In this research project, I argue that the pop figure Troye Sivan's aesthetic objects construct a queer subject whose gay desire is shaped by material and social contexts that mediate desire and its reciprocity. Sivan’s aesthetic choices portray gay desire and contextualize it as being shaped or mediated by material and social contexts, which are often at odds with the queer subject and gay desires. Gay desire is present in his characters in the films Three Months (2022) and Boy Erased (2018), as well as in his musical work, such as the EP In A Dream (2020) and the LP Something We Can Give Each Other (2023). Using a framework based on Isherwood's (2020) conceptualization of a queer aesthetic sensibility as characterized by desire and Ahmed’s (2006) queer phenomenology, I argue that Sivan’s aesthetic objects feature queer subjects whose relationship to desire contains a tension between what they can and cannot control as seen through their desire’s relationship to normativity and subsequently reciprocity. The queer subject cannot control their desire or the material and social contexts in which that desire exists. This is evidenced by the normativity or anti-normativity of the queer subject and their desire and its relationship to reciprocity, or the mutual exchange of desire. Reciprocity for the queer subject is denied or diminished, and they face a specific affective experience as they try to reconcile with their desires and their desire for reciprocity. 

This research will look at the role of spirituality in liberation and the importance of spirituality in creating independent identity. The main focus of this research will be the role spirituality plays in Sovereignty. Without spiritual sovereignty no person or group can achieve true liberation when their souls are still owned/heavily influenced by the institutions that commodified them into slaves. This will be done by looking at different Afro indigenous spiritual systems and explaining the differences between these cosmologies versus institutional religions which has played a heavy role in colonization and the justification of the colonization in Africa, an almost the entire globe. This research will dive into these cosmologies as a way of showing world views that differ from western capitalistic neoliberal thought and describe living in community with others, the natural world, and beyond. This perspective of humanity pervious to the forced adaption to Abrahamic faiths, is in tuned with the earth and situates humans as Stuarts of the earth because it is the source of life for the future. This view is juxtaposed to the full dominion to take what we want which is present in the Abrahamic faiths. We will compare spiritual and political movements by using Haiti as an example of spiritual coalition through its revolution and maintaining of African spiritual practices like voodoo amoungst other system like Ifa. In this we will attempt to view liberation and Sovereignty in the way that our ancestors had before we were given a definition by oppressors.

Practitioners of Vodou continue to face systemic stigma, discrimination, and hostility, rooted in long-standing colonial and racial ideologies. Scholars of religious racism indicate that colonial portrayals of Vodou continue to shape misconceptions, discrimination, and media depictions of the religion. These misconceptions are rooted in colonial hierarchy: Christianity was conceptualized as the ‘white man’s religion’ and synonymous to ‘civilization’, while Vodou was labeled as primitive or ‘uncivilized.’ This study employs a, decolonial framework to examine foundational primary documents specifically the Code Noir (1685), the 1835 Penal Code, and the colonial writings of Moreau de Saint-Méry. By examining these texts, this research demonstrates how colonization systematically impacted the perception of Vodou, reframing sacred ancestral traditions as "primitive" or "seditious" to uphold colonial hierarchies. Ultimately, dismantling these ideas are important because these ideas still influence cultural attitudes, media representation, and institutional responses, contributing to ongoing religious discrimination and the erasure or misunderstanding of African-derived spiritual practices today globally.

This research examines how Christianity has contributed to the normalization and establishment of patriarchal structures in the United States. Patriarchy, defined as a social system in which men disproportionately hold power and authority in political, religious, and social institutions, remains embedded in many aspects of American society. Motivated by ongoing gender inequity and the cultural influence of religion, this study hypothesizes that Christianity has helped legitimize male authority in U.S. culture and institutions by presenting it as divinely ordained through scriptural authority. Using a qualitative approach, I analyzed 20 academic sources and conducted 11 interviews with churchgoers. Three dominant patterns emerged: (1) Christianity’s reinforcement of male authority as divine order, (2) Christianity’s influence in legitimizing male authority within American institutions, and consequently, (3) its disproportionate burden on marginalized communities. Scholarship from Mary Daly’s feminist theology, Malory Nye’s work on religion and intersectionality, and legal analysis from the Harvard Law Review provided insight into how Christianity, patriarchy, and governance intersect in sustaining these systems. The findings suggest that patriarchal structures continue to be reinforced through both religious belief and institutional practice. Future research should expand the range of perspectives represented, particularly among younger generations, to better understand how these structures are being navigated, challenged, and transformed.