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Transgender, Intersex, and Biblical Interpretation
In this volume Hornsby and Guest introduce readers to terms for the various identities of trans people and how the Bible can be an affirmation of those deemed sexually other by communities. This book offers readings of well known (e.g., Gen 1; Revelation) and not so well known (2 Sam 6; Jer 38) narratives to illustrate that the Bible has been translated and interpreted with a bias that makes heterosexuality and a two sex, two gender system natural, and thus divinely ordained. The authors present examples that show gender was never a binary, and in the Bible gender and sex are always dynamic categories that do, and must, transition.
Kindle Edition
Published June 27, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 3, 2020
Had potential but ultimately fell short and illustrated the profound importance of our own trans voices in this type of scholarship.
The gender theory was by and large, fine and thorough.
However, Guest's chapter on the transgender gaze was...Not Good. She claimed to want to muddy the waters of gender binaryism and the resulting cis-heteronormative society. But the masculinity of trans men and the masculinity of butch lesbians is not the same masculinity and to have her conflate the two while also repeatedly using 'female-bodied men' to refer to trans men is so wildly insulting, patronizing, and transphobic, as well as intersexphobic. She just spent several pages illustrating that the physical body is minimal compared to how people perform gender and then turns around to use the same transphobic rhetoric people have been using to invalidate trans men forever. Trans men are not female bodied. If Jehu's masculinity is defined through his performative masculinity why then are trans men reduced to their physical bodies? Trans men do not have female bodies. Trans men have male bodies regardless of how society conceptualizes a male body. And failing to understand that is just the same gender essentialism Guest claimed to be trying to problematize.
And honestly regarding the final chapter, while trans people can and often do compare ourselves to the monstrous other and reclaim that comparison that cis people have forced on us, cis people should not be doing that esp in a chapter that is ostensibly focused on the violence against us.
At least it does include a pretty extensive bibliography that may be useful for future research.
The gender theory was by and large, fine and thorough.
However, Guest's chapter on the transgender gaze was...Not Good. She claimed to want to muddy the waters of gender binaryism and the resulting cis-heteronormative society. But the masculinity of trans men and the masculinity of butch lesbians is not the same masculinity and to have her conflate the two while also repeatedly using 'female-bodied men' to refer to trans men is so wildly insulting, patronizing, and transphobic, as well as intersexphobic. She just spent several pages illustrating that the physical body is minimal compared to how people perform gender and then turns around to use the same transphobic rhetoric people have been using to invalidate trans men forever. Trans men are not female bodied. If Jehu's masculinity is defined through his performative masculinity why then are trans men reduced to their physical bodies? Trans men do not have female bodies. Trans men have male bodies regardless of how society conceptualizes a male body. And failing to understand that is just the same gender essentialism Guest claimed to be trying to problematize.
And honestly regarding the final chapter, while trans people can and often do compare ourselves to the monstrous other and reclaim that comparison that cis people have forced on us, cis people should not be doing that esp in a chapter that is ostensibly focused on the violence against us.
At least it does include a pretty extensive bibliography that may be useful for future research.
November 1, 2016
Don't let the rating deceive you: there *were* parts of this book that I found profoundly helpful and interesting! But overall it was a bit of a disappointment.
First, the good stuff. The introduction is great and carefully defines many of the terms and ideas that the book will explore. It sets the stage well and provides an excellent introduction to trans issues and viewpoints for the reader.
Chapters 2 and 3, where Guest examines Genesis 1 and 2 Kings 9-10, provided intriguing readings of the texts (a "backwards" reading of Genesis 1 and a view of 2 Kings 9-10 through a "transgender gaze"). I do not agree with the conclusions that Guest reaches, but appreciated the glimpse into some very different ways of reading the text for me.
And now the not so good. Chapters 1, 4, and 5 were all disappointments. These are the chapters written by Hornsby and they contain cursory engagements with Biblical texts, incorporation of ideas or dialogue partners that do little to advance the ideas the chapters seem to be focusing on, and are disproportionately short.
This volume is worth snagging from your local academic library for the introduction and for the 2nd and 3rd chapters by Guest. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
First, the good stuff. The introduction is great and carefully defines many of the terms and ideas that the book will explore. It sets the stage well and provides an excellent introduction to trans issues and viewpoints for the reader.
Chapters 2 and 3, where Guest examines Genesis 1 and 2 Kings 9-10, provided intriguing readings of the texts (a "backwards" reading of Genesis 1 and a view of 2 Kings 9-10 through a "transgender gaze"). I do not agree with the conclusions that Guest reaches, but appreciated the glimpse into some very different ways of reading the text for me.
And now the not so good. Chapters 1, 4, and 5 were all disappointments. These are the chapters written by Hornsby and they contain cursory engagements with Biblical texts, incorporation of ideas or dialogue partners that do little to advance the ideas the chapters seem to be focusing on, and are disproportionately short.
This volume is worth snagging from your local academic library for the introduction and for the 2nd and 3rd chapters by Guest. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
July 28, 2021
Very disappointing. The actual amount of biblical exegesis or biblical interpretation (or even real discussion of these) was pretty minimal. Most of the chapters seemed to be more like topical sermons using one or two biblical texts as one of their sources of inspiration or as a brief foil rather than a concerted effort to read the text. To get a good idea of what else is going on here, add in a large amount of uncritically accepting some views of carefully chosen theorists, making controversial (and unsupported) claims about what the author of a text was trying to do or what they thought (when this is discussed at all!), vast and sweeping generalizations about the role of gender binaries in history and civilization (again, unsupported), analogies and intertexts of questionable relevance, and just a generally unfocused presentation. Hopefully there are better books on this sort of topic out there, because this was pretty disappointing.
TL;DR: This book doesn't really successfully do much of anything the publisher's blurb promised.
TL;DR: This book doesn't really successfully do much of anything the publisher's blurb promised.
January 26, 2026
Rating: 3.5/5
People hoping this book is a defense of trans-ness within the conventional bounds of Christian theology (even liberal Christian theology) are not going to find what they are looking for here. The authors simply are not interested in that. What this book do is illuminate how various parts of the Bible reflect human anxieties about bodies, boundaries, and the precarity of so-called normalcy. It engages the Bible as a cultural touchpoint, mythically rich and reflective of an imperfect human condition. It challenges our biases about how religious texts *should* be read.
There were parts of this text I found super interesting, especially the discussion about Genesis 1 and primordial chaos. There were other parts that I skimmed.
People hoping this book is a defense of trans-ness within the conventional bounds of Christian theology (even liberal Christian theology) are not going to find what they are looking for here. The authors simply are not interested in that. What this book do is illuminate how various parts of the Bible reflect human anxieties about bodies, boundaries, and the precarity of so-called normalcy. It engages the Bible as a cultural touchpoint, mythically rich and reflective of an imperfect human condition. It challenges our biases about how religious texts *should* be read.
There were parts of this text I found super interesting, especially the discussion about Genesis 1 and primordial chaos. There were other parts that I skimmed.
January 10, 2019
A very good book introducing to one to transgender perspectives in Biblical interpretation. The author helps the reader form a framework to see trans and queerness in the Bible and that the binaries often presented in the Bible aren't as clear cut binaries as presented from cis-het perspectives. Would very much recommend this book for those wishing to look at queer perspectives in Christianity.
March 30, 2023
The Hornsby sections were not good scholarship. Period. The Guest sections were intriguing, and offered some valuable insights. However, the work overall suffered from reading modern categories back into ancient texts. Eiegesies abounds.
September 25, 2016
What a great book. It carefully defines intersex and transgender people for those unfamiliar, and then discusses the various ways in which biblical interpretation can create space for them as people made in the image of God. The brief essays explore the "trans gaze" as an interpretive lens, reworking interpretations of Genesis, the story of Jezebel, Ruth, Jesus, Paul, and the book of Revelation. Really profound insights to be found.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews