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Summer Reading Coming Out Spiritually: The Next Step, by Christian de la Huerta; Foreword by Matthew Fox; Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam; 236 pages; $14.95. 
Christian de la Huerta is the founder and executive director of Q-Spirit,
"an organization for gay/ lesbian/queer people who wish to connect with
others sharing an interest in personal growth, spirituality and the many
expressions of each. Honoring all paths and traditions, it is a forum in
which individuals can come together to explore, investigate, and share
spiritual expressions, journeys and practices."
By necessity, most Q-Spirit programs and outreaches take place in the San Francisco Bay area. Through Coming Out Spiritually, de la Huerta and Q-Vision can reach out to a much wider audience. Coming Out Spiritually offers a fresh outlook on gay spirituality and how to assert it, and thereby gives queer readers a foundation from which to begin building a spiritual life." de la Huerta recognizes that this is a difficult task. For one thing, homophobia on the part of traditional Judaism, Christianity and Islam has turned off many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to organized religion.
de la Huerta goes on to describe many spiritual paths we can take in order to fulfill these and other functions. Some of us stay within traditional religions, working to change them from within. Others break off into new paths, such as psychotherapy, meditation, yoga, qi gong, tai chi, ritual dance, breath of bodywork. "No matter what path or combination of paths we choose, the destination remains the same: spiritual growth; reestablishing or deepening a sense of connection with the Divine; becoming better human beings; rediscovering who we are deepening our sense of self; becoming real, authentic, and fully human; developing a sense of purpose; cultivating those personal attributes that will enhance the quality of our relationships with ourselves and others - compassion, equanimity, a sense of justice, and generosity, among others." In an Appendix, de la Huerta relates the various spiritual traditions, especially how they relate to homosexuality and gender variance. For example, this is how de la Huerta defines "Queer Spirit": "This movement, also referred to by some as 'Gay Spirituality,' a slightly less inclusive term, is based on the belief thatmany LGBT individuals have been spiritually inclined throughout history, often assuming important roles of spiritual leadership. "The movement includes both those seeking to create a place for themselves within established, organized religions, as well as those seeking spiritual solace in alternative paths. As the name implies, a queer-centered spiritual path ponders, among other things, the spiritual value and unique contributions of being queer. "Inherently eclectic, its basic premise is that sexual and gender variance is encompassed by the Divine. Its advocates strive to identify homoerotic and transgendered deities, symbols, and images among the world's religions and mythologies, so as to provide sources of spiritual identification for queer people. Queer Spirit also recognizes the spiritual contributions made by many through the medium of art, particularly during times when they were excluded from explicit roles of spiritual leadership. ..." Like Queer Spirit, de la Huerta and Coming Out Spiritually take a "cafeteria" approach to religion, which troubles those of us who follow one particular spiritual path. de la Huerta sees nothing wrong with this approach, nor is he alone: "More and more, we are finding that in our rapidly shrinking world, people are incorporating practices of one tradition with the beliefs or deities of another", which de la Huerta calls "spiritual mestizaje". "Our outsider status predisposes us to, and perhaps even gives us a head start in, this trend toward spiritual fluidity. Written by a gay man, Coming Out Spiritually reflects a male perspective, which de la Huerta is the first to admit. This is especially obvious in the chapter "Faces of Passion," where de la Huerta explores the always thorny issue of gay male sexuality in the Age of AIDS. de la Huerta is on firmer ground in the next chapter, "Coming Out", where we "explore ways of contributing and making a difference in the world." "Coming out is a profoundly spiritual act. Coming out means letting go - letting go of fear; letting go of limitation; letting go of anything and everything that has held us back, or anything we have been grabbing on to. It's about rejecting the lies, and embracing the truth, whatever the consequences." By coming out spiritually, we can once again fulfill our traditional roles, for the benefit of all humanity. "Because we come from all corners of the world, from all ethnic backgrounds, and all spiritual traditions, queer people can be exemplars for the rest of the world. We can show them how to work together to heal ourselves and our community." Though we have our work cut out for us, Christian de la Huerta's synthetic spirituality is a step in the right direction. It's summertime, and the reading is easy. Those of you who take books to the beach - I tried doing that, but I get easily distracted - will prefer light escapist fiction, which can be put down at a moment's notice. Without further ado, here are some of my favorites: Frontiers: A Novel by Michael Jensen (Pocket Books; $24.00)
Frontiers is a homo-erotic fantasy set in the early days of the American frontier. John
Chapman, who history will remember as Johnny Appleseed, is a young man in
this book; seeking a place for himself as a man-lovin' man in the Allegheny
Mountains (1779).
In Frontiers, author Michael Jensen stays close to the historical facts - there is a bibliography in the back of the book - while at the same time managing to weave an exciting tale. Essentialists and purists might object to Chapman having a twentieth-century gay identity in 1779, while the rest of you will join me in enjoying a fascinating tale about a fascinating character. The best books leave the reader wanting more, and Frontiers begs for a sequel. Do you hear that, Michael Jensen? We are waiting! The Spell by Alan Hollinghurst (Viking; $24.95).
Some of you might know Alan Hollinghurst from his award-wining novels,
The Swimming Pool Library and The Folding Star, while others might have heard
about The Spell from John Updike's tacky review in the New Yorker.
Those of you who don't know Hollinghurst from a hole in the ground only need to know that The Spell is a engrossing, if at times slow-moving, tale of gay and familial relationships in contemporary England. Like Michael Cunningham, Alan Hollinghurst can do no wrong, and if there is any justice in the world, The Spell will repeat its predecessors' success. But please don't let all of this scare you away: The Spell is also a good book to take to the beach. Obsessed: A Flesh and the Word Collection of Gay Erotic Memoirs edited by Michael Lowenthal (Plume; $12.95).
As all the world knows, Michael Lowenthal succeeded the late John Preston as the editor of the
"flesh and the word" series of gayrotic fiction (and a good successor he
is).
In Obsessed, Lowenthal collected twenty tales of erotic obsession, from the likes of Andrew Holleran, Allan Gurganus and Scott Heim. The objects of obsession in these tales of obsession likewise vary, ranging from Hasidim to boxing champ (and hot papi) Oscar de la Hoya. "These are reports from the sexual front lines, erotic espionage in which the spies and the spied-upon are one and the same." Obsessed makes good reading, though I wouldn't take it to a nude beach - it'd be too embarrassing. |
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