About This Project

This is me
Welcome to the Trans Friendly Bible Blog!  This blog is the project of Dr. Katy E. Valentine, a New Testament scholar and trans* ally.  Katy is scholar and minister, working on projects related to gender identity -- specifically transgender identity -- and the Bible.

First, let me tell you a little more about the project.  I am talking to as many trans* people of faith (Jewish and Christian for now) about their stories and especially their interpretation of the Bible.  Trans* people have deep faith and spirituality.  I've learned a lot from my conversations, and I am still learning.  I believe deeply that the Bible has depths to offer trans* communities, and likewise, trans* communities have much to teach in reading the Bible with new eyes.

More specifically, my research takes on two dimensions right now.  One is examining ancient examples of gender switching.  It turns out that it happened a lot of the time, sometimes by gods and goddesses zapping people, but sometimes involuntarily as recorded in the medical literature.  The second dimension is developing some strategies and methods for both the everyday trans* person to read the Bible for inspiration on their spiritual journey.  Our gender journey is inherently spiritual.

This project will take the form of several articles (two in the works right now) and eventually a book or more.  One of the books will be an edited volumes where trans* people of faith talk about their own gender journey in light of Scripture.

Are you a trans* person (including gender creative, gender non-conforming, non-binary) who would like to talk to me?  I'd love to hear from you.  A safe, confidential email is TransFriendlyBible@gmail.com  If you email me, I can tell you more about the project.  All conversations are confidential.

Who am I and why am I working on this project?   I am a cisgender woman, scholar and minister.  Since I myself do not identify as transgender, I do not claim to have the same experiences as transgender people (obviously!).  The short story is that God called me to tell the stories of trans* people of faith within the scholarly academy and within church life.  My hope is that we are raising a new generation of trans* biblical scholars who can use my work and run with it in new directions.

Also, within the field of Biblical Studies, there's not a whole lot going regarding the transgender perspective right now.  After teaching "Gender, Sexuality and the Bible" several times, I realized how little my own field had to offer people in reading the Bible through the lens of gender identity.  In contrast, there's a lot of outstanding scholarship on reading the Bible through queer eyes with attention to sexual orientation.  So the time is here.

Let's get to work.

1 comment:

  1. I am very excited about this project and I look forward to assisting you in this endeavor.

    ReplyDelete