Caitlin Moran
staff writer
The Martin Recital Hall transformed into a runway fit for a queen as Jaren “Shea Coulee” Merrell and his mother Reverend Merrell, took to the stage on the evening of Oct. 5. The night’s discussion, moderated by Director of Student Involvement Michael Lango, consisted of recognizing the intersecting identities of those who belong to both the LGBT and faith communities.
A drag queen featured on Season 9 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Merrell, grew up as both gay and religious, a combination of identities that many often view as incompatible. It is this intersection of identities that is important to bring to the forefront of conversations on social issues, especially at a Catholic institution like Dominican University.
Vice President of Dominican Gay-Straight Alliance, also known as Common Ground, Kayla Palmisiano stresses the importance of conversations like this. “Because we are a Catholic community, and many people think that Catholics and gay people usually don’t line up, these intersecting faith and sexual identities are really important to bring to a campus like this,” said Palmisano. “People take this as a learning opportunity by bringing the message of open-mindedness to the community.”
Those familiar and unfamiliar some of the hardship endured by people with intersecting identities were able to turn the night’s open dialogue between a mother and son into a compassionate learning experience.
Freshman Julie Brewer had only learned about Shea Coulee minutes before walking into the Martin Recital Hall. “I thought it was very eye-opening to see how other people go through life with their own struggles. To hear about Coulee’s experience and what he went through was very inspiring,” said Brewer.
Although Dominican provides spaces like these for students to share and learn about diverse experiences, people argue that the world outside of school grounds still lacks universal acceptance for nuanced discussions on complex identities.
Freshman Natalie Stellato agrees. “I feel like it’s not talked about enough. People are always trying to avoid the elephant in the room, people think it’s a sin to talk about intersectionality” said Stellato. Stellato calles for an increase in knowledge about issues surrounding intersectionality. “The general population needs to be more educated in order to understand it” she said.
Even when understanding presents a stumbling block for acceptance of LGBT people within religious spaces, Reverend Merrell reminded the audience that “Love gets beyond understanding,” as an encouragement to meet differences with the respect, dignity, and humanity that they deserve.
cmoran@my.dom.edu