Boyoung Lee’s paper, "Teaching Justice and Living Peace: Body,
Sexuality, and Religious Education in Asian American Communities," is quite a study. Socially, sexuality is typically a taboo subject, many Asian Americans
can attest to the fact that growing up parents usually avoided discussing the
subject with their children, or made awkward mentions to it. Religion on the
other hand is much more commonly discussed, as many Asian Americans are
religious. Hinduism, Christianity, and Buddhism being especially common Asian
American religions. During this study, Lee also delves into homophobia as a
result of traditional views on sexuality and religion, as well as the
possibility for creation of a sexuality education curriculum for Asian American
faith communities. Lee cites powerful anecdotal examples of homophobia affecting
peoples lives. Examples include a Korean pastor who was unable to accept his gay
son, because he viewed homosexuality as sinful. Another one being a mother who
had a lesbian daughter, but felt sadness despite accepting her because she knew
many others in their community would consider her an oddity. The societal view
for many Asian Americans is heterosexuality is normal. Only recently has
homosexuality or bisexuality become something more and more Asian Americans are
accepting, as they are shown that everyone is just as equal, despite what their
religious views might say. Hopefully this continues to the be the case, as its
important to be accepting of others and educate those who don’t believe so.
Citations:
1. Boyoung Lee (2006): Teaching Justice and Living Peace: Body,
Sexuality, and Religious Education in Asian American Communities, 101:3, 402-419
2. Azar, B. (2009, April). Retrieved February 24, 2019, from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/04/social
No comments:
Post a Comment