Kittredge Cherry's Blog: Q Spirit, page 58

Station 11: Crucifixion / therapy to “cure” homosexuality

Jesus is nailed to the cross as queer people are hooked to electrodes for a “cure” in Station 11 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



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1992: The National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality is founded. The organization opposes the mainstream medical view of homosexuality and aims to "make effective psychological therapy available to all homosexual men and women who seek change." Radical forms of reparative therapy involve electroshock treatment.

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



As Jesus is nailed to the cross, queer people are hooked to electrodes for electroshock therapy meant to “cure” homosexuality. I find this one of the most powerful combinations of imagery in the whole LGBT Stations series. Electroshock and other ex-gay “conversion” or “reparative” treatments are part of the continuum of oppression by those who aim to purge society of sexual minorities. Jesus befriended sexual outcasts and taught love for all, and they killed him for it. Some of this last words were, “Forgive them, God, for they know not what they do.”

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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 10: Jesus stripped / AIDS spreads

Jesus is stripped of his garments as AIDS spreads in Station 10 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



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1981: The first official documentation of GRID (Gay Related Infectious Disease, later renamed AIDS) was published by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The images in this station are ones that illustrate the HIV virus.

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



Jesus being stripped of his garments is a scene of loss… and the LGBT community lost thousands of people due to AIDS. I like the way the AIDS virus forms a halo for Jesus in this painting. We are the body of Christ, and we have AIDS.



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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 9: Jesus falls 3rd time / Harvey Milk assassinated

Jesus falls for the third time as gay politician Harvey Milk is assassinated in Station 9 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud

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1978: Former Supervisor Dan White assassinates openly gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, along with Mayor George Moscone. Milk was the first openly gay politician to be elected to public office in California

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



Whenever anyone commits violence against another, Christ is crucified again -- including when gay rights pioneer Harvey Milk was shot. He has been called a martyr for LGBT rights -- and for all human rights. “If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door in the country,” Milk once said. Two bullets did enter his brain, and his vision of equality is also coming true.



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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 8: Jesus meets women / Stonewall Rebellion

Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem and the Stonewall Riots happen in Station 8 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



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1969: After a police raid on the Stonewall Inn in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, a series of spontaneous violent demonstrations took place. The first Gay Pride march in U.S. history took place on the first anniversary of the riots.

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



A chain of oppression stretches from the crucifixion of Christ to police harassment of LGBT people at the Stonewall Inn. Women of Jerusalem wept when Jesus passed by them carrying his cross. He urged them not to grieve for him, but for their own descendants: “If they do this to me, what will they do to others in the future?” I see a hint of the resurrection here in this image. When LGBT stood up for themselves at Stonewall in 1969, they started a liberation movement that is still on the rise.

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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 7: Jesus falls 2nd time / police raid Black Cat gay bar

Jesus falls for the second time and police raid the Black Cat gay bar in Station 7 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud

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1967: The Black Cat Tavern in Los Angeles is raided on New Year’s Day by 12 plainclothes police officers who beat and arrested employees and patrons. The resulting campaigns and protests pre-date the Stonewall riots by two years.

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



Jesus really seems to be walking with the gay protestors in this painting. Stonewall was the turning point, but lesser-known protests paved the way. I live near the Silverlake neighborhood where the Black Cat Tavern is still located -- now declared a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. The protest there also helped inspire Troy Perry to found the LGBT-affirming Metropolitan Community Churches.



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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 6: Veronica wipes Jesus’ face / gay scientist driven to suicide

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus while a gay computer scientist is driven to suicide in Station 6 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



1954: Mathematician Alan Turing commits suicide by cyanide poisoning, 18 months after being given a choice between two years in prison or libido-reducing hormone treatment as a punishment for homosexuality. Turing was instrumental in the British intelligence services during World War II and he is widely considered the father of computer science.



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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



The queer circumstances of Alan Turing’s death were hidden for 20 years until the Gay Liberation Front broke the silence. The convenience of our computerized world is built on oppression of the LGBT people who helped build it. For more details, read Alan Turing: Gay codebreaker's defiance keeps memory alive (BBC News).



The presence of Veronica makes this of the few Stations highlighting the role of women in Christ’s Passion, so I add this piece of lesbian history:



1955 – The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) was founded in San Francisco in 1955 by four lesbian couples (including Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon) and was the first national lesbian political and social organization in the United States.[73] The group's name came from "Songs of Bilitis," a lesbian-themed song cycle by French poet Pierre Louÿs, which described the fictional Bilitis as a resident of the Isle of Lesbos alongside Sappho. DOB's activities included hosting public forums on homosexuality, offering support to isolated, married, and mothering lesbians, and participating in research activities.



_________________________________________________



“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 5: Simon helps carry cross / LGBTs fired in Lavender Scare

Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross while LGBT people fired during the Lavender Scare in Station 5 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



1950: 190 individuals in the U.S. are dismissed from government employment for their sexual orientation, commencing the Lavender Scare. The fear and persecution of homosexuals in the 1950s paralleled the anti-communist scare campaigns of McCarthyism.



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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



LGBT people were fired from US government jobs in the 1950s because supposedly the “Reds” (communists) could blackmail them into becoming spies. Jesus continues carrying his cross through another scene in the history of persecution faced by LGBT people. I love the colors of this image, like a rainbow flag in the background.

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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 4: Jesus meets his mother / LGBT prisoners kept in concentration camps

Jesus meets his mother and LGBT prisoners are kept in Nazi concentration camps after Allied liberation in Station 4 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



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1945: Upon liberation of Nazi concentration camps by Allied forces, those interned for homosexuality are not freed, but required to serve out the full term of their sentences under Paragraph 175.

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



Nazis and Allies were enemies, but they agreed that homosexuals should be locked up. The Allies liberated everyone else, but kept those who wore the pink triangle in prison! In Jesus’ time Romans and Jews were enemies, but they agreed that the man who loved without limits should die. The Nazis used pink triangles to identify prisoners sent to concentration camps for homosexuality. It was part of a system of triangles labeling people they deemed “undesirable.” Originally intended as a badge of shame, the pink triangle has become a symbol of pride for the LGBT movement.



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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the history of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 3: Jesus falls 1st time / Nazis put queers in concentration camps

Jesus falls the first time and Nazis ban homosexual groups in Station 3 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



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1933: The National Socialist German Workers Party bans homosexual groups under Paragraph 175. Homosexuals are sent to concentration camps.

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



This is one of my personal favorite paintings in the series because it shows tenderness between men: When Jesus falls, a man helps him back to his feet.  A male couple watches, clinging to each other for comfort.  This is how we can rise again from horrors such those inflicted by the Nazis.



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“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the sufferings of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week. Click here for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry, lesbian Christian author and art historian.

Station 2: Jesus carries cross / police harass LGBT rights group

Jesus carries his cross and America's first homosexual rights group forms in Station 2 from “Stations of the Cross: The Struggle For LGBT Equality” by Mary Button, courtesy of Believe Out Loud



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1924: The first homosexual rights organization in America is founded by Henry Garber in Chicago – the Society for Human Rights. The group exists for a few months before disbanding under police pressure. The charter of the organization makes up the background of this station.

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Mini-commentary by Kittredge Cherry:



I knew that police harassed gay bars, but they even shut down our human rights group! Anti-LGBT police harassment is a heavy cross to bear.



_________________________________________________



“Stations of the Cross: The Struggle for LGBT Equality” is a new set of 14 paintings that link the crucifixion of Jesus with the sufferings of LGBT people.



Artist Mary Button painted the LGBT Stations series for Believe Out Loud, an online network empowering Christians to work for LGBT equality. They invite churches and faith groups to download and use the images for free.



The whole series will also be shown here at the Jesus in Love Blog this week.  Click for an overview of the LGBT Stations by Kittredge Cherry lesbian Christian author and art historian.