This is my body: Hearing the theology of transgender
Christians edited by Christina Beardsley and Michelle O’Brien is a collection
of contributions by people connected with the Christian trans group Sibyls.
The introduction to the book acknowledges the lack of
voices from trans men and younger people. I think the lack of a voice from cis
partners of trans people is also a loss in a book like this which is not
exclusively trans, containing the voices of allies as well. It is not that
young and f to m Christians don’t exist, rather I think they are more likely to
access different networks (often for LGBTQ+ Christians now LGB Christian groups
are becoming more welcoming to T members). Something touched upon in relation
to secular f to m groups by the editors as they seek to give an explanation.
The book is a hybrid of academic articles and personal
stories. This works to some extent, as does the decision to include all
contributions to the stories, however brief. However, I do think that the
disjuncture between academic or pseudo-academic articles and many of the
stories is such that a book and a pamphlet would have been more helpful.
Additionally a couple of the contributions are so brief one does wonder if it
would have been more helpful not to include them if something more could not
have been coaxed out of the writers.
The first main chapter by the editors talking about The
Sybils Gender, Sexuality and Spirituality workshop was particularly strong.
Within it there was interesting use of labelling theory and it’s bringing into
focus of intersectionality. We all have a sexuality of some kind (even if that
is not binary or is a sexual orientation linked to a lack of attraction) and a
gender (again even if that is non-binary). This workshop seeks to look at how
these factors intersect and how they further relate to our spirituality. The
way people have responded to this workshop was also interesting to read.
The next chapter; Acting like a man-playing the woman:
gender in performance which is solely authored by Beardsley uses historical
analysis of theatre and performance in order to rebuff some of the assertions
made by Oliver O’Donovan (a theologian whose work has put forward a range of
unhelpful and incorrect notions regarding gender). This was one of the parts of
the book which appealed to the social historian within me.
Jasmine Wooley put together a chapter on the social
construct of gender which was useful in the way it explained the way that
people’s understanding of being trans is often linked to their role as social
actors. This is not to suggest that being trans is a choice, rather it
highlights as the symbolic interactionists do the way in which we “perform” in
relation to the “other” and form our identities around what is expected of us
and the fears of what will happen if we deviate from that. Whilst the
discussion around legislation was helpful and positive I was disappointed that
the discussion of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act (2013) did not
acknowledge the negative aspect of that legislation for trans people and their
partners who are within a civil partnership. There was a really interesting
short section towards the end of this chapter on the challenges presented by
the medical model, I was disappointed this had not been slightly longer.
However, the chapter covered a lot of ground.
Michelle O’Brien’s chapter on Intersex was particularly
interesting and moving. It wove together personal testimony with research. This
was the chapter I learnt most from.
This first part of the book for me was the strongest. The
chapters became more academic as they moved onto the Theology and Trans
chapters. Mercia McMahon sought to reflect on the way in which queer and
feminist theologies can help in developing a trans theology. In doing this she
also sought to think about how the untimely death of Althaus-Reed, a former
professor of divinity in Edinburgh, put back the development of a trans
theology. Whilst this chapter did do some useful thinking I think there was an
issue in not bringing into play other liberation theologies such as womanism.
Beardsley put together a second solely authored chapter
which engaged with the Church of England document “Some Issues in Human
Sexuality”. It was a useful update of an earlier article and was interesting in
that it gave some of the background to where the current discussions are coming
from. This was followed by a chapter looking at a group discussion on the
issues within the paper on Issues in Human Sexuality. It ended with some useful
recommendations for churches.
Section Three was Scientific and Other Perspectives. This
part of the book was the one which I found most difficult to engage with,
particularly as a non-scientist. The first chapter by Terry Reed of GIRES was
interesting and I was able to follow it. It dealt particularly well with
non-binary identity.
Then came Chris Dowd’s chapter Five things cis folk don’t
know about Trans folk because it isn’t on trashy TV – my right of reply. Chris
is a URC minister and ally who came from a MCC background. This paper was based upon
his PhD paper. Now, I have to admit a lot of my reaction to this chapter came
from the persistent use of the word “folk” which annoys me. To me “folk” is a
type of music and the only time I hear it used in relation to people is by
Christians. Aside from that it is not a bad chapter which highlights the
misconceptions many people have about trans people.
Susan Gilchrist’s paper sought to mix history, science and
theology in what was essentially a psychology paper. As a non-scientist I found
it overly academic and the least helpful chapter within the first part of this
book.
The second part of the book, as I say contained personal
stories. The historical ones of these were enjoyable and informative. It was
interesting reading these to reflect upon how they were from a particular
generation and I did wonder how they would contrast with younger people’s
stories had they been in there.
Cross dressing was discussed and I think the most interesting
and useful was a self-interview with Elaine Sommers.
The saddest chapter came from well-known trans activist
Helen Belcher whose story told of her move to atheism, in part as a result of
the awful treatment she had received from the church.
These stories were the most important part of the book to
me in many ways because they highlighted what bad practice in the church can
look like, as well as what better practice is like. The stories of partners
were also touched upon, although as I say I think it would be useful for them
to have been told by the partners themselves.
With regard to the contribution by allies I found them
interesting and at points offensive. How, even in inverted commas the T word
got into the book I have no idea. It would be like writing a piece about
ethnicity and using the N word to talk about when you first met a black person.
So would I recommend the book? Yes, if you want to
understand more about the experience about older trans people or if you want to
explore some of the historical or theological issues involved. If you want a
quicker and easier read that just tells you about somebody’s experience of
being trans and Christian I would recommend Rachel Mann’s Dazzling Darkness.
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