Embracing Disruptive Coherence: Coming Out as Erotic Ethical Practice

Does anyone need to come out anymore? Queer theory has challenged the idea of coming out as problematic for its false binary and essentialized version of identity. If gender is a socially constructed performativity then what does coming out mean? At the same time we live in a society that still struggles with structures of power that define what is considered normal and sanctions those who transgress. The intersectionality of gender with race class ethnicity nationality abilities religion age and other positional markers challenge a simplified belief that coming out is not necessary. Therefore in the lived experience of many persons coming out still matters. This book initiates a different theological conversation about coming out. It argues that rather than the declaration of an identity category coming out can be understood as the erotic ethical practice of truth-telling. The formation of conscience and moral integrity embody the two pillars of this erotic practice. Coming out understood as disruptive coherence is the erotic ethical practice of truth-telling grounded in our deepest desires to be known authentically in community. In these pages Kathleen Talvacchia gives readers a treat: a smart provocative analysis of how coming out for LBGTQ folks is an ongoing process not a singular event involving far more than disclosure of identity. As she carefully maps out coming out is a life-altering practice of coming into the kind of community that encourages truth-telling and relational integrity. In her hands moral wisdom shimmers and shakes in delightful ways. --Marvin M. Ellison Willard S. Bass Professor Emeritus of Christian Ethics at Bangor Theological Seminary author of Making Love Just: Sexual Ethics for Perplexing Times Talvacchia persuasively insists that coming out as an act of disruptive coherence overturns exclusive normativities that enforce and sustain gender and sexual injustice. This book challenges and inspires by promoting deep thinking about how queer Christians and others can live authentically and boldly. --Traci C. West Professor of Christian Ethics and African American Studies Drew Theological School Kathleen Talvacchia offers an invaluable new addition to practical theological reflection on the dynamics of identity difference and new forms of community. She engages in nuanced reflection on the value of truth-telling and she also expands our awareness of the multiple truths of identity. The principles explored in this book illuminate an enormous range of ethical questions. --Randall Styers Associate Professor of Religion University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Kathleen T. Talvacchia is a contextual theologian with interest in practical theology Christian practices of marginalized communities and Queer theology. She is co-editor of Queer Christianities: Lived Religion in Transgressive Forms (2015) an anthology examining the lived religious experiences of LGBTIQ Christians and authored Critical Minds and Discerning Hearts: A Spirituality of Multicultural Teaching (2003). She served as the chair of the Status of LGBTIQ Persons in the Profession of the American Academy of Religion.