A Blackqueer Sexual Ethics: Embodiment, Possibility, and Living Archive

In A Blackqueer Sexual Ethics: Embodiment,Possibility,and Living Archive, Elyse Ambrose explores black queerness as a source for religious ethical reflection, challenging traditional norms and emphasizing communal belonging, individual and collective becoming, goodness, embodied spirit, and shared thriving.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 224 pages
Publication date: 27 June 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

In her groundbreaking work, "A Blackqueer Sexual Ethics: Embodiment, Possibility, and Living Archive," Elyse Ambrose delves into the rich tapestry of black queerness as a profound source for religious ethical reflection. This innovative approach challenges the destructive norms prevalent in traditional Christian sexual ethics, particularly those that purport to be liberating. By drawing upon an archive of black queerness, Ambrose constructs a robust framework that fosters religious ethical inquiry.

This approach builds upon a rich tradition of black queer and LGBTQ+-centered critique, intersecting race, sexuality, gender, and religion. Through an exploration of the moral imagination of sexual and gender non-conforming communities in 1920s Harlem, including rent parties, blues environments, and the Hamilton Lodge Ball, Ambrose uncovers the ethical and theological dimensions of black queerness. She also presents contemporary oral histories, including photographs of the subjects taken by the scholar-artist, which serve as integrative sites that highlight blackqueer ethical counter-patterns of communal belonging, individual and collective becoming, goodness, embodied spirit/inspirited bodies, and shared thriving.

A significant shift occurs in Ambrose's work, moving from a Christian sexual ethics based on rules to a communal relations-based transreligious ethics of sexuality. Emphasis is placed on both personal and social right-relatedness, signaling a departure from traditional Christian sexual ethics and embracing a more inclusive and holistic approach to sexuality.

In conclusion, "A Blackqueer Sexual Ethics: Embodiment, Possibility, and Living Archive" by Elyse Ambrose is a groundbreaking work that offers a profound exploration of black queerness as a source for religious ethical reflection. By challenging traditional norms and embracing a communal relations-based transreligious ethics of sexuality, Ambrose provides a valuable contribution to the field of religious ethics and offers a roadmap for promoting inclusivity, justice, and flourishing in our diverse world.

Weight: 284g
Dimension: 216 x 138 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780567707925