Queering Buddhism: Gender, Sexuality, and Liberatory Praxis

Is the body we identify as a 'self' a given? How does a body that is gendered, raced, or marked as deviant become free? Like Queer studies, Buddhism has long ago recognized the constructedness of identity, and developed an impressive array of contemplative practices, ritual performances, and philosophical systems that aim to transcend binary constructions. At the same time however, Buddhist institutions continue to be steeped in patriarchal societies that derive their power from creating various categories of bodily exclusion. How do we reconcile this seeming contradiction between the ultimate goal of liberation and the relative reality of identity markers of difference?