s bee n manifest i n th e contro l an d suppressio n o f eros . Th e dualisti c spli t between spiri t an d bod y ha s becom e th e spli t betwee n agap e an d eros , and henc e th e spli t betwee n perso n an d society . In al l o f thi s a complementarity gender theory ha s played a majo r role. 2 The complementarit y theor y i s a majo r expressio n o f sexua l essen tialism. I t endorse s a n essentia l feminin e natur e an d a n essentia l mascu line nature , tw o element s presumabl y needin g eac h othe r fo r huma n completion an d wholeness . In bot h Jewis h an d Christia n traditions , such gende r complementarit y mos t ofte n ha s bee n viewe d a s divinel y ordained, give n i n th e ver y natur e o f creation . Male s an d female s ar e seen a s incomplet e withou t th e othe r sex , an d th e resultan t sexua l ethi c requires permanent , monogamous , heterosexua l marriag e wit h genita l sex permissible onl y therein . The connectio n wit h classi c spirit-bod y dualis m i s evident . Male s have identifie d themselve s a s mor e essentiall y rationa l an d spiritual , hence capabl e o f agape . Me n hav e identifie d th e femal e a s mor e essen tially bodily , henc e eroti c an d i n nee d o f control. An d whe n th e comple mentarity assumptio n i s combined wit h patriarchy , i t inevitably devalue s both wome n an d al l person s o f homosexua l orientation , establishin g both sexis m an d heterosexis m a s normative . I n consequence , i t ha s th e effect o f eroticizin g sexua l control , domination , an d violenc e b y men . Emotional an d ofte n physica l violenc e result s whe n i t i s believe d tha t romantic lov e i s necessaril y grounde d i n a mal e ove r femal e dominant / subordinate relationship , when control an d powe r ove r the other ar e fel t more pleasurabl e tha n mutualit y an d sharing . The eroticis m o f men' s contro l o f wome n play s itsel f ou t i n th e assumption o f a divinel y ordaine d an d henc e compulsor y heterosexual ity. This , i n tur n eroticize s th e oppressio n o f gay , lesbian , an d bisexua l people. A lesbian women' s ver y existence speak s a resoundin g No t o th e complementarity theory . He r existenc e i s testimon y t o th e fac t tha t a t least som e wome n d o no t nee d me n t o complet e them , an d thi s migh t mean that non e does. In a different way , the gay man challenge s complementarity. Violatin g prescribed masculinity , h e is identified wit h wome n ("the weake r sex" ) an d i s the appropriat e objec t fo r othe r men' s misog -

Epilogue 31 yny. Furthermore , th e ga y ma n i s viewe d a s traitor . H e doe s no t inves t his ow n eroticis m i n controllin g th e sexualit y o f women , henc e ha s broken rank s wit h th e men's cause . The dynamic s o f homophobi a ar e numerou s an d multi-faceted . Bu t one thin g seem s sure : homophobi a i n straight-identifie d male s (wher e i t is typicall y strongest ) i s directl y connecte d t o th e fea r o f losin g th e institution o f compulsor y heterosexualit y an d men' s contro l o f women . The threat , i n short , i s th e los s no t onl y o f mal e power , bu t also—an d importantly—of men' s eroti c pleasure . Thus, th e issu e o f eroti c transformatio n i s critica l fo r men' s bodie s and men' s gods. In one way o r anothe r th e hop e fo r tha t transformatio n seems evident throughou t thi s book . An d i t is a hopefu l book , fo r socia l constructionists kno w tha t ou r bodie s ar e not fated . Wha t i s constructe d can b e reconstructe d an d transformed . I n thes e comment s I hav e dis cussed som e connections I believe important fo r tha t process . It i s clear tha t me n i n ou r societ y typicall y experienc e eroti c depriva tion o f a certain kind . Th e capacitie s bot h t o fee l an d t o fee l th e legiti macy o f need , desire , sensuality , an d yearnin g fo r mutualit y an d fulfill ment ar e no t ou r stron g suit . Par t o f th e explanatio n lie s in th e fac t tha t our dominan t socia l construction s o f masculinit y ar e founde d o n th e experience o f separatio n an d breakin g th e eroti c connection . Men' s fashioning o f a self-mad e God—big , hard , an d u p afte r th e phalli c pattern—reinforces th e "normalcy " o f ou r eroti c condition . Bu t suc h deity i s difficul t t o liv e with , an d s o th e attributio n o f a one-side d agapaic lov e to tha t sovereig n powe r function s t o reassure us . The notio n o f a Go d wh o demand s ou r submissio n furthe r reinforce s the eroticizatio n o f dominanc e an d contro l i n men . Thus , i t i s no t tha t we ar e beref t o f th e erotic . Mor e accurately , mal e eroticis m ha s bee n largely shaped aroun d th e pleasures o f dominanc e an d control . We need erotic transformations bot h i n our bodie s an d i n our notion s of th e sacred . I t i s difficul t fo r m e t o se e ho w on e wil l com e apar t fro m the other . Par t o f th e transformativ e wor k i s theoretical—and thi s boo k contributes t o tha t process . Ou r allianc e wit h pioneerin g religiou s femi nists an d wit h creativ e ga y an d lesbia n liberationist s i n recoverin g an d re-imagining alternativ e image s o f th e divin e i s critically important . Bu t theory an d praxi s mus t g o together . So , a n inescapabl e par t o f th e transformative proces s i s har d politica l wor k fo r th e sexua l justic e tha t will chang e religiou s an d societa l structure s t o nurtur e th e hunge r fo r

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life, no t suppres s it . Th e proces s ma y ye t allo w men' s hand s an d men' s bodies bette r t o incarnat e th e hand s an d bod y o f God . An d tha t wil l b e more eroti c pleasure fo r u s all.

NOTES i. Se e my "O n Doin g Bod y Theology " (1995 ) fo r a n elaboratio n o f thes e themes. Also , Nelso n 198 8 (especiall y chapte r 5) . A differen t bu t suggestiv e approach is taken by Eilberg-Schwartz (1994). 2. Ann e Bathurs t Gilson , Eros Breaking Free (1995) i s a n excellen t an d thorough treatment of the problems involved in the complementary theory. I am indebted to her insights. REFERENCES

Eilberg-Schwartz, Howard. 1994 . God's Phallus: And Other Problems for Men and Monotheism. Boston: Beacon. Fischer, Seymour. 1986 . Development and Structure of the Body Image. Vol. 2. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum. Gilson, Ann e Bathurst . 1995 . Eros Breaking Free: Interpreting Sexual TheoEthics. Cleveland: Pilgrim Press. Nelson, James. 1988 . The Intimate Connection: Male Sexuality and Masculine Spirituality. Philadelphia : Westminster Press. . 1992 . Body Theology. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Kno x Press. . 1995 . "On Doing Body Theology." Theology & Sexuality 2 (Spring).

Index

ACT UP, 13 6 Adam and Eve, 239, 249 nn. 7, 8 Adiaphoria, 6 African American men, 18, 65-68, 75, 79, 83, 89-92,133, 271, 301 n. 8; male body, 17, 65-68, 71, 73, 78-90. See also Black Christ; Black theology; Racism Africentricity, 66, 89 Agape, 165-66,17 6 n. 7, 316 AIDS, 16, 97,100,105,135,141,188, 217,294 Androcentric, 14 Androgynous, 5, 8-9; body, 229-30 Antony, Saint, 208 Anus, 220, 226-31 Anus mundiy 225, 231 Archetype, 14-17, 23, 76, 195; archetypal, 193,224,226 Aristotle, 154, 158, 215 Arnold, Patrick, 13-14, 192 Artaud, Antonin, 209 Asceticism, 6-8, 207-8, 230; ascetic practice, 6; ascetic control, 209 Ataraxia, 284 Augustine, 7, 21-22, 151, 154-55, 165,

207-11, 213, 217-20, 223-25, 249 nn. 7,8 Azurara, Gomes Eannes de, 66-68 Bacon, Francis, 288-89, 299 Bal, Mieke, 285, 290 Baldwin, James, 143 Barstow, Anne, 57-60 Barton, Bruce, 258-60 Basil of Caesarea, 163. See also Gregory of Nazianzus Beauvoir, Simone de, 27-28, 238 Bersani, Leo, 268, 282, 294 Bibb, Henry, 69-70 Bi-sexual, 95, 126, 136, 163, 316 Black body. See African American men Black Christ, 132-34, 142. See also Suffering Servant Black clown. See Sambo Black theology, 134, 137, 142. See also Cone, James H.; Womanist Bly, Robert, 14, 34-35, 192, 224, 282 Body: as container of soul, 67; excretes, 8, 11, 15, 226, 230-31; fluids, 8, 226; grotesque, 222; memory, 139-40, 142; politic, 68; as temple, 226. See also Christ, 319

3 2Q Index Body (Continued) body of; Jesus, body of; Nudity; Semen; Sexuality Bodybuilding (bodybuilder), 283, 287, 292-93, 297,299, 302 n. 1 2 Body-mind (-spirit/-soul) dualism, 6, 165, 208, 249 n. 4, 296, 311-12, 316. Body theology. See Theology Boyd, Malcolm, 100 Breast, 8, 240, 255, 278, 298. See also Nipple Broughton, James, 229-31 Butler, Judith, 31,248 Calvin, 10 Cassian, John, 173-74 Castration, 7,164,286,297 fatal Huyuk, 57-58 Celibacy, 6-7, 9-11, 14, 135, 224; celibate clergy, 8,11; celibate male psyche, 220 Christ, 6, 77-78, 83, 86-87, 126,138, 174, 292; asexuality of, 8; body of, 7, 19-20,138; disembodied, 165; as friend, 251; maleness/masculinity of, 5, 167, 252, 263; nakedness of, 292, 304 n. 19 ; virility of, 258, 260-61. See also Black Christ; Friendship; Imitatio Christi; Jesus Christ, Carol, 43, 57 Christian household, 6-8 Christology, 78, 126, 251, 255; of friendship, 251, 255 Cicero, 151-52 Clark, Michael, 101, 105 Coitus reservatus, 9, 11 Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 166-67 Competitiveness (competition), 54-55, 185-88,294 Concupiscentia, 225 Cone, James H., 132-34. See also Black theology Continence, 5, 8,163. See also Celibacy Copula sicca, 9 Corpse, as different from body, 238 Crucifixion, 126,136-44, 216 Crying Game, 241-42 Daly, Mary, 29 Defecation (defecating), 15, 226-29

Desire, 7, 11-12, 48, 116-17, 122,12532,134-35,139, 142, 208-9, 217, 22324,239,246,285,315,317 Divorce, 59 Dollimore, Jonathan, 131-32 Driver, Tom, 117, 216-20, 226 Du Bois, Cora, 169 Dutton, Kenneth R., 268, 274, 280, 283, 294, 298 Effeminacy (effeminate) , 167,17 6 n. 8, 251,258,260 Ejaculation (ejaculate), 15, 115, 212 Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 155, 167 Emission (nocturnal), 7 Encratites, 5-6 Epicurus, 169 Erection, 118, 217, 291, 315. See also Penis; Phallus Erotic, 117, 119-22,126, 130-31, 159, 182,188-89, 222, 229-30, 236, 253, 255, 278, 285, 287, 314-18. See also Homoeroticism Eroticism, 18, 53,187, 279, 291, 316-17; sado-masochistic, 20, 128. See also Homoeroticism; Sensuality Eucharist, 5 Eurocentric, 49, 67, 89 Fanon, Frantz, 241, 246 Farajaje-Jones, Elias, 137 Feminism, 13, 27-36, 47, 58-60, 171, 197, 225; feminist(s), 3,12-13,16-17, 57, 123 n. 2,127, 183, 192, 287, 312, 317 Feminist theologian, 36, 37 n. 8,126. See also Womanist Food, 6, 239; spiritual feeding, 8 Foster, Guy-Mark, 129 Foucault, Michel, 90 Freedberg, David, 269, 274-76 Freud, Sigmund, 74, 241, 285 Friendship, 20-22,125,142,149-75, 181-99, 255, 261, 313; between Achilles and Patroklos, 194; with Christ, 255; between Gilgamesh and Enkidu, 194; between Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil, 154,157-58,173,175; with Jesus, 253, 255; between Jonathan and David, 150-

Index 32. High John de Conquer, 18, 66, 79-83, 9091 Hofmann, Heinrich, 261 "Holy actor", 209 Gay: gaze, 286; liberation, 189, 312; men Homoeroticism, 20, 22-23,132; homo(people), 94-106,121,126-36,139-40, erotic, 22, 236, 241, 248, 251, 253, 275, 278, 316-17; porn, 121, 281; religious 287, 314 identity, 18, 94-106; sexuality, 258. See Homophobia, 32, 54,103,116-17,136, 160-61,163,188,192, 248, 282, 317; also Homophobia; Homosexual; Homohomophobic, 3,18, 20, 60, 101, 139, sexuality; Queer(ness) 226, 258 Gay theology, 101,131. See also SpiritualHomo religiosus, 3 ity; Suffering Servant; Theology Homosexual, 19, 97, 99,139, 150-51, Gender, 31, 116, 285, 287, 314, 316; dif160,188,194, 243,251, 316. See also ference, 33; as different from sex, 27, 29; Gay; Queer(ness) discrimination, 89; equality, 5, 14, 12023; formation, 50; identity, 31, 34, 240, Homosexuality, 54, 116,132, 162-64, 167,171; as mortal sin, 164. See also 242,248; ideology, 14, 29, 121; role, 174,183, 248; theory, 316; transgressor, Gay; Queer(ness); Same sex 3, 9; variance, 5, 8,14. See also Homosociality, 158-61,168,170 Transgender Hughes, Thomas, 167,176 n. 9 Hurston, Zora Neale, 79-80, 82-83 Genital, 191, 279; act, 163-64, 314, 316; component, 189; sex, 136, 294; softness, Hypermasculinity, 283 315; stimulation, 115 Iconography, of male body, 267-300 Genitalia (male) 4, 230, 244,272, 274, Imitatio Christi, 7, 292 291-92. See also Penis; Phallus Intimacy, 20, 22,119-20, 136,157,159, Gerzon, Mark, 195-96 161,164,169-71,173-74,185,187Gnostic(s), 5,6,19,226 88,208,219-21,238, 253, 313; disGod, 63-64, 77-79, 84,101,104-5, 112, course on, 15,220, 222; male, 21,150, 117,119,122,135,141,151,155,158, 211-16,223 163, 168,172, 174, 208-11, 216-20, 226-28, 231, 235-36, 239-40, 243-47, 255, 257, 261, 311, 315-58; as male Fa- Jesus, 51, 78, 80, 84,125-26, 128-44, 251, 259, 260-61, 263, 291; body of, ther, 257; maleness of, 51-52, 55, 57125-27,135-36,142-43, 226,257; fem58, 244. See also Yahweh inization of, 259; as friend, 253; in GosGreat Awakening, 69 pel of Thomas, 6; as lover, 20,129,131, Gregory of Nazianzus, 154,157-58,173, 135; masculinity of, 8, 22, 51, 126,135, 175 251-52, 257-58, 260; in popular art, Grotesque body. See Body 22, 251-63; queer, 135-38. See also Grotowski, Jerzy, 209 Christ; Friendship; Suffering Servant Hay, Harry, 103-4 Jung, C. G., 227 Henry, John (legend of), 18, 66, 76-79, 90 Heterosexism, 28, 32, 96, 99, 102-3, 129, Kaufman, Michael, 29, 34 Keen, Sam, 13-14, 225, 231, 276 132,316 Kundera, Milan, 228 Heterosexual, 20, 34, 59, 61, 96-97, 102, 104,132,150,161,164,170, 226-27, Lee, John H., 221, 224 231, 241, 316; majority, 97-98,100 Heterosexuality, 59-61,188, 288, 316-17 Leiris, Michel, 22, 209-12, 214-17, 220Heyward, Carter, 98,102,105,142 23 51,162,171, 225. See also Christ, as friend; Jesus, as friend; Theology, of friendship

1

322 Index Lejeune, Philippe, 214, 222 Lewis, C.S., 164, 171-72 Liberation, 87-88, 92, 100-102, 173,192 Liberation theology, 20, 104, 123, 128, 132-36,138, 142, 17 3 Linga, 9. See also Phallus Lorde,Audre, 119, 126, 128 Luther, Martin, 10, 217, 226, 231 Machismo, 18 6 Malcolm X, 89, 92 Male-centered, 46, 53, 59 Male mystique, 48 Manichaeism, 238, 249 n. 7 Mapplethorpe, Robert, 299, 30In. 8 Marriage, 8,10-11, 21, 59, 97, 158-59 , 161, 164-65, 173-74, 184, 196, 316 Masculine (male) identity, 113-14, 23536, 248 Masculinity, 12,14,16, 27-36, 45-56, 60, 84, 89, 91, 114, 161, 182-84, 190-95, 197, 218, 224, 235, 240-41, 247, 257, 261, 269, 274, 282, 289-90, 293, 299, 315-57; discourse on, 29; hegemonic, 28, 30; pro-feminist, 174 Masturbation, 16, 19, 111-23, 217, 222 Men's movement, 30, 33-34, 150, 161, 168-71, 183, 197, 282, 297; mythopoetic, 12-14, 17, 21, 34-35, 192, 224, 313. See also Radical Faery Movement Miles, Margaret, 130-31, 138-39 Miller, Stuart, 184-85, 187-88, 190 Miller, Tim (performance artist), 128 , 139 Millett, Kate, 58-59 Misogyny, 6, 120, 192, 225, 248, 316; misogynist, 4, 13, 214, 239, 241 Mulvey, Laura, 286 "Muscular Christianity", 21, 166-68, 300 n. 3 Myth(ology), 181-99,280 Mythopoetic. See Men's movement

Nelson, James, 15, 19, 61, 113-14, 119, 293,296 Nipple, 8, 222, 229-30. See also Breast Nudity, 269, 275; eschatological, 269; gratuitous, 269; male, 272, 275 Orgasm, 111, 115, 118, 131, 283 Ostentatio genitalium, 4, 291 Owens, Craig, 285-86

Patriarchal: culture, 286; domination, 11, 142; family, 10; household, 6; image, 19, 122, 196; neo-, 14; norm, 121; post-, 269; power, 9, 13, 102; religion, 16, 316; society, 29, 103; tradition, 207 Patriarchy, 28, 47, 52, 58, 60, 140, 142 , 183,297-98,312,316 Pederast, 162, 213-14 Penis, 6-8, 11-12, 23, 73, 75, 115-58, 121,136, 226, 229-30, 244, 271, 279, 283, 298-99; absent, 9. See also Genitalia Phallic, 295, 297, 299, 313, 317; erection, 217; experience, 118; image, 275 Phallocentric, 6, 15, 282, 289-90; post-, 23, 290 Phallus, 7-8, 12, 15, 118, 229-30, 24042, 244, 248, 279, 283, 293, 298, 301 n. 8, 315; God's, 228; as mysterium tremendum, 118; as weapon, 116. See also Linga Phibionites, 19 Pitt-Rivers, Julian, 149-50 Plato, 48, 158 Pleasure, 10,113, 115-17, 120,122-23, 140-41, 208-9, 219, 221, 223, 225-28, 286,317-18 Pornographic, 19, 279, 315; image, 12, 120-21, 131; imagination, 223 Pornography, 116,120-22,123 n. 2, 275, 278. See also Gay, porn Post-modern(ism), 183, 198 n. 2, 219, 284-85, 291, 294 Prostitution, 164 Narcissism, 56, 194, 283; divine, 52; male, Puritanism, 19 54, 56, 59; masturbatory, 230; negative, Queer(ness), 18, 97, 100, 128, 135-37, 215 139-42. See also Gay; Homosexuality; Narcissistic, 47, 55, 206-7, 224-25, 231, Radical Faery Movement 285,315 Queer theology. See Theology Narcissus, 19 4

Index 32 Racism, 14, 22, 73, 76, 90,127, 241-42, 245,248,294,316 Radical Faery Movement, 104, 106, 128 . See also Queer(ness) Rape, 71, 116, 137 Redemption, 6, 86, 211, 218, 229, 301 n . 3. See also Salvation Reformation, 10-11 Repression (sexual), 113, 117, 120, 122 , 229, 275 Resurrection, 78-79,118, 216, 301 n. 3 Ritual, 36, 230, 244, 248; of friendship, 190; masturbation as, 122; of self-love, 119 Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 212-14, 220 Sallman, Warner, 8, 22, 51, 251-52, 25761,263 Salvation, 67, 138 , 144, 216-19, 245, 261. See also Redemption Sambo, 66, 71-76, 90 Same sex, 94-96,163-64. See also Homosexuality Sartre, Jean-Paul, 236-40, 242, 245-46 Scopophilia, 286. See also Voyeurism Sedgwick, Eve Kosofsky, 130, 132, 15960, 278 Seed (male), 9,113. See also Semen Segal, Lynne, 192 Semen, 6, 19, 239. See also Seed Sensuality, 18, 278, 313, 315, 317. See also Eroticism Sexism, 12, 14, 28, 44, 61, 294, 316 Sexuality, 6,10, 46-47, 53, 59-61, 73, 75, 101,104-5,114-18,120-21, 135, 171, 194, 217, 223, 258, 283, 288, 293-94, 312-13, 317; discourse on, 15; renunciation of, 7 Sexual orientation, 15, 94-95, 97, 106, 114,313 Shame, 6,113,115, 117, 215, 223, 226, 228-30, 291 Slavery, 65-70, 74, 81-83, 87-89 Slaves, 65, 69-72, 80-88, 91 Sodomy law, 95 Solipsism, 208, 210, 216, 231. See also Narcissism Sontag, Susan, 215, 221 Spirituality, 117-19, 208, 218, 230, 298,

315; based in bodily experience, 117; embodied, 18, 36, 227, 230; feminist, 36; friendship as, 173, 253; gay, 18, 20, 9899, 100,102-3, 106; male (masculine) 8,12-15, 21, 28, 35-36,192, 225, 298, 315; spiritual possibility of body, 209, 230 Starhawk, 37 n. 8 Steinberg, Leo, 4, 272, 278-79, 291-92, 300, 303 n. 1 9 Stoltenberg, John, 36 n. 2, 55,121 Suffering Servant: black, 77-78, 133; gay people as, 10 Synesius of Cyrene, 16 6 Theological: construction of masculinity, 126; gendered discourse, 251; justification of enslavement, 66-67, 69; position of omnipotence, 211 Theology, 161-62, 315; of authenticity, 235; "bathtub", 216-18; body, 311-12; of friendship, 164; of heterosexuality, 59, 61; male-centered, 59; phallocentric, 15; queer, 20, 142; of relationship, 60. See also Black theology; Feminist theologian; Gay theology; Liberation theology; Womanist Theopraxis, 101 Transcendence, 210, 237, 247, 293, 315 Transgender, 126-27, 133, 136 Transvestite, 241 Trickster, 73-74, 81 Turner, Nat, 18, 66, 83-88, 92 Twain, Mark, 112-13,123 Valentinus, 226 Violence, 28, 92,116, 126-27,129,137, 139-40,142, 274, 316; against women, 36, 116, 121, 123. See also Rape Virginity, 8, 71, 224 Virility (male), 7, 167, 225, 258, 260-61, 292, 314; of Christ, 258, 260-61 Voyeurism, 215, 286-87. See also Scopophilia Wahba, Rachel, 99 West, Cornel, 242 Womanist, 93 n. 4,126-27, (black women theologians), 245

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3 24 Index Women: as body, 4; as commodity, 159; control of, 317; degradation of, 121; movement, 44; nature of, 8; oppression of, 28; ordination of, 5, 10-11. See also Violence Wound (woundedness), 217-22, 224-25;

wounded healer, 100; wounded man, 13, 221; wounded nature, 106 Yahweh, 239-40, 243-44. See also God Yeskel, Felice, 100

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