Category: Chapter Resources

OtherWise Self-Defense, live chat and online course (weekly)

Published on by Mx Chris Paige5 Comments

One of my goals with OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation was to provide resources for self-defense against Christian trans-antagonism. However, the title, “OtherWise Christian” and my emphasis on the (Christian) Bible can get in the way–especially for those who have been most abused by Christian supremacy and trans-antagonism.

Nonetheless, I believe that this content is an important resource and I want to share it widely, especially with those who have been most impacted by Christian supremacy and trans-antagonism. So this fall, I will begin gathering folk online and moving through OtherWise Christian one chapter at a time–talking about concepts from the book and how they relate to Christian supremacy and transgender experience.

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Walking Towards Resurrection: A Transgender Passion Narrative, 2015

Published on by Mx Chris Paige3 Comments

I actually wrote chapter 25 of OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation as a riff off of Walking Towards Resurrection: A Transgender Passion Narrative (2015). Fr Shay’s e-book is probably the first, unapologetic works of transgender theology that I became aware of. That was ground-breaking and important for all of us to experience.

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Trans-Gendered: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith, 2003 and 2018

Published on by Mx Chris Paige5 Comments

Trans-Gendered: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith by Justin Tanis is one of the two most influential books in transgender theology (the other being Omnigender). First published by Pilgrim Press in 2003, this book was originally Tanis’s D.Min dissertation. It was out of print for a time and was republished as Trans-Gender: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith in 2018, now by Justin Sabia-Tanis under the umbrella of Wipf and Stock. Continue reading “Trans-Gendered: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith, 2003 and 2018” →

Transgender and the (Christian) Bible

Published on by Mx Chris Paige17 Comments

There was a post in a group recently from someone who had “heard about” the Ethiopian eunuch and transgender people. While I’ve been highlighting books, I didn’t (yet) have a “list,” so here’s mine (for a more comprehensive list of related resources, see the bibliography of OtherWise Christian)!

Click through on the links for what I’ve written about each one.

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Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, 2018

Published on by Mx Chris Paige4 Comments

Another book that I like to recommend is Austen Hartke‘s 2018 Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians. Whereas OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation is unapologetic and mostly follows a trail of scripture references, Hartke’s book has a softer touch and wonderfully weaves in the personal faith experiences of several transgender Christians.

For allies who want or need to hear more about the struggles and experiences of transgender Christians, Hartke’s book is a great one-stop option that combines stories, with biblical and theological reflection. Continue reading “Transforming: The Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians, 2018” →

Christendom, White Bullshit, and the Power of Colonial Imagination, 2019

Published on by Mx Chris Paige6 Comments

Appendix C of OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation is titled “Christendom, White Bullshit, and the Power of Colonial Imagination.” This topic didn’t flow directly into the themes of OtherWise Christian in terms of dealing with gender–which is why the content is relegated to an appendix. However, these themes are critical adjacent issues in terms of talking about colonization, empire, white supremacy, and Christian supremacy–which is why I included them.

The content for Appendix C references (and quotes) the opening panel of the “Christianity and White Supremacy: Heresy and Hope” conference (#XWS19) at Princeton University. The opening panel (“The Tradition is a Problem“) and the closing panel (“The Tradition is an Answer“) were recorded and are still available from Princeton University’s media resource. Continue reading “Christendom, White Bullshit, and the Power of Colonial Imagination, 2019” →

White Bullshit

Published on by Mx Chris Paige6 Comments

This concept is relegated to Appendix C in OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation, but on a day like this it feels important to highlight “white bullshit.”

As I write this blog post, we are still processing assassinations in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. The assassins were, no doubt, white. The assassins were men. The assassins were well-armed. The El Paso assassin had a written manifesto and details out of Dayton are still forthcoming.

The connections between these assaults on innocent civilians and white nationalism/toxic masculinity in our highest government offices is self-evident. Yet, the conversations about mental illness, and childhood influences have already begun.

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The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective, 2018

Published on by Mx Chris Paige7 Comments

In OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Liberation, I used so much content from Joy Ladin’s The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective that I asked her to read two of my chapters just to make sure I didn’t get anything wrong in representing her work!

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Ballroom Community

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In chapter 25 of OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation, I wrote about ballroom culture, but with some fear and trembling. My knowledge of ballroom is mainly derivative, through friends/colleagues and through media. In an earlier time, the Philadelphia Trans Health Conference held Friday night ball events. In short, I know enough to know how little I know–and I know enough to know that it’s important to get it right.

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Abomination (to’evah)

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In chapter 9 of OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook for Transgender Liberation, I grappled with this word “abomination.” This is a favorite anti-gay clobber word and it has been weaponized time and again. In chapter 9, I wrote:

“Law and order” kinds of Christians may pick and choose (in other words, cherry-pick or proof-text) particular verses to be used as a weapon to condemn or judge. Deuteronomy (and Leviticus) are great sources for such one-liners, including the anti-gay favorite “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination [to’evah]” (Leviticus 18:22 KJV). In my experience, this English word, “abomination,” has become almost synonymous with Christians spitting hatred at same-gender-loving people.

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