As a part of its LGBTQ
Health and Wellness Week, the
Spectrum Center hosted a talk
titled Queer Martyrdom: The
Religious and Sexual Politics
of
LGBTQ
Inclusion.
This
event featured guest speaker
Brett
Krutzsch,
a
scholar
from New York University
and author of the book “Dying
to Be Normal: Gay Martyrs
and the Transformation of
American
Sexual
Politics.”
Krutzsch spoke to an audience
of about 20 students, staff and
community members.
Krutzsch
discussed
both
historical and modern issues
pertaining to the intersection
of religion and the LGBTQ+
community. He referenced two
anecdotal stories about LGBTQ
youth Matthew Shepard and
Fred F.C. Martinez, whose
murders sparked controversy
in contrasting ways. Shepard
was an openly gay college
student in Wyoming who was
kidnapped, robbed and beaten
in 1998. He was tied to a fence
and left to die in near-freezing
temperatures. He succumbed
to his injuries several days
after the attack and quickly
became a symbol in LGBTQ+
activists’ fight for acceptance
and equality.
“Parents
throughout
the
country felt that Matthew could
have been their son, an idea
many had never contemplated
before
of
a
gay
person,”
Krutzsch said. “Instead of
describing him as an adult man
who had boyfriends or lovers,
he becomes a kid within the
American nuclear family.”
Krutzsch said the public
connected to Shepard’s story,
citing
several
journalists
who wrote about the murder
and how it sparked national
response.
“We have this Christian
rhetoric that he is continuing
to lead and teach others after
he dies and in doing that,
Shepard transforms into an
image of gay men completely
disassociated from public sex,”
Krutzsch said.
Martinez,
who
was
murdered in Colorado in 2001,
was “nádleehí,” a Navajo word
used for a man with feminine
attributes. 18-year-old Shaun
Murphy
beat
16-year-old
Martinez to death with a
rock, and received a 40-year
sentence
for
the
crime.
Murphy was paroled in 2019
after serving 17 years in prison.
Krutzsch
said
because
Martinez was a person of
color,
his
murder
carried
a
significantly
different
narrative than Shepard’s.
“We
have
witnessed
a
national
student
movement
for
the
growth
of
A/PIA
Studies, but at the same time,
we have watched a national
struggle for A/PIA Studies to
be institutionally supported
by universities,” the letter
said. “This University is no
exception.”
The requirements outlined
by the students include the
creation of an A/PIA Studies
major,
more
recognition
and support for the faculty
of ethnic studies programs,
more spaces to hold lectures,
additional faculty specifically
dedicated to the ethnic studies
program and meetings with
LSA Dean Anne Curzan.
“The
students
of
A/PIA
Studies
have
witnessed
a
litigation
in
which
the
University that we chose to
attend has excluded our role
models, directly discredited
our
presence,
and
denied
the existence of our lived
realities,” the letter said. “We
now need a period to heal and
move forward from such an
alienating process.”
As
of
Wednesday
night,
the letter had more than 100
signatures from the A/PIA
Studies community as well as
other University students.
In an interview with The
Daily last week, University
President Mark Schlissel said
he was glad the University won
the trial.
“We’re
gratified
they
agreed
with
us,”
Schlissel
said. “As always with juries,
it was a relatively lengthy
and
complicated
trial.
…
We’re always trying to hear
constructive
criticism,
even if we disagree with its
conclusions.”
Schlissel
said
he’s
spent
time with A/PIA leadership
to
continue
the
ongoing
conversation on how to improve
the situation for the programs.
“I would find it disappointing
if any student felt as if they
weren’t
supported
for
any
reason, any mode of identity,”
Shlissel said. “Our student
affairs staff and the folks that
work on our multiculturalism
programs are in contact with
A/PIA and other groups. I’ve
had A/PIA leadership to the
house for breakfast, probably
once a semester the last several
years, and it’s an ongoing
dialogue.”
In response to this statement,
James Lee, LSA senior and A/
PIA Studies minor, said he felt
offended by Schlissel’s mention
of the entire A/PIA community
being represented by a small
group of leadership.
“When Schlissel says ‘A/PIA’
generally, that is completely
antithetical to diversity,” Lee
said. “Because if you’re going to
say, ‘I listened to A/PIA,’ that’s
15 percent of the student body.
Who are you listening to? If you
want to say something about
diversity but then at the same
time say the entirety of A/PIA
is just a monolith and that you
listen to everybody out there,
when we’ve had experiences
when
we
know
you
don’t
(listen to us). You can have all
this discourse about diversity,
but that doesn’t matter when
you’re doing nothing (to make
improvements).”
2 — Thursday, February 6, 2020
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genta @gentanishku
just reminiscing, but one of the wildest things about living in ann arbor
for three years was getting emails boasting about the town & university’s
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NYU prof. talks intersection
of LGBTQ rights and religion
Krutzsch lectures on queer martyrs and media attention paid to
movement as part of Spectrum Center’s health and wellness week
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