Queer Martyred By A Gay Culture: A Self Portrait as Saint Sebastian

Queer Martyred By A Gay Culture: A Self Portrait as Saint Sebastian
Hand embroidered and machine sewn
23"x36"
2008







Saint Sebastian was martyred by a Roman emperor in the 3rd century for being Christian. Sebastian becomes a symbol for injustice and isolation for some gay communities. My interpretation of the saint renders him as the isolated queer in a gay community, which is a more silent issue. The body is slender, androgynous, and feminine, which are characteristics far from the construction of masculinity found in San Francisco's gay Castro District. The queer saint then becomes a symbol of exclusion by the mainstream gay culture.