Abstract
In the Alfred Schutzian tradition, the social reality of ritual purification has been described as a coping strategy for reality maintenance and mental hygiene whereby individuals reconcile their encounter with a stranger and their official reality. Integrating the disciplines of philosophy and sociology to answer this question: What about those who are considered a “stranger” in their faith community? Given the hardships that transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people may encounter, “unsuccessful socialization” does not offer the best account of the challenges, obstacles, and sufferings they face when marginalized by others. Advancing Schutzian research, we offer two terms that better unfold their situated realities, namely, ritual desecration and reverse ritual purification. Using a dialectical framework, a social and interpersonal conflict occurs between ritual purification and ritual desecration. Consequently, creation of two personal iterations emerges, namely, those who experience ritual desecration by remaining in their home environment and those who migrate to another community for the possibility of acceptance and belonging, hence, reverse ritual purification. Therefore, we explore ritual desecration and reverse ritual purification given the struggles TGNC people face in religious communities.
Presenters
Paul ShockleyLecturer, Languages, Culture, and Communication, Stephen F. Austin State University, Texas, United States Raul Prezas
Associate Professor, Speech and Hearing Sciences, Lamar University, Texas, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
ALTERNATION; TGNC POPULATION; SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONISM: RITUAL PURIFICATION: RITUAL DESECRATION; EXCOMMUNICATION
