Paper short abstract:

Drawing on interviews and observations with queer clergy in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, I present why and how queer activism and allyship could be strengthened through the inclusion of an intersectional analysis of the lived experiences of queer bodies in the church.

Paper long abstract:

In Cathy Cohen's (1997) influential article, Punks, Bulldaggers and Welfare Queens, she highlights the limitations of queer activism which orbits queer identity rather than power. Cohen argues that in order to be truly radical, queer politics should tap more consciously and critically into its transformative power to subvert and disrupt dominant norms of power and privilege and rely less on identifying who is queer enough to participate. Scholarship on South African queer politics has echoed Cohen's work and pinpoints the superficial consideration of intersectionality as its weakness. Drawing on interviews and observations with queer clergy in the Methodist Church of Southern Africa (MCSA), I argue similarly that queer activism in the Church is weakened by the limited space and cognizance given to intersectionality. "Subversive bodies" in the church are excluded from queer politics and silenced by dominant norms which privileges hegemonic, heteropatriarchial activism. These norms frame the experiences of women, young black members (often affiliated to the youth arm of the MCSA and commonly referred to as Guilders) and queer clergy as separate therefore treating issues affecting these members as distinct and hegemonic. Cohen also argues that intersectionality in queer politics is useful in helping to identify allies. Whilst I agree that queer politics in the MCSA could be bolstered by the inclusion of heterosexual allies, I argue that allies should not only be identified but that the lens of intersectionality should be used to contest the ways in which white, heteropatriachal performances of allyship is privileged within the Church.