On September 25, 2013, Hozier released the music video for his song “Take Me to Church” in order to bring attention to how institutions shun the LGBT community. From smoking weed on camera to obvious displays of homosexual affection, Hozier makes it clear that his intentions behind the video are to break down the demands to conform from the heteronormative institutions. Hozier depicts the institutions as masked men in the video with a rather ominous look to them in order to evoke a sense of fear and a removal from safety from viewers. The violence displayed by these masked men causes those who identify as queer to hide in order to maintain their own safety. By doing this, Hozier wants to shock the audience, develop a more aware community, and break down those institutional norms in order to help create a more inclusive and safe place for those who identify as queer/LGBT.
Creating a safe environment for the LGBT community is an important topic within Hozier’s music video. In Cohen’s “Punks, Bulldaggers, and Welfare Queens: The Radical Potential of Queer Politics?”, she discusses that those who are queer need an environment of safety to allow a fluidity of their identities. Without a safe environment, the people who don’t identify in a heteronormative way will be stifled. This idea of a safe place is referenced in Hozier’s lyrics for “Take Me to Church” in the stanza “My Church offers no absolutes. / She tells me, 'Worship in the bedroom.' / The only heaven I'll be sent to / Is when I'm alone with you—”. The lyrics here discuss how even though the couple in the video may be shunned by the church itself (since they aren’t technically holding true to religious texts by sleeping with one another), they feel safe only when they’re together alone where the outside world cannot look in on their non-normative lifestyle.
Although the church is supposed to be viewed as a safe place, it is only accepting of those who are considered normal. As McRuer discussed "normalcy", he refers to the idea that living a normal life is a choice. Since the church only accepts normal people, it is assuming that normalcy is a choice and that queers are intentionally choosing this lifestyle -- creating the illusion that it is the queer persons fault for not fitting in and therefore not being able to reside in the church as their "safe place."
Furthermore, we chose to utilize Doty's third and fifth definitions of queer to describe this work:
3. To describe the non straight work, positions, pleasures, and readings of people who don’t share the same “sexual orientation” as the text they are producing or responding to (Doty 6-7).
5. To describe non straight things that are not clearly marked as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual or transgendered, but that seem to suggest or allude to one or omore of these categories,often in a vague confusing, or incoherent manner (Doty 7).
5. To describe non straight things that are not clearly marked as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual or transgendered, but that seem to suggest or allude to one or omore of these categories,often in a vague confusing, or incoherent manner (Doty 7).
These definitions of queer describe figures that are going against heteronorms and also address non straight works either produced or read by folks who are not queer identified. We feel that Hozier's song was targeted towards straight people, mainly those who are members of the church. It was targeted to show how even when queers try to "fit in" with society, they are often banished. Hozier, not identifying as gay himself, describes how even when queers try to fit into the "normal" lifestyle created by society they are always pushed away. For example, when he says "I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife" shows how even when queers try to conform to the ways of the church and the ways of "normal" society they are continually left out.
After viewing the interview with Hozier about the music video, he claims the video was in response to the anti-gay Russian laws that forbid homosexual relationships within Russia. Taking the video into context with this new knowledge, it’s apparent that even though the song is centered around a church, he is invested in opening up a discussion about establishments that reinforce the ideals of heteronormativity. The depiction of the men, who are clearly representative of the homophobic populace, imagines them as masked men. These masks are used to hide behind the institutions that push these ideals, a mask that allows the attackers to disconnect their own consciousness from the acts they are performing against the gay community and projecting it on the institution they are representing instead. It removes a lot of human interaction from the act of violence.
Discussion Questions:
- Why is there an apparent disconnect between video and lyrics (video references two men while lyrics reference a woman)?
- What would be a safe place for gays since many heterosexuals find comfort and safety in the church, but queers are rejected from the church therefore rejected from their "safe place"?
- What is the significance of the chained box in the video? Why was it buried? Why was it attempted to be opened and then thrown in the fire?
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ReplyDeleteIgnore the font color change, we aren't sure what the heck is going on. We assume something happened when we copy pasted what we typed in word over to the blogger.
DeleteSorry!
I don't think all churches should be deemed as unsafe spaces for queer individuals. I'm gay and a christian and I was able to find a church that accepts both of those identities together. They provide a safe space for everyone. Although many gay people feel as though they aren't welcome in church so they end up creating other safe spaces within their community. Many cities have gay community centers or areas of the city that are considered the "gay" part of town. Queer people create safe spaces for themselves within the context of community. Many have seen the gay bar as a safe space throughout the years.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren I believe there are churches out there that will accept people who identify as LGBTQ. I think some members from those communities can find church as a safe place, but they have to find the right one that is a good fit. I don't think it is always easy, and when they may not find any in their area they can always look at support groups near their area. Support groups for LGBTQ members are all over the U.S. and provide safe places for people to talk about their experiences and meet people they can identify with. Most times these groups can be found just by googling it. I think these groups help people to feel comfortable in who they are and share their struggles with others who can relate and understand their experiences.These groups provide an opportunity for those in the LGBTQ community to befriend people they may not have met otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI think the second discussion question brings up an interesting debate. Instead of gay people not feeling welcome in a church and finding other forms of safety, I think it is more important to focus on changing the church and its environment from within. Otherwise, gay people are playing into the system instead of looking for ways of modifying it. I'm not criticizing religion or church in the slightest, but by assuming that the church is strictly a heterosexual space, it reinforces it as a heterosexual space, therefore it will always remain apart from those who do not identify as such. We are then left with dichotomy of spaces- these spaces are heterosexual v. those spaces are gay, which is just playing into the idea that the two cannot live in unison.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in response to the third discussion question, I think the box symbolizes that the man does not think he cannot be who he is publicly, therefore he must hide it away. It contains secrets and other aspects of his private life that must be buried. In the same way, the buried box symbolizes his soul being buried by the church because they are not accepting of him- the death of him at the hands of the church. Also, possibly symbolizing the church's belief in an afterlife, and in relation, their belief that because of his sexuality, his lack of afterlife- there is no possibility of heaven, according to some religions.
I think the significance of the chained box throughout the video is the "sickness". Hozier's lyrics are "We were born sick, we heard them say it....we were born sick but I love you" Although the song is focusing on a woman and a man I think this video shows how it can be incredibly relevant to the LGBTQ community and the churches common belief that those people are "sick." The box signifies his sickness and how he wants to bury it to gain acceptance. The box when buried is the lyrical description of "we were born sick, we heard them say it." When he opens and burns the box he is ridding himself of the "sickness"and coming to terms with his love, this signifies the, "we were born sick, but I love you" lyric. I truly believe this song is important to all people who feel different or not welcomed within any setting, not just in church. For LGBTQ individuals the church can be a place of disapproval, of shame, and of guilt. This video is a lovely way to depict that feeling, and I think the box is supposed to symbolize that.
ReplyDeleteIf you’re asking for a queer equivalent of the safe space found for many heterosexuals in church, there is no one perfect answer. I say this based on my own personal experience. Although there are churches that are accepting of queer members, there is no “separate but equal” safe space. But there shouldn’t be a need for such a discriminatory division in the first place. If we’re assuming the church discussed in the song is Christian, then main theme in that religion is to be a good person and “love thy neighbor.”
ReplyDeleteThe chained box seems to represent a tangible manifestation of secrets and/or sins. It was buried to protect or repress its contents. They tried to open it to expose the secrets/sins locked inside and threw it in the fire because they wanted to demonstrate that those secrets/sins would condemn the keeper to hell and fire and brimstone.
As some have argued in previous comments, I would say that not all churches are exclusive to LBGT groups. Although these churches may not be widespread or easy to access, I think it should be acknowledged that they are out there and that many LBGT find comfort and safety within them. With that said, I really enjoyed how the narrative that this song portrays shows that the two men were still able to find comfort without a church when they escaped the oppressive world around them and are just together. A lot of lesbians and gays find themselves in this position and it was important for this aspect to be added to the song.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the first discussion question, I would say that there is a disconnect between the video and the lyrics in order to include both male and female genders. I also would argue that women relate more to words and the feelings that lyrics portray while men might be more visual and relate better to watching the video of the gay men. Personally, I had never seen the video before. Although I have heard the song before and recognized it, I never really even thought about the lyrics and what they meant. Once I watched the video with the song, I was able to put it together and I thought it was a very powerful portrayal of the way gays get treated by institutions and are excluded from the "safe" place of churches.
Wow. It is so ironic that you all chose to blog about this song because I literally just heard it for the first time about a week ago! I love this song! When I first heard it I had really no idea that this song was in refrence to anything queer. Without the video the context of this song is completely different. After watchiing the video and I texted my roomate and told her she had to check out the video because honestly you would never know the true meaning. I think the disconect between the lyrics and the video is to fit into societal norms. It is very rare that a person hears a song and then looks up the video unless they are really interested in music or the song in particular. We mostly just hear songd on the radio and then go on about our day. So, by making no direct connection with the lyrics Hoizer is much less lickely to face as much back lash from people. The more blunt the ltrics aer about such matters the more hostility to combat. In regards to the church, I would agree with some of you above not all churchs push away members of the LBGT community, however to the opposite effect there are some that do. I think the purpose of the church was to draw in people of a narrow mind set that automatically put LBGT folk and church goers on complete opposite end of the spectrum. The chain box represented his life that was in the hiding and by them burning it, it meant that his life was supposed to be changed. That "secret"is no long apart of him and needed to disappear just like the box did into the fire..... Happy Blogging :)
ReplyDeleteI have never heard this song until today. Its really good though.. I think I'll download it lol. I think this disconnect between lyrics and video (woman being mentioned in the lyrics: men in the video) is a bit strange. My theory would be that the artist wants to show how institutions can be unsafe for a variety of people; straights who have a non-normative relationship as well as homosexuals. In the song lyrics, the straight couple was not looking for acceptance from the "church" and in the video, the homosexual couple wasn't either. The homosexual couple was trying to make a space for themselves. They just want to be together alone because it is clearly the safest space to be. This is the same in the song lyrics. The straight couple wants to be alone together in their bedroom where it is safe and they are free to express themselves. The box was pretty interesting as well. Maybe its supposed to represent secrets. They placed their secrets in the ground where they can be safe from judgement.. similar to the way that the gay couple functions in the video. They go to places that people don't travel to often so that they can be free to show their affection for each other without being judged or assaulted in this case.
ReplyDeleteI am a huge fan of Hozier and this song, and I think it is queer in more than one way. Obviously from the music video, the queerness is the homosexual men and their relationship. But listening to the lyrics, we can also recognize queer in the sense that the subjects deviate from the norm. "She's the giggle at a funeral" and "I was born sick" are both lyrics that show the couple may have some ideals that are not aligned with society. This can also be paralleled with a homosexual relationship, which is often looked at as a deviant relationship within the church.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that not all church's stigmatize being gay though, and even within the Catholic church, some parishes are becoming more accepting. So I don't think we can just assume that every church will oppress homosexuals, but we can think of "church" in the song as more of a symbol of any institution that does not accept homosexuals. I think the chained box signifies the relationship that the two men had, and they had to try and hide it from society, just like how some gay people feel they need to hide that about themselves in order to be safe.
Historically, religious organizations have been utilized as vehicles of heteronormativity. They are institutions that perpetuate heteronormative culture through stressing the “traditional family unit” as divinely appointed and containing a cis male and female heterosexual couple as at the apex of power within that unit. Queer relationships challenge this carefully preserved and divinely sanctioned relationship between the genders. Because queer individuals are not abiding by this divinely sanctioned set of norms, they are not guaranteed protection within that institution. This is what generates a risk factor for queers in faith-based environments. Instead of focusing on this idea that Not All Churches create a hostile environment for queer individuals, it’s important to focus on the reality that many if not all spiritually inclined queers have negative experiences with religion as a social institution. As someone who identifies as queer and Mormon, I can testify that even if religious doctrine doesn’t deliberately attack non-heteronormative conditions, the silence and willful ignorance is still damaging. To fill this void of spiritual acknowledgement, it’s possible that queers turn to other avenues for a deep feeling of love and support. Personal intimate relationships often meet these needs, as stated in the line, “The only heaven I’ll be sent to / Is when I’m alone with you.”
ReplyDeleteIt feels like many groups and individuals like to find a place that is safe for them, like an equivalent to places that are typically seen as heterosexual safe spaces. I honestly do not believe that anyone has a safe space. Certain spaces like to call them self safe, but it can never be guaranteed that every single individual will not judge or that they will always have a sense of safety in these spaces. We never know if these spaces are being created for other intent. If we create a safe space for a specific identity, then people with multiple identities or different identities will end up being left out or possibly not feel safe. Spaces that try to make them selves safe of the LQBTQ community would include support groups and other types of groups, but again not all individuals may feel safe in these spaces.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, major props for choosing this song, I am a HUGE Hozier fan. In relation to the first discussion question, my obsession with Hozier is such that I've actually read multiple interviews/articles about this song already, so I can answer that he didn't write the song specific to lesbian and gay relationships, he simply chose to make the video as a response to the political oppression and violence against gays in Russia (he does mention Russia in the interview you guys posted as well). The song was intended to be basically a middle finger to all institutions that oppress and attempt to control sexuality of all kinds. So even though the lyrics are about a heterosexual couple, he could still make the narrative of the video about a politically salient moment for homosexual couples (and individuals). I love that this song protests institutional attempts to control sexuality--we see this in churches and our general culture for people of all orientations. The emphasis on abstinence, the concept of virginity and "losing" it, and persistent linking between sex and children are just some examples of how we are taught to associate sexuality with shame and certain values about personal worth when really it is a natural and beautiful part of the animal experience of being human.
ReplyDeleteI think the disconnect between the video and the lyrics are very interesting. For the most part, I only hear my music on the radio or through my iPod, meaning 95% of the time I've never seen the music video. Yet with this song the video seems so radically different from the song that if I were shown them separately, I would most likely not have put them together. This disconnect may, in a way, show safe spaces or secrecy. That is, to the majority of the world it seems like one thing, but in reality it may be another more hidden queer identity due to the lack of safe spaces for queer people. That being said though, churches can be safe spaces, though a large amount are not. However throughout the past several years I believe the number of safe spaces and general acceptance for those who are queer has grown significantly. As for the chained box, I would say it may represent queerness, and some people's desires to hide or burn (get rid of) it due to people not accepting them and them wishing to change who they are since their peers are cruel about their identity.
ReplyDeleteI do love this song so thanks for picking it! Lol but going off of Michelle's comment above, I agree the safety of a place can not be guaranteed for anyone heterosexual or homosexual. Although many heterosexual individuals have the option of being accepted by the Christian church, others still find it is not a place where they feel comfortable. Therefore I don't agree with setting up the conversation as if a new safe place can be exactly opposite to the church. Everyone has their own way of relating to the world and generalizing who can feel safe where is nearly impossible to do on a realistic scale.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is religious as well as gay, I can attest to the fact that there are churches out there and religious people who do accept and welcome homosexuals, though like many, I've had to struggle to find the right one that was perfect for me. that being said, I do think organized religion, though it has made strides, has a long history of oppression and exiling those deemed different or wrong, both heterosexual and homosexual. Thus, I think churches do have the ability to become safe spaces for more queer folk, though we have to work together as a whole to make that come true.
ReplyDeleteAs for the apparent disparity between the lyrics of the song and the video, I agree with Jenna on the idea that they're so disparate and unrelated (at least to me) that they both cancel each other out in terms of power and message. As someone who listened to the song on repeat before he saw the video, I thought it was about a heterosexual couple, and that the male was singing about the female as if she was the church, as something to be worshiped, and that he had done something to destroy her trust, hence the lyrics "I can tell you my sins/so you can sharpen your knife". There's no queerness whatsoever in the lyrics for me, even paired with the obviously queer video. my issue with the video is that while there is clearly a "society versus the queer individual" critique going on, there's no imagery or visual clues at all that would link the greater society to the idea of religion or churches. Overall it just left me confused, which definitely dampened the message that I should have received (though I'm still obsessed with the song).
When I first heard this song, I took the "church" more metaphorically than literally. This may just be because I'm not a religious person myself, but I thought the use of the church both in the lyrics and in the videos spoke more generally to an idea of forcing people out of spaces that are generally promoted as welcoming and loving unconditionally. My connotations of church have always been more about the community and my own family than the actual religion, and families and communities are often quick to reject people whose difference makes them uncomfortable (such as queer people), despite continuing a guise of acceptance. The song did not strike me as an attack on the religion itself (although I won't pretend there's no blame there), but rather on the people who have spoken out against the narrator and his significant other. "Take me to church", in my mind, refers to the couple creating their own safe space in which they can carry out their relationship as they see fit.
ReplyDelete(If this double posts with slightly different wording, just ignore it - I don't think it posted the first time I tried so I'm rewriting it to be sure!)
This is such a powerful video and I think it was a great video for this blog. I understand that Hozier did not write this song solely for homosexuals but it applies perfectly to gay orientation as well as being paired with the video. I agree that the church is a safe place for most heterosexual individuals but I agree with Tansi that there should not be a need for a “safe space” in the first place for homosexuals. The church as come a long way but it has definitely been oppressive so I believe the lyrics are quite accurate in the betrayal of queers in the church. “I was born sick, you heard them say it.”
ReplyDeleteThe box in my opinion represents the relationship they have together which always needs to be buried and hidden from others. When it is taken and mutilated and burned, it represents those who don’t understand destroying something precious to others.
To me, it feels like the church is a metaphoerical use in this video. As Hozier mentioned in the interview, this is a responce to the anti-gay Russian laws. By showing that even in church where everyone's sin should be forgiven, there is no room for queer people, he actually implies that with a law saying being homosexual is illegal, there would be no public place that would be safe, and even in a private place like a bedroom, it'is still against law to be gay. The she that the lyrics refers to is contrast to the image shown in the video gives me an impression that this one is not a specific person, but an abstract figure. Not a true lover, but more like a little nature of oneself that tells the person what he or she really wants. The case that was buries and dug out to be thrown into the fire could be seen as a symble of the counter-normativity. They don't really expect the other to accept it, not do they want to show it to the others, instead, they just bury it to protect it. However, the rest of the heternormative society could not bear the existence of it, they have to find it out and make it disppaear.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lauren in that there are religious groups that are safe spaces for gay individuals but I don't think that the religious institution is a safe space for all queer persons. Though there may be very inclusive religious groups I don't think that they are safe or inclusive to all queer persons. Religion, at its best, is about love and how you get it. "How you get it" usually aligns with norms of the time.
ReplyDeleteI'm having difficulty understanding the lyrics but the disconnect could be seen as the narrative of "there is no difference" or it could speak to the ubiquity of the story, or are these options different? hmm
Don't they realize that gays can be religious too? Yes, most religious groups have a negative view on homosexuality, but not all. There are Christians who are gay, who are supportive, who aren't supportive, and who are violently intolerant. With this statement by Hozier he makes it seem as if all religions are lumped into their respective categories under the most typical stereotypes placed on them. i.e. All Christians (and all religions) hate gays.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that strikes me most about this discussion is in thinking about my own experiences with Christian churches that are pro-gay rights and are very open about it. This is very much a counter movement when it comes to how churches feel about acceptance of queer. It's interesting to think that this is a recent thing and that more and more churches are coming to pride parades. Could certain churches act as a safe space? How does this reflect the future of this? Also, I think the visual of the masked men is a powerful one, but I find it even more interesting to think that these people could easily be people we care about that just don't really understand or care. I think of not being out to a group of people and hearing them say awful things about LGBTQ people as an example.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the first question, I think that Hozier wrote the song about his own love life first and then created the video in support of LGBTQ rights. There are many churches and religions that don't accept queer people, which is awful, but there are others who are open to all kinds of people. Some churches can still be the safe space that they are meant to be. I hope that eventually all religions will realize that there is nothing wrong with being queer.
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