Mary as a guy in drag. A silver-shawled Joseph in leather.
Even for a city known for its artwork, windmills and bordellos, this seems a bit over the top.
OK, this is Amsterdam they are talking about —a city well-known for its liberal attitudes towards sex and drugs and its highly visible gay population. Even in Amsterdam, street theater starring a male Madonna seems like a great opportunity to explore the volatile combination of sex, religion and politics in a way that explains, rather than obscures the impact of the event.
But the Associated Press story chronicling the event mystifies more than it enlightens.
Amsterdam hosted a Christmas celebration for its gay community on Sunday featuring a nativity tableau with a male Mary in drag that church organizations denounced as an affront to traditional values.
Organizers said the event was meant to raise Amsterdam’s profile as a gay capital at a time when homosexuals feel threatened.
Christians for Truth, an independent religious group, had asked the city council to cancel the ”Pink Christmas,” event, saying it made a mockery of Christian tenets. The city did not comment.
The city of Amsterdam subsidized this event.
That’s significant. It’s not clear from the story whether the city refused to comment on its motives or were ever asked to explain why they would participate in an event that might be controversial.
And what are “traditional values”?
In America, that term has often been associated with Christian conservatives.
But used in the context of an European city where mainstream religious practice has been on the decline for decades, it may also suggest that the phrase embraces the entire Judeo-Christian tradition.
My guess is that this tableau vivant might pose an equal-opportunity offense to lots (though not all) Christians who find themselves in different places on theological spectrum.
But with the exception of one group, Christians for Truth, their voice is not heard. And the one direct quote we get from that group doesn’t add to the story.
”By portraying Joseph and Mary as homosexuals, a twisted human fantasy is being added to the history of the Bible,” Christians for Truth said in a statement ahead of the event.
Later in the article, event organizer Frank van Dalen gives a breathtaking explanation for the gay manger scene.
He said the Amsterdam city council sponsored the euro15,000 ($21,000) event, which he hoped would become a regular event, like the annual floating summertime gay pride parade through the city’s canals that attracts tens of thousands of visitors.
”Our objective is not to be offensive. This is about visibility,” he said.
Van Dalen pointed to a report last month that said homophobia was an ingrained problem in Amsterdam, despite the city’s freewheeling reputation.
Say what?
Why would you portray Mary as a drag queen if you didn’t intend to be offensive?
Let’s think about that for a moment. It is possible that in Holland, Christianity is so much of a spent force that a spectacle like this was meant as an attention-getting device rather than a satire or an attack on Christianity.
But it still boggles the mind to think that subsizing two gay guys and a plastic doll to enact Christianity’s Holy Family would address Amsterdam’s gay violence problem.
Something’s missing in this story. And it’s an explanation that makes sense, rather than sensationalizes.
Sex worker statue in Amsterdam’s red light district is from Wikimedia Commons
 | Posted at 10:55 am |  Print
| Permalink | Trackback |
Comments (29) |
December 23, 2008, at 10:59 am
It is possible that in Holland, Christianity is so much of a spent force that a spectacle like this was meant as an attention-getting device rather than a satire or an attack on Christianity.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 11:02 am
Grr, hit enter too fast.
It’s indeed the case that Christianity in Holland is a spent force, etcetera; which is not to say that the participants can’t have meant it as a satire. It’s just that satire on Christianity is a very different thing here (disclaimer: I live 100 kilometers from Amsterdam, and neither I nor those of my friends who happen to be gay are at all close to the gay community).
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 11:52 am
Even if they intended to provoke thought (rather than just raise visibility), that doesn’t necessarily have to be the same thing as intending to be offensive. To me, it’s really only offensive if you think there’s something wrong with men in drag. If you don’t, it’s more of a creative re-interpretation. Maybe like the Lego Bible. I don’t think Jesus was made of Legos, but the Lego nativity scene doesn’t offend me.
Nor does this, at any rate.
Anyway, more to the point, earlier this month the AP published an article on this topic that did focus more on the motivations of the organizers (the article was covering the plans for the event). So, it’s interesting that more information was definitely available to the AP, they just chose not to include it in this particular write-up.
(For instance, it says that the organizers meant it “as a ‘wink’ at heterosexual assumptions”, that they hope it would “encourage people to think about homosexuality and religion” and that “Christmas is about more than religion, it’s also about love and families, not to mention shopping! Two men or two women can form a family too these days, even one with a child.” Especially the last I thought was interesting— stating explicitly that Christmas is “about more than religion” is evidence that they’re operating in a bit of a different paradigm than the folks who view this as deliberately offensive or a “mockery”.)
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 12:52 pm
Perhaps for Ramadan next year, the gay community in Amsterdam can stage Mohammed’s betrothal to A’isha, who could be played by a little boy. For some real thought-provoking action, and to insure proper inclusiveness, perhaps some of his wives could be portrayed as men, some as women, but played by men, and some as women… played by WOMEN!
In the meantime, perhaps we can rent The Hiding Place, the story of Corrie ten Boom, sole survivor of a Christian family that hid Jews during World War II and remember what Christianity meant to Holland in it’s darkest hour. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073109/
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 1:41 pm
That sentence struck me as a classic example of why we’re so lucky to have a separation of Church and State in the USA. A government that sponsors some forms of religious expression can sponsor others that many might find truly offensive as in this case.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 2:25 pm
Now that would get some attention!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 3:21 pm
Doh! Jesus wasn’t adopted. Where do they think the baby came from? Without a female mother, you don’t have a Nativity scene - no matter what they call it.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 4:29 pm
Mr. Evans:
“[I]t still boggles the mind to think that subsizing two gay guys and a plastic doll to enact Christianity’s Holy Family would address Amsterdam’s gay violence problem.”
As I understand it, the thinking is that the increased visibiltiy of queers, by humanizing them, will make violence against them less likely. This sort of performance strikes me as less likely to do so than the sort of quotidian visibility by the people one meets in their regular life, but there you go.
FW Ken:
“Perhaps for Ramadan next year, the gay community in Amsterdam can stage Mohammed’s betrothal to A’isha, who could be played by a little boy.”
If it was gay Muslims doing this, sure. Otherwise, it’s usually a bad idea to satirize a religion if you’re not affiliated with it or if you’re not satirizing all religions. It would be difficult anyways, since in the specific case of gay Muslims in the Netherlands most of the growth in anti-gay violence of late has been directed against gay Muslims.
Julia:
“Jesus wasn’t adopted.”
Not by Joseph?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 4:59 pm
Mr. McDonald -
Are the gay activists associated with Christianity? Your statement about satirizing (I would say “mocked”) all religions is puzzling, since it is one particular religion being mocked.
Do you have a reference for the claim about violence against gay Muslims? And who are the perpetuators? Christians? Other Muslims? Non-affiliated persons with other criminal associations, such as drug dealers? The article said that the 67 attacks last year was “average”. I wonder if an English-language copy of that report is online. It would make interesting reading.
And what the heck cost $21,000 to put on a living nativity? Someone made out like a bandit!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 5:25 pm
Great comments, notable for conveying information and opinion without indulging in personalities (thanks for the background Irina on Holland and Liz for quotes from the other story that I missed).
Randy, I thought your interpretation of why these guys put on this performance was worth considering. My only objection to what you wrote is to being called Mr. Evans
That’s a first, I am happy to say!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 23, 2008, at 6:11 pm
At the rate the Durch have embraced the abortion-birth control culture of death- and Moslem immigrant families more and more fill their schools and jobs—the ridicule of Christianity will soon cease. For (unbeknownst to most ignorant Westerners) Moslems have more deep respect for Mary than most Western Europeans (and many Americans) do today. Moslems even flock to sites of purported visions
of the Blessed Virgin in parts of the world. And as we know all the creative geniuses who love to mock and ridicule Christianity are frequently the cravenest of cowards when it comes to ridiculing Mohammed or Islamic
sensibilities and giving it equal insult to what is dished out to Christianity.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 12:08 am
I don’t see what the “get religion” hook is here. Was it the fact that only one protesting religious group was quoted? Most of the comments have been on what the story covered, not whether the reporters understand religion.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 2:42 am
Deacon John M. Bresnahan wrote:
Well, as Salman Rushdie might tell you, there’s a difference between cowardice and prudence.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 9:00 am
Dave, after reading Liz B’s comment I can see that there was a lot left out of this article that would have provided context for readers — there really was no explanation of why the event was happening and the motivations of the actors.
More to the point, the reporter’s lede implies that religious groups objected because of “traditional” values —the article never explains what “traditional values” are, or really give opposing voices a chance to articulate what bothers them about a male entertainer dressed up as the Virgin Mary from a doctrinal or cultural point of view.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 9:14 am
Sorry about that, Ms. Evans!
FW Ken:
“Are the gay activists associated with Christianity? Your statement about satirizing (I would say “mocked”) all religions is puzzling, since it is one particular religion being mocked.”
I’m making the assumption that the gay men involved are associated with Christianity—why else would they put up this manger scene? It’s clearly an unorthodox expression of religious affiliation, but there you go.
“Do you have a reference for the claim about violence against gay Muslims? And who are the perpetuators? Christians? Other Muslims?”
It was a press report stating that most of the increase in anti-gay violence was directed at gay Muslims by other Muslims, and sadly, I don’t have a link.
Mr. Bresnahan:
Actually, Moroccans and Turks combined only amount to 4% of the total population of the Netherlands
http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?VW=T&DM=SLEN&PA=37325eng&D1=a&D2=0-1,3-4,139,145,210,225&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=9-12&HD=080604-1108&LA=EN&HDR=G3,G4,G2,T&STB=G1,G5
while cohort fertility rates among all immigrant groups, even the Moroccan outliers, have been steadily converging towards the Dutch average.
http://www.cbs.nl/en-GB/menu/themas/bevolking/publicaties/artikelen/archief/2006/2006-1919-wm.htm
The Muslims won’t be taking over the Netherlands (or Germany, or Sweden, or France, or …) any time soon, I’m afraid: They act like normal people.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 10:02 am
Mr. McDonald,
The Pro Gay leader said it was about visibility. Certainly, Christmas remains a visible holiday and a good time to sell your wares. But I’m mystified why you think mocking a faith denotes some sort of affiliation with it. Are you familiar with the “Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence”? Would you think them Catholic?
Thanks for the clarification on the Muslim issue. That’s not unexpected.
BTW, googling “anti-gay violence in Amsterdam” brought up quite a number of articles, though most seem derived from the same source. I learned the title of the report they reference - “As Long As They Keep Away From Me” - but couldn’t find the text, nor a critical examination of the findings.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 10:03 am
I used to think of AP as the antidote to slanted newspaper coverage. Now, every time I see the AP designation on a story, I anticipate finding the bias — and unfortumately, it’s not difficult to find.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 12:31 pm
I should have noted that, of course, devotional art/music/performance can be in poor taste - downright tacky, in fact. I’m Catholic - I know. However, since the promoters of this performance said it is political in purpose, I’ll take their word for it.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 6:05 pm
The AP item leaves out a lot of information. For instance, it misses the fact that ‘RefoAnders’ - an organization that provides support to Christians who have homosexual feelings, while it does not condone or promote homosexual practices and relationships — also spoke out against the event.
Too, ‘Pink Christmas’ includes a debate between Christian organization and ProGay.
Significantly, it has been interesting to see that comments in online newspaper forums regarding the gay manger scene have been overwhelmingly negative — with many of the strongest worded comments posted by self-proclaimed homosexuals. Most of them decry the alleged need for ‘visibility,’ in large part because they disagree with the crude, in-your-face exhibitionism of the more militant gays.
Many homosexuals also point out that if ProGay wants to foster ‘respect’ it should probably learn to show respect to others — Christians included.
My wife and I live in Amsterdam. We are Christians who count many homosexuals and lesbians among our friends. Most of them do not support ProGay, nor dot they get involved in that organization’s events - precisely because those events tend to promote an outrageous, sideshow-like homosexual lifestyle they can not and do not want to identify with.
That the City of Amsterdam subsidizes the event is not surprising. The City actively promotes Amsterdam as the Gay Capital of Europe. It actively supports the gay community as a whole, not just as part of the government’s anti-discrimination approach, but also as a business decision. Gay tourism generates a lot of extra income for the city.
As for Christianity in Holland: it is alive and, for the most part, well. It ranges from the old-style strict reformed churches to lots of house churches, and from vibrant evangelical churches to a surprisingly large youth movement.
Christians in the Netherlands do protest, and some diehards even try to legislate morality via their influence in the present coalition government. But as far as we can see, many Christians here prefer personal dialogue with over media battles.
In this case, many of us simply use the opportunity to talk about the Gospel with homosexuals friends, neighbours or co-workers.
Anton Hein
ReligionNewsBlog.com
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 6:33 pm
Given the comments regarding subsidy for the ProGay event, I should have pointed out that RefoAnders — the organization that provides support to Christians who have homosexual feelings, while it does not condone or promote homosexual practices and relationships — and similar organizations also receive subsidies.
RefoAnders receives a subsidy of 84.000 Euro/year from the Dutch government, for the express purpose of ‘building a bridge between faith and homosexuality.’
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 24, 2008, at 9:31 pm
Statistics are of course tricky. But according to Statistics Netherland the number of Moslems in the Netherlands has more than doubled in the last complete decade (1990-2000). Also, foreigners (mostly Moslems) will very soon (most of the young are Moslems) ounumber native Dutch in Holland’s 4 largest cities. And it is common now in the mass media of Europe to refer to that continent as “Eurabia” although some of the very latest statistics do show a slowdown in the STILL GROWING Moslem population in Western Europe.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 25, 2008, at 5:20 am
I’ve only quickly flicked around wiki but I think the Deacon’s claims need checking.
We do have large muslim populations in some european cities, but other groups too (like east europeans). And the percentages fall off fast when you leave the big cities. UK, France, Germany… we’re looking at like 5% or less muslim overall.
Yeah they’re here to stay and Europe isn’t all white and christian anymore, but cries of “eurabia” are a cynical attempt to whip up fear.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 25, 2008, at 6:12 am
Sorry, what I meant to say more fully in the above post was that we shouldn’t assume that a large immigrant-based population in a european city is all muslim. (in the UK there’s afro-carribean, hindu and more recently poland etc)
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 25, 2008, at 6:46 am
Mr. Hein,
Thank you for the first-hand information. Do you happen to know an online source for the report “As Long As They Keep Away From Me”, or, perhaps, a serious review of it. English-language, perhaps?
Thank you and best wishes for a joyous Christmas!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 25, 2008, at 7:12 am
FW Ken, the report is online — in Dutch — at
http://cli.gs/bjpqy2
I do not know whether there is an English-language version.
A blessed Christmas!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 25, 2008, at 7:21 am
Regarding the number of Muslims in the Netherlands:
===Begin Quote===
There were 945,000 Muslims living in the Netherlands on 1 January this year, double the amount in 1990, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said on Monday. The number is expected to reach 1 million in 2006.
[…]
The increase in the number of Muslims is due to both Immigration and natural population growth and the CBS said 38 percent of the non-western Muslims is second generation immigrants. This percentage has increased in the past six years.
Most Muslims live in the Amsterdam region, with 13 percent of the population Islamic. This is followed by The Hague (11.4) and Rotterdam (10.2), while in Friesland and Drenthe, the Islamic community makes up less than 2 percent of the population.
- Netherlands Islamic community to hit 1 million in 2006
Expatica, Sep. 20, 2004
http://cli.gs/AV9h21
===End Quote===
However, in October 2007, the bureau reported:
===Begin Quote===
According to the latest figures issued by Statistics Netherlands, approximately 5 percent of the Dutch population, i.e. 850 thousand persons, were followers of Islam in 2006.
- More than 850 thousand Muslims in the Netherlands
Central Bureau of Statistics, Oct. 25, 2007
http://cli.gs/06D2Sq
===End Quote===
The difference in numbers is due to a switch in the way the statistics are gathered.
I have rarely seen the term ‘Eurabia’ mentioned in mainstream European media.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 25, 2008, at 9:30 am
Anton, thank you for your comments. It’s wonderful to hear from someone who actually lives (and writes) from Amsterdam. As you can tell, I had the feeling that we were missing big pieces of the picture. You helped provide them.
I know I probably sound like Little Mary Sunshine, but I also think that the comments on this thread have been of a wonderfully high quality. Everytime I check in, I find out something else.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to our readers…Elizabeth
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 25, 2008, at 10:15 am
By the way, a PDF version of the report, “As Long As They Keep Away From Me” is over here:
http://cli.gs/5qYBVV
As with the text version, it has a summary in English at the very end.
And now… Christmas food
Blessings, everyone.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
December 26, 2008, at 10:06 am
Thank you, Mr.Hein. I can’t read the Dutch, of course, but the English summary was most informative.
Christmas food, indeed! I may never eat again! :-0
Like or Dislike:
0 
0