I begin with a text from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel:
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Mortal, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, who have ears to hear but do not hear; 3 for they are a rebellious house. Therefore, mortal, prepare for yourself an exile’s baggage, and go into exile by day in their sight; you shall go like an exile from your place to another place in their sight. Perhaps they will understand, though they are a rebellious house. 4 You shall bring out your baggage by day in their sight, as baggage for exile; and you shall go out yourself at evening in their sight, as those do who go into exile. 5 Dig through the wall in their sight, and carry the baggage through it. 6 In their sight you shall lift the baggage on your shoulder, and carry it out in the dark; you shall cover your face, so that you may not see the land; for I have made you a sign for the house of Israel. (Ezekiel 12:1-6)
This text came up in the lectionary when I was doing preliminary research for my dissertation about the experience of LGBTQ youth in US communities. At the time, I was reading a national study about the prevalence of LGBT identification among homeless youth and the specific challenges facing this population. Of course one’s interests and sympathies color the reading of Scripture at any given time, and it occurred to me that this oracle from the Prophet Ezekiel has the potential to reverse certain moral assumptions that usually result in silence, ignorance, and even belligerence regarding the suffering of queer homeless youth, especially within Christian communities. These young people are often criminalized, pathologised and/or abused by family, society, and assistance structures, making it difficult for them to seek shelter and care. Their sexual and gender non-conformity is seen as deserving marginalization and violence. However, looked at through the lens of Ezekiel, their suffering may be lifted up as a sign, an indictment of political and religious households with corrupt systems of justice and idolatrous structures of organization that serve privilege. The problem of queer youth homelessness presents an immediate point of intervention, both geographically and temporarily, into the discussion about the relationship between sexuality and poverty in theological ethics.
In this brief reflection, I look at queer theologian, Marcella Althaus-Reid’s understanding of crucifixion as redundant, and the implications of her theology for a Christian response to local epidemics of LGBT youth homelessness. I present the experiences of homeless youth in US communities as contemporary instantiations of the cross, and therefore, encounters that compel Christians to see, to reflect, and to act.[i] Althaus-Reid describes the crucifixion as ‘redundant,’ meaning that the brutality and injustice of the cross are continually replicated in human history, resulting in new layers of meaning and new demands for Christian response.[ii] Althaus-Reid relates the redundancy of queer crucifixions in the present to Jesus’ story in the Gospel of Mark. She points to the reoccurring movement within the Gospel between death and resurrection. Jesus experiences isolation and temptation in the desert, loss of family and livelihood, hunger, religious estrangement and persecution; on the other hand, Jesus seeks out other estranged persons, shapes a new community, and speaks out against the marginalization of undesirables in the public space, all of this before the climax of his story in death on the cross and an open ended hope in his resurrection.
Althaus-Reid reads the Gospel along side a fatal queer bashing in Buenos Aires. This is one among many incidents of anti-queer violence that take place worldwide every year. The headline reporting this incident read, ‘Matan a una Marica,’ translated, ‘They Killed a Faggot.’ This type of violence is often a reaction to the perceived threat that sexual and gender non-conforming persons pose to the heterosexist social order. Althaus-Reid tells Jesus’ story as the story of a Queer man coping with familial rejection, social and economic vulnerability, and eventually a violent death. She writes, “The crucifixion made him redundant. He becomes an unemployed God, a devalued, misunderstood God outside the market. In everything Jesus did, God’s abundant presence was there, but nevertheless, for society, he was a failure” (169). This reading brings the relationship between sexuality and poverty into focus, especially when direct connections exist between queer identity and socio-economic deprivation in contemporary life.
Right now, queer crucifixions line the streets of Chicago and Milwaukee. A US study conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Coalition for the Homeless shows that 20 to 40 percent of all homeless youth identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.[iii] According to the report, this reveals that LGBT youth suffer homelessness at a disproportionate rate, since only 3-5 percent of the US population identifies as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. The statistical gap is even more pronounced for transgender youth. Studies indicate that 1 in 5 transgender persons need or are at risk of needing homeless shelter assistance. The Task Force report also highlights family conflict as the number one cause of all youth homelessness. For LGBT youth, this is often conflict directly related to their sexual and/or gender identification. One study shows that 26 percent of gay teens were kicked out of their homes when they came out to their parents. Another study found that more than a third of LGBT youth who are homeless or in the care of social services reported a violent physical assault when they came out.
Not only are LGBT youth more vulnerable to becoming homeless, they are also more vulnerable to some of the most difficult challenges facing youth on the street. Struggles with mental health, substance dependency, HIV infection, harassment, violence, and criminalization, again, disproportionately affect LGBT youth. Various studies show that LGBT populations of homeless youth are more likely to engage in survival sex, are more likely to be the victims of sexual abuse and violence, and are at greater risk of health consequences related to risky sexual behavior. Taking a look at these issues a little closer to home, research initiatives in both Chicago and Milwaukee report statistics that support the findings of the Task Force. There are between 12,000 and 15,000 homeless youth in Chicago – 25,000 annually in the state of IL. Between 1400 and 3000 in the city of Chicago are LGBT identified – between 5 and 10,000 homeless youth in the state of IL identify as LGBT. Also, one Chicago study reveals high rates of prostitution, and experiences of physical and sexual assault among homeless youth – this study did not distinguish between LGBT and straight identified youth.
In Milwaukee, a research collaboration among seven organizations, in response to the Task Force report, found that 23 percent of youth surveyed in Milwaukee identify at LGBT.[iv] LGBT youth tended to be homeless longer than non-LGBT youth, and LGBT youth reported higher instances of mental illness and substance abuse. Also, under reasons for homelessness, LGBT youth in this study reported being thrown out or running away at triple the rate than non-LGBT youth. LGBT youth also reported higher rates of abuse and violence in this study.
These are conditions that should compel us as Christian theologians and ethicists to reflect. The hungry, frozen, battered, raped, shaking with fear, and many times mutilated and murdered bodies of queer youth crumpled in our gutters - their bodies call out for the resurrection of a redundant tradition, a tradition that is complicit, in what it has done and in what it has failed to do for the least of these. Christian leadership and communities and the discipline of theological ethics has failed to appropriately assess and address the experience of LGBT youth. Their struggles emerge at the nexus of sexuality and poverty. Ignorance and silence amount to turning a blind eye to the cross. Christianity perpetuates the political manufacture of the crucible of heterosexual privilege, resulting in the marginalization and death of non-conforming youth. The Task Force report singles out Christian assistance organizations as particularly limited in their ability to meet the needs of LGBT youth. Many faith-based organizations oppose legal and social equality for LGBT persons. This raises concerns as to whether these organizations can provide safe and affirming services to LGBT youth.
In conclusion, I return to Ezekiel. “7 I did just as I was commanded. I brought out my baggage by day, the baggage for exile, and in the evening I dug through the wall with my own hands; I brought it out in the dark, carrying it on my shoulder in their sight” (12:7). These youth are not simply victims. Rather, they have shown the courage to dig through walls with their bare hands, to carry the baggage of an oppressive society, to be who they are despite a social household that does not provide for them. Worse than that, an abusive household that continually sacrifices their dignity and humanity for the sake of an inhospitable and idolatrous moral order. One commentator calls Ezekiel’s prophetic demonstration a sign-act. I think this is helpful in acknowledging and celebrating the agency of queer youth, albeit limited and often denied by social impoverishment.
[ii] Marcella Althaus-Reid, “Scenes from Queer Cruci-Fictions: Matan a una Marica (‘They Killed a Faggot’)” in From Feminist Theology to Indecent Theology (Great Britain: SCM Press, 2004), 173.
[iii] The Task Force and NCH, ‘Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth: An Epidemic of Homelessness’ published on the Task Force website, 2006 . For Chicago, data was collected from The Night Ministry, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, and the Illionois Department of Human Services.
[iv] Cream City Foundation, “2010 State of Youth Homelessness Report,” a collaboration between American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin Foundation, Children’s Service Society of Wisconsin, Fair Wisconsin, Lad Lake Inc, Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, Pathfinders, and UW-Milwaukee’s Center for Urban Initiatives and Research.
