Joseph N. Goh
Born into a family of mixed ancestry in Sarawak, Malaysia, Joseph N. Goh’s formative years were marked by weekend picnics in the country, midnight masses, English novels and sophisti-pop singles. After a brief foray in teaching, he embarked on a full-time ecclesiastical career in 1993 that spanned almost two decades. In the process, he found himself schooled in philosophy, theology, and practical ministerial service among the Bidayûh and Iban people in rural and semi-rural areas.
In 2010, Goh earned two graduate degrees from the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University in California, USA. The life lessons learned during this period were both cathartic and transformative. It was also during this time that his passion for academia, research and education was further fuelled. Nevertheless, eager to experience new forms of service, Goh ventured into non-governmental work and worked as an HIV Counselling and Testing Manager at the community-based organisation, PT Foundation. In 2012, he made the decision to embark on full-time doctoral studies. His research on masculinities and non-heteronormative sexualities in Malaysia culminated in a thesis entitled Piercing Transcendence: A Queer Theorising and Theologising of Non-Heteronormative Malaysian Men, for which he was awarded a doctoral degree in 2015. In 2016, he joined the School of Arts and Social Sciences as a lecturer in gender and sexuality studies.
Goh is interested in issues of gender, sexuality and sexual health within the larger framework of human rights. As a theological activist, he enjoys writing on issues of religion and theology, particularly in their intersections with LGBTIQ subjectivities. Goh is a member of the international Emerging Queer Asian Pacific Islander Religion Scholars (EQARS) group, and sits on the editorial board of two online journals, Religión e Indicencia Pública and Conexión Queer: Revista Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Teologías Queer. He continues to be involved with various non-governmental, civil society and church-related organisations in and outside Malaysia on matters pertaining to gender variance and sexual diversity with hopes of contributing to social transformation in his country and beyond.
Goh's personal weblog is at http://josephgoh.org/
Address: https://www.josephgoh.org/
In 2010, Goh earned two graduate degrees from the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University in California, USA. The life lessons learned during this period were both cathartic and transformative. It was also during this time that his passion for academia, research and education was further fuelled. Nevertheless, eager to experience new forms of service, Goh ventured into non-governmental work and worked as an HIV Counselling and Testing Manager at the community-based organisation, PT Foundation. In 2012, he made the decision to embark on full-time doctoral studies. His research on masculinities and non-heteronormative sexualities in Malaysia culminated in a thesis entitled Piercing Transcendence: A Queer Theorising and Theologising of Non-Heteronormative Malaysian Men, for which he was awarded a doctoral degree in 2015. In 2016, he joined the School of Arts and Social Sciences as a lecturer in gender and sexuality studies.
Goh is interested in issues of gender, sexuality and sexual health within the larger framework of human rights. As a theological activist, he enjoys writing on issues of religion and theology, particularly in their intersections with LGBTIQ subjectivities. Goh is a member of the international Emerging Queer Asian Pacific Islander Religion Scholars (EQARS) group, and sits on the editorial board of two online journals, Religión e Indicencia Pública and Conexión Queer: Revista Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Teologías Queer. He continues to be involved with various non-governmental, civil society and church-related organisations in and outside Malaysia on matters pertaining to gender variance and sexual diversity with hopes of contributing to social transformation in his country and beyond.
Goh's personal weblog is at http://josephgoh.org/
Address: https://www.josephgoh.org/
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Book by Joseph N. Goh
Chapters are written by a diverse collection of Asian, Latin American, and U.S. theologians, religious studies scholars and activists. Each of them writes from their own social context to address the notion of LGBTQ alternative orthodoxies and praxes pertaining to God, the saints, failure of the church, queer eschatologies, and erotic economies. Engaging with issues that are not only faced by those in the theological academy, but also by clergy and congregants, the book addresses those impacted by a history of Christian hostility and violence who have become suspicious of attempts at "acceptance". It also sets out an encouragement for queer theologians and clergy think deeply about how they form communities where queer perspectives are proactively included.
This is a forward-looking and positive vision of a more inclusive theology and ecclesiology. It will, therefore, appeal to scholars of Queer Theology and Religious Studies as well as practitioners seeking a fresh perspective on church and the LGBTQ community
Analysed within the critical frameworks of queer theory and queer sexual theology, this study divulges the meanings ascribed to sexual identities and practices, as well as conceptualisations of masculinity, sexual desire, love and intimate physical connections. It also lays bare the complex negotiations between gender, desire and spirit, and how they can affect one another.
Tying fascinating case studies and underexplored Asian theologies with wider conversations around sexuality and faith, this book will be of significant interest to scholars working in religious studies, theology, queer studies, sexuality studies and Asian studies.
https://www.routledge.com/Living-Out-Sexual…/…/9781138305441
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Out-Sexuality-Fa…/…/1138305448
Journal Articles by Joseph N. Goh
devoid of their institutional faith values in a country that criminalizes
same-sex behaviour. Nonetheless, some men negotiate, rearrange
and interpret their spirit – or sense of the sacred – through desire
– or sexuality – in life-giving ways. By adopting a Constructivist
Grounded Theory Methodology, and assisted by an analytical
framework of queer transgression, this article draws on, analyses
and theorizes selected narratives of four gay and bisexual
Malaysian men with various religious affiliations and/or spiritual
inclinations. Drawing on a larger research project involving
meanings of sexual identity, sexual practice and faith of Malaysian
gay and bisexual men, this article shows how these men interpret,
re-imagine and perform spirit and desire as two major processes.
Firstly, in bridging benedictions, gay men of faith who see both
spirit and desire as blessings attempt to bridge these two
elements in constructive and uplifting ways in their everyday lives.
Secondly, the particularities in which the sexual bodies of a
bisexual man and a gay man are experienced, trusted in, and
realized as conduits of spirit shed light on processes of
enlightening embodiment.
Chapters are written by a diverse collection of Asian, Latin American, and U.S. theologians, religious studies scholars and activists. Each of them writes from their own social context to address the notion of LGBTQ alternative orthodoxies and praxes pertaining to God, the saints, failure of the church, queer eschatologies, and erotic economies. Engaging with issues that are not only faced by those in the theological academy, but also by clergy and congregants, the book addresses those impacted by a history of Christian hostility and violence who have become suspicious of attempts at "acceptance". It also sets out an encouragement for queer theologians and clergy think deeply about how they form communities where queer perspectives are proactively included.
This is a forward-looking and positive vision of a more inclusive theology and ecclesiology. It will, therefore, appeal to scholars of Queer Theology and Religious Studies as well as practitioners seeking a fresh perspective on church and the LGBTQ community
Analysed within the critical frameworks of queer theory and queer sexual theology, this study divulges the meanings ascribed to sexual identities and practices, as well as conceptualisations of masculinity, sexual desire, love and intimate physical connections. It also lays bare the complex negotiations between gender, desire and spirit, and how they can affect one another.
Tying fascinating case studies and underexplored Asian theologies with wider conversations around sexuality and faith, this book will be of significant interest to scholars working in religious studies, theology, queer studies, sexuality studies and Asian studies.
https://www.routledge.com/Living-Out-Sexual…/…/9781138305441
https://www.amazon.com/Living-Out-Sexuality-Fa…/…/1138305448
devoid of their institutional faith values in a country that criminalizes
same-sex behaviour. Nonetheless, some men negotiate, rearrange
and interpret their spirit – or sense of the sacred – through desire
– or sexuality – in life-giving ways. By adopting a Constructivist
Grounded Theory Methodology, and assisted by an analytical
framework of queer transgression, this article draws on, analyses
and theorizes selected narratives of four gay and bisexual
Malaysian men with various religious affiliations and/or spiritual
inclinations. Drawing on a larger research project involving
meanings of sexual identity, sexual practice and faith of Malaysian
gay and bisexual men, this article shows how these men interpret,
re-imagine and perform spirit and desire as two major processes.
Firstly, in bridging benedictions, gay men of faith who see both
spirit and desire as blessings attempt to bridge these two
elements in constructive and uplifting ways in their everyday lives.
Secondly, the particularities in which the sexual bodies of a
bisexual man and a gay man are experienced, trusted in, and
realized as conduits of spirit shed light on processes of
enlightening embodiment.
In Asia-Pacific countries, Abrahamic religions such as Islam and Christianity often condemn same-sex behaviour and gender non-conformity. This kind of stigma can and does create a sense of low self-esteem among men who have sex with men and transgender people. This, in turn, can prevent them from protecting themselves from the risks related to unsafe sexual behaviour as well as accessing available health services.
This discussion paper is APCOM’s knowledge product on coordinating an empowering response to such faith-based stigma and discrimination. A similar discussion paper focusing on Islam teaching has been released in 2013, and positively received and used by the community advocates.