Yoga Philosophy

To ask the question “what is queer theory?” is a gesture that can easily invite frustration, for by asking it…

How would you explain the term “queer dharma”? I think queer dharma is best expressed as the edgy, radical application…

I didn’t like rule-breakers when I was a teenager. The bad kids, the alternative kids, the shouty kids — I kept…

That trans individuals have discovered Kuan Yin’s gender transition has been evident for a number of years, for example, from references like this one from blogger Stacie Ku: “Even if I didn’t grow up worshiping her, once I found out she was transgendered, she would have made my list of favorite deities anyway.” A blogger who was writing a novel whose main character is trans said she designated Kuan Yin as one of the character’s ‘‘role models.’’

Ardhanārīśvara is a hybridized deity form of Śiva and Śakti and is thus popularly depicted as half-male and half-female. A…

I’d already finished a full cupful of chilled tandai—and was heading for a second—when my brother-in-law approached me with words…

Queer theory in practice gives us, as LGBTQ+ people, a theoretical position from which we can counter discriminatory gender narratives, such as those explicated above. Queer theory allows us to put forward the idea that gender is unique to the individual. Spiritual seekers may need to understand these basic tenets, perhaps more than others, because we believe ourselves already to be enlightened, that our rules, including this long-held idea of “gender balance” to be revelatory and embedded in sacred texts. 

Language around sexuality and gender has shifted and changed throughout history. New words have emerged and existing words have altered…