By Aimee Hickman
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Exponent II
Since announcing that the Spring 2012 issue of Exponent II would be devoted to exploring LGBTQ themes, I’ve been asked by numerous people what exactly Exponent II ‘s objectives are with this edition. As one friend put it, “after all the exposure LGBTQ issues got throughout the Prop 8 debate, what’s the point of a whole publication devoted to more discussion of this issue?”
In many ways, the debates surrounding Prop 8 and the Church’s involvement in that discussion have served to highlight how much we really need to continue shedding light on the LGBTQ members of the LDS community. This issue will be devoted not to rehashing the legal and theological issues surrounding the Prop 8 debate but will rather be an opportunity to hear more about how members of the LGBTQ community are actually living their lives, solidifying relationships, navigating their faith.
In that spirit we are hopeful to hear from women and men who are finding joy in committed relationships, who are dating members of the same sex for the very first time, or have decided to remain celibate. We are looking for stories about how aspects of Mormon theology may have been a contributing factor in a person’s self-discovery as well as stories about how that same theology may have sometimes felt spiritually stunting. We are hoping to hear from family members who have journeyed with their children/siblings/parents as they have followed a life course different from the one that may have been planned for them at birth. Most of all, we are hoping that the mission and history of Exponent II will liberate both our writers and readers to share their insights and experiences in a way that will expand the soul and lift the heart. Please send us your stories at editorATexponentiiDOTorg.
Submissions for the LGBTQ issue will be accepted now through January 15th.
And, while we need to hold pretty firm to our submission date, due to the holidays and the sensitive nature of this topic, we want to make this as easy as we can (and still meet our deadlines). If you can’t get your submission finished by January 15th but are interested in submitting something, please let us know at editorATexponentiiDOTorg. We have some staff members who are gentle and are experts at guiding people new to the writing process.
See Judy Dushku’s lovely editorial from Exponent II’s homosexuality issue published in 1996 to get an idea of how we intend to approach this themed issue.
Special thanks to Lindsay Hansen Park for letting us use her art (which she donated to the Mormon Stories Circling the Wagons conference) for this post.
