![]() In fact, fetish has a multiplicity of definitions. This chapter seeks to unpack the nature and the significance of that relationship, going beyond the most common perception of fetish as sexually related. 2 The more I considered it, the more the sign appeared to epitomize a particularly Texan phenomenon, namely, fetishism of firearms. ![]() The name of the business appeared beneath, a bit smaller: “God, Guns & Sons.” Right there, on the vinyl banner of a roadside unregistered dealer captured in a colleague’s snapshot, was a perfect juxtaposition of religion and firearms and masculinity, the very elements we had been discussing during a fieldwork trip to the Lone Star State to engage in research on guns. “ GUN SHOP” read the sign, printed in big stenciled letters designed to catch the attention of passing cars on a rural Texas highway. Invoking existing gendered ideals of the hero archetype, firearms fetishism is revealed to play a fundamental role in the construction and expression of moral and religious identity in Texas. As viewed through the lens of fetishism theory, this may involve an explicitly religious aspect, commodification, or even a sexualized interpretation. In this way, the chapter analyzes the nature of the gun owner’s relationship with the object and what it symbolizes. ![]() Drawing on research materials and interviews with Texas residents at a pair of universities in Austin, the chapter also examines the significance of two shootings in churches in Texas before and after a recent law (Senate Bill 535) that allows concealed and open carry in public places of worship. Understanding fetishism as tightly intertwined with religion and shifts in gun culture over the past half century, the discussion focuses on Texas and its predominant forms of Christianity, and demonstrates the connection between gun ownership and religiosity. This chapter examines firearms fetishism as a complex assemblage of gun imaginaries and belief.
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