Ruth and naomi gay
The premise for this series is that, rather than queer identities truly creature a ‘missing myth’ in the thought world of the Abrahamic faiths, queer and lesbian and other queer people do in fact see our experiences reflected in places within the Scriptures. Today I’d like to look at what is undoubtedly the most common example of this: in relationships that are ‘queer coded’ in some way: specifically the friendship between David and Jonathan and the woman-centric familial bond between Ruth and Naomi. First I’ll start by talking a bit about a what ‘queer coding’ is and reflect a bit on how we might converse about it responsibly in terms of the Scriptures. Then I’ll look at the reasons why gays and lesbians have study the two relationships in question as queer coded.
Queer coding is when the subtext of a ethics or dynamic between characters reads as queer, even if the text itself does not overtly express it as such. A great example that has recently been in the media is the personality of Velma in the Scooby-Doo franchise. A recent adaptation showing her attracted to Daphne drew heat for
Note: I recently co-lead a workshop on exploring myth in words and visual art at the Art Room in Philadelphia where I read the monitoring excerpt of my novel THEY, a biblical tale of secret genders. The YouTube video is below and under that the text of my reading &#; which features the biblical version of Ruth and Naomi. There is a lesbian tradition of linking Ruth and Naomi together as lovers. (Ruth and Naomi are frequently pictured embracing.) And the writer and Biblical historian Gore Vidal agreed that it looked to him like Ruth and Naomi were lovers. I recognize it certainly informed my vision of traditional religion &#; and I&#;m honored to pass this tradition along.
Tamar looked down on herself. Her body lay on her bed.
Tabitha was at Tamar&#;s side. Her eyes were soggy. Tamar knew why her sister was crying. They were almost the similar person, from the equal womb, from the identical egg split into two. They were identical in looks, if not in spirit. They shared the same secret &#; that of tricking Judah. Zerah and Pharez were still living in Egypt with Judah.
The story of Ruth and Naomi is widely quoted by queer writers as an example from Scripture of doable lesbian love: but how relevant is it? Superficially at least, it is just a plain story of exceptionally strong family fondness and loyalty, between mother- and daughter- in-law. Whether in any way “lesbian” or not, the story is relevant, but not perhaps in the way usually told. To unravel the lessons it may clutch for us, let’s begin with the simple story.
Naomi was an Israelite widow, living for a while (on account of famine) in Moab, where she married her two sons to Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. The sons later died, exiting Naomi “all alone, without husband or sons” ,
She did have two daughters-in-law, and when she heard that conditions back in Israel had improved, she returned, initially taking her two daughters-in-law with her. She then had a change of heart, and encourages the two women to return to their own home in Moab. After some persuasion, Orpah did so, but Ruth refused.
Do not compress me to exit you
Or rotate back from obeying you!
Where you go I will gWoman-centric Bible stories are hard to come by, let alone feminist or queer ones. The Novel of Ruth, which we browse every Shavuot, stands as a clear exception to the patriarchal rule. The story begins with Naomi, a Jewish woman married to Elimelech from Bethlehem. They have two sons who wedding non-Jewish, Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth. When Elimelech and his two sons die, Naomi commands widowed Orpah and Ruth to return to Moab for a fresh start. Orpah obeys, but Ruth refuses: “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”
These are the story’s most famous words and act as the entrypoint for interpreting the biblical tale through a gay lens. Dr. Ruth Preser, a feminist activist and lecturer at Tel-Hai College and University of Haifa, writes in her essay “Things I Learned from the Book of Ruth: Diasporic Readings of Queer Conversations” that “the organizers of the Third Female homosexual Conference held in Natanya, Israel in chose the opening of Ruth’s