Commentary: Queer Comes the Bride

I've got this song in my head.It goes something like this. . ."No I won't be a nun, no I shall not be a nun, for I am so fond of pleasure, I cannot be a nun."These are lines from the film Black Narcissus (Powell & Pressburger, 1947) sung by Mr. Dean in response to the Convent of the Order of the Servants of Mary who are setting up a school and hospital in the remote village of Mopu, high up in the Himalayas where Mr. Dean lives.One of the nuns, Sister Ruth, is curious enough about Mr. Dean's fondness for pleasure that she is soon out of habit, dressed seductively in red, and off to seek the arms of the film's leading man.After her desire is briskly rejected, the morality tale takes its toll and Sister Ruth falls to her death.Mr. Dean's song trespasses onto an irony between religion and desire that encapsulates my concerns about the current sexual politics that result from the Canadian House of Commons' decision to approve same-sex marriage in June 2005.The responses to this decision that I am interested in are those that consider discourses about both queer rights and a general critique of queer marriage.As Sister Ruth's death suggests, religion and sexual desire do not go hand in hand.Michael Cobb's (2006) recent book gets right to my point; it's titled God Hates Fags.One of Cobb's main arguments is that religious discourses are one of the most potent and pervasive forms of queer expression and activism throughout the twentieth century.On June 29, 2005, the front-page headline of the Globe and Mail read: "After bitter two-year political battle, divisive legislation moves to Senate; Same-sex bill finally passes" (Curry and Galloway, 2005, p. A1).Duly noted, the National Post is less enthusiastic, running the headline "For Better or Worse; House of Commons approves same-sex marriage 158-133" (Naumetz, 2005, p. A1).I do not claim to be an expert on issues of same-sex marriage.I write this commentary in response to the House of Commons' ruling not because I know anything about queer civil unions but as a challenge to myself-to articulate my opinion about the possibility of getting married to my partner.His name is Todd.It's a topic I've thought about for a long time but never really taken seriously until it became legally possible.The debates around queer marriage that I've participated in for the past 15 years have finally come to some fruition, at least in Canada.And I relish the possibilities.Going bridal.Queer comes the bride.My bid at Bridezilla.Ohmigod-what will I wear?

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.