OtherWise Christian 2: Stories of Resistance came together quickly — in the 9 months following my launch of OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation. And THEN pandemic hit.
It’s three years later now (2023) and I am still as proud of OtherWise Christian 2 as a break-through in OtherWise-gendered representation. I’ve decided that instead of filing the gaps with another volume, I have decided to take OtherWise Christian 2 out of print while we build an expanded version.
Let me be frank. The last three years have involved an unprecedented backlash against transgender rights in the United States in particular (but also around the world). The conversation has changed dramatically–and these dynamics impact our young people the most.
There have been too many losses, both elders and children, from COVID, from suicide, from violence. I am convicted that now is the time, more than ever, for us to celebrate our stories of resistance. There is more we need to say and I don’t want to relegate those voices to a secondary volume.
“Stories of Resistance” are usually 1000-2500 words with an emphasis on lived experience, as well as some kind of connection to scripture (or perhaps to Christian tradition more generally). For OtherWise Christian 2, I really just invited an array of my friends and colleagues to “write about your life” and then “make some connection” to scripture. There is no need for your story to be particularly “scholarly” or “innovative” in terms of biblical interpretation. The priority is on connecting with your lived experience.
Our “Stories of Resistance” approach might be considered “narrative theology” since the emphasis is on sharing your story, complete with all the rough edges, awkward tension points, and blessed Holy Hybrid in-between-ness. No. You do not even have to identify as “Christian” to be included. Stories of coming or going from identifying as a Christian are welcome, too.
We want this expanded, second edition to move the conversation forward, so we are especially looking to include some of the identities that were missing in OtherWise Christian 2. A formal call for contributions will wait until we have made some progress on addressing some of those gaps:
- Offerings by children, adolescents, and young adults, reflections on growing up in the center of this changing landscape, as well as intergenerational offerings directed toward young leaders.
- Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern representation are especially desired, as well as encounters with Islam and indigenous traditions around the world.
- Offerings that show how OtherWise-gendered resistance operates in cultures and contexts beyond the United States and Canada, in carceral systems (e.g. prisons, immigration detention, etc), and in other spaces that are underrepresented in mainstream Anglophone dialogue.
- Low and no disclosure submissions can be included anonymously or pseudonymously (i.e. with a pen name).
- There are also parallel projects focused on The Ethiopian Eunuch (Acts 8) and on Intersex experience.
If you want to explore your ideas, please contact us at otherwise.christian@gmail.com.
Looking forward!
OtherWise Christian 