I Can’t Date Jesus: Love, Sex, Family, Race, and Other Reasons I’ve Put My Faith in Beyoncé is a 2018 collection of essays by Michael Arceneaux. Published by Atria Books, the collection includes seventeen essays, discussing Arceneaux's conflicting identities,[1] his internalized homophobia,[2] his journey as a writer, and his experiences dating.[1] It also discusses his passion for the singer Beyoncé, who shares his hometown of Houston, Texas.[3]
Arceneaux was previously a Roman Catholic,[3] and is a gay African-American.[1] This is his first book.[4] It was released on July 24, 2018.[5]
Development
According to Arceneaux, "I wanted to write about my life with a mix of pathos and humor—the same way a lot of white male authors like David Sedaris and Augusten Burroughs get to write about their lives."[6]
In 2011 the writing process was complete, but Arceneaux did not publish it until 2018 because he needed an agent and publisher. Dystel, Goderich, & Bourret agent Jim McCarthy initially declined to represent Arceneaux but changed his mind after reading some of Arceneaux's essays. Rakesh Satyal of Altria became his editor; according to Arceneaux his supervision strengthened his book.[6]
Arceneaux had a conversation with his mother, who believed God opposes homosexuality, and his title is a reference to that conversation.[3] She stated that since she knew he had sex with another man, she was not confident that he was going to go to heaven.[5] He stated that the best response to a religious person who interprets his or her religion as being opposed to homosexuality is "I plan to have sex, so I can’t date Jesus."[7] He first finished the book and then selected its title.[5]
Contents
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Michelle Raji of the Texas Observer stated that the book's construction as a "series of explanations" is similar to those of self-help books, making it "a logical extension of the polemic, confessional style he’s perfected online" as well as being "accessible to a larger audience".[8]
One essay discusses how he does not have an admiration for whiteness because his parents deliberately took him to African-American healthcare personnel, he attended primary and secondary schools that had mostly African-American and Hispanic and Latino students, and he attended a historically black university.[8]
In "The Place Is No Sanctuary" he discusses homophobia in black-owned barbershops, which are for non-gay blacks places to socialize.[8]
In "I See A Priest in You" he received a suggestion that he become a priest, but Arceneaux decides not to do this.[8]
"You Will Die Poor" discusses his life as a low income resident of Los Angeles.[8]
"The First, the Worst" and "Learning How to Ho and Date and Failing at Both" discuss his romantic life.[8]
In Vogue, Chloe Schama and Bridget Read noted Arceneaux's "hysterically funny, vulnerable" style, calling the collection "a triumph of self-exploration, tinged with but not overburdened by his reckoning with our current political moment...The result is a piece of personal and cultural storytelling that is as fun as it is illuminating."[9]
Raji stated that the book "is an admirable attempt to reverse" a dynamic of mostly white-owned media stakeholders asking for racial ethnic minorities to "lead with his otherness, to write [one's] identity not just as a perspective but as a spectacle", and that I Can't Date Jesus has "a little more story and a little less spectacle."[8] According to Raji, "the high-wire act between fun and serious does not land" in about half of the essays, including the romance-related ones, but that the "standout essay on sexual racism and interracial dating redeems these false starts."[8] She also described the priest essay as a "standout".[8]
Publishers Weekly stated that the book's "confident voice and unapologetic sense of humor will appeal to fans of Roxane Gay."[1]
Kirkus Reviews described it as "A funny, fierce, and bold memoir in essays."[2]
^ abcdeAnderson, Tre'vell (2018-07-19). "Why Michael Arceneaux 'Can't Date Jesus'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2018-08-06. [...]and how he's dealing with the current White House administration — the leader of which he calls Tangerine Mussolini, Sweet Potato Saddam and Mandarin Orange Mugabe, all in chapter 15.
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