Gender and Sexuality Studies

Abstract

Interpretations of the biblical story of Dinah and the Shechemites in Genesis 34 have often focused on themes such as rape, abduction, and coercion. While these perspectives have shed light on important issues like sexual violence, consent, and the silence of victims, they tend to limit our understanding of the text to a single lens. Rarely has Genesis 34 been examined from the perspective of intermarriage, which lies at the heart of this narrative.

In recent years, religious nationalism has been on the rise worldwide, fueling supremacist ideologies that demonize the "Other" and perceive their presence as a threat to the nation's identity. India, for instance, has witnessed the emergence of Hindutva ideology, which, similar to White Christian Nationalism, is a political ideology distinct from the religion it claims to represent. Both ideologies view their respective countries through a religious lens, imagining and advocating for a purist vision of a Christian or Hindu nation. As a result, intermarriage between religions and castes is frowned upon and discouraged. This parallels historical prohibitions on interracial marriage in the United States until 1967 and the repeal of laws prohibiting mixed marriages in South Africa as recently as 1985.

While the Indian constitution under the Special Marriage Act permits inter-caste and interreligious marriages, the reality is that 99% of Indians still prefer to marry within their own religion and caste. Relationships or marriages outside one's caste or religion, especially when the woman belongs to the dominant group, are particularly controversial. It is within this context that the controversial conspiracy theory known as Love-Jihad took root in the pro-Hindutva ideology. Love-Jihad and the issue of inter-caste marriage in India propagate the notion that Muslim men or men from lower castes target upper-caste Hindu women with the intention of forcibly converting them through seduction, love, and marriage. In essence, Hindutva ideology argues that love between individuals of different faiths and castes is exploited as a political tool that is used against women belonging to the dominant communities. 

By examining real-life experiences of Love-Jihad and honor killings alongside the story of Dinah and Shechem, my paper aims to reinterpret this biblical narrative. I will illustrate how intermarriage is often used as a pretext for rape, seduction, and coercion, which in turn is used to justify the violence that is unleashed upon minoritized communities. My paper, will emphasize the silence of Dinah, arguing that women's silence is exploited to narrowly frame narratives of intermarriage solely through the lens of rape and coercion. Such interpretations perpetuate the dehumanization of men from marginalized communities, who are stereotyped and demonized as the "Other." Through introducing the lens of intermarriage and miscegenation into the reading of Genesis 34, my paper aims to broaden our perspective of both Dinah and Shechem in this text, inviting us to consider an alternative point of view and interpretation.

Biography

Dr. Jacob’s research interests include gender and sexuality studies, feminist theory, race and whiteness theory, and postcolonial theory. She is currently working on a project on the rise of Religious Nationalism in global contexts. Her publications include a monograph entitled, Reading Mary alongside Indian Surrogate Mothers: Violent Love, Oppressive Liberation, and Infancy Narratives.

She has also co-authored an essay entitled, “Flowing from breast to breast: An Examination of Dis/placed Motherhood in Black and Indian Wet Nurses,” in Womanist Biblical Interpretations: Expanding the Discourses published by Society of Biblical Literature Press. Her essay entitled “Imagined Nations, Real Women: Politics of Culture and Women’s Bodies. A Postcolonial, Feminist, and Indo-Western Interpretation of 1 Timothy 2:8-15,” in Handbook to Asian American Biblical Hermeneutics was published by T & T Clark earlier this summer. More recently her essay entitled, “Jezebel and Indo-Western Women: Nation, Nationalism, and the Ecologies of Sexual Violence in Revelation 2: 20-25” in Ecological Solidarities: Mobilizing Faith and Justice for an Entangled World (World Christianity) was published by Penn State University Press, 2019).

Sharon is also a regular contributor to the Electronic Feminist Studies of Religion where she has written several blogs on various topics. Some of her latest blogs are, Can We Speak? When Speech Has Color: Aphonic Speech and Respectability Politics,” “Jauhar, Mass-Suicide, and the Spectacle of Death: A Reading of Mark 5:1-20,” and “When the Subaltern Speaks! Why Caste Must Matter in the Case of Hathras.” In addition, she has also authored blogs on topics of Whiteness and White Supremacy, and Caste Supremacy in the Indian context. Here are few examples of her latest works are as follows; “The Cost of Infinite Gratitude on Immigrant Workers in the Workplace and Beyond,” “White Incredulity and Why it Matters? Distrust, Disbelief, and the Immigrant Experience,” “Not Loved Back! George Floyd and Rohith Vemula: Race, Caste, and their Intersections.”