Queering Mary
I wanted to share one of my favorite representations of a queered Mary. It is by an artist named Alma López and titled Our Lady of Controversy II. This image depicts Mary showing her body, a stark contrast to traditional depictions of Mother Mary with only her neck, face, hands, and toes showing. She is also looking the audience boldly in the eye and has on boxing gloves, as if she is daring someone to question her. This Mary is also darker skinned, probably closer to what she would have actually looked like, but certainly representative of the artist who depicted her (who, by the way, inserted a small portrait of herself in the space that would traditionally be occupied by a cherub, extending the bounds of the sacred to her own body.
Photo Credits: Our Lady of Controversy II, Alma López, 2008.
Alba, A. G., & López, A. (2012). Our Lady of Controversy: Alma Lopez's "Irreverent Apparition" (pp. 138-139). Austin: University of Texas.