Tracy Elise |
I am a scholar in the Arts and Humanities who has focused on sexual fluidity and inclusive styles of love. I owe my own education in the arts of love to the many temples and other spaces where sacred sexuality is practiced, and to the many schools of love where the arts of love are taught and the whole person is educated in the multiple ways to practice these arts. Interpreting love as an art has roots in ancient cultural traditions, including Tantra in India, the ancient cult of the Goddess in the Mediterranean, and some Native American traditions. I have taken many workshops and courses with practitioners of these arts and I believe that their educational value is of the highest quality. Societies where people are educated in the arts of love are typically more loving, considerate, and peaceful than societies where no such teaching is available. Whether this education is offered in a temple, in a school, in a cultural center, or any other such space devoted to this purpose, the content of the teaching is usually very valuable and formative of the whole being. People who benefit from such trainings often become sources of love for others in their lives and communities as well.
I absolutely urge the courts to protect the temples as schools of love that meet significant educational needs in our society. I look forward to a successful progress in this case toward the shared goal of setting a legal precedent in support of education in the arts of love. Please let me know if I can answer any questions or be of further assistance to you.
Namaste,
Serena Anderlini-D’Onofrio, PhD
and of Eros: A Journey of Multiple Loves, Routledge, 2006 (a Lambda finalist)
Co-Editor of BiTopia (2011), and Bisexuality and Queer Theory (2010)
Editor of Plural Loves (2010), and Women and Bisexuality (2003) Routledge, New York
University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, PR 00681-9264 (USA)
Website: www.serenagaia.com
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