Art, Media, and Fashion: Negotiating Queerness and Catholicism Through Depictions of Saint Sebastian, From the 15 Century to the Present.

Queerness and Catholicism have historically been at odds with one another. The Church's condemnation of queer individuals was pervasive globally for centuries, yet one way queerness and Catholicism converge is via Saint Sebastian depictions. The purpose of this research is to examine how and why Sebastian, a Catholic saint, has come to serve as an icon for the queer community as well as how dress has been used in depicting shifting representations of the Saint from the 15 to 21 centuries. Drawing upon the historic method, we critically analyze the meanings present in imagery of Saint Sebastian. Through our study of portrayals of the Saint, several key themes have emerged. Several of these contemporary artworks incorporated written language that reifies sainthood and associated suffering. Furthermore, many artworks' overall composition surrounding Saint Sebastian reinforced sainthood through contextual visual elements. Ambivalence in depictions of Saint Sebastian's fleshy body was apparent, with an emphasis on depicting Sebastian within the context of his executions. A gap in time periods and differing artwork style was observed, with many of our examples being either from the Renaissance or post 1960s. Finally, many of the contemporary artworks surveyed included overt signifiers of queerness, with minimal references to subtle queerness.