Blaire Ostler
Blaire Ostler moderates a panel discussion featuring queer student leaders from Brigham Young University campuses in Utah, Idaho, and Hawaii.
Registration this year is open to all at no cost. With this in addition to the conference being virtual, our hope is that this conference is the most accessible and well attended of any conference Affirmation has hosted. Last year’s conference included speakers and attendees participating who would not have been able to attend this conference in person. We hope to see the same this year, with those in the LGBTQIA+ Latter-day Saint community connecting with each other from all parts of the world in safety, love, and hope.
Blaire steps in and immediately discards the problematic dominant narrative that manages queer bodies in the church. She turns our attention to the theology of restoration and renewal that has always been with us. She lifts our chin and invites us to walk with her as she expertly shows us that in the absence of prejudice and folk tradition, there is not a significant difference between queer Mormon theology and Mormon theology.
Blaire Ostler is a philosopher who is specialized in queer studies, and is a leading voice at the intersection of queer, Mormon, and transhumanist thought. She is an author publishing her first book, “Queer Mormon Theology: An Introduction.”
The highlight of the September 26th opening session of the Affirmation International Conference is sure to be an interview of Academy Award® winning filmmaker, writer, and social activist Dustin Lance Black by Blaire Ostler.
Some will despise and ridicule us for our work to stop the abuse and then in the same breath praise the abuser who finally listened to us. Activism isn’t about popularity.
For me, my sexual orientation and my Mormonism are paralleled in my struggles as a bisexual woman. I’ve felt pulled between two communities I love dearly. The truth is I can’t deny my Mormon identity, motivation, and beliefs any more than I could deny that I’m attracted to multiple genders.