“In the name of the fear, the shame & the hegemonic guilt:” a sirmon from trans christian men to the church

Abstract

With a resurgence of anti-LGBTQIA+ propaganda in Canada, this thesis addresses the source of a long history of hatred of trans people in conservative Christian communities, and the belief that trans and Christian identities are mutually exclusive. The current dominant narrative addressing anti-trans rhetoric focuses on the implications of normative masculinity and combating its evolution into "toxic masculinity" within the sex/gender system. Vatican documents are prime sources of reinforcement of "toxic masculinity" in both Christian and secular Western society. A language shift from toxicity to hegemony guides my exploration of hegemonic Catholic theology and its roots in hegemonic gender ideology. The goal of this research is to combat the weaponization of Christianity against LGBTQIA+ communities, particularly trans communities, by dismantling its weaponry of fear, shame, and guilt. A narrative analysis of two trans Christian men’s memoirs—My Name is Brett: Truths From a Trans Christian (2015) by Brett Ray, and Trans Boomer: My Journey From Female to Male (2015) by Lee Jay—uses a mixed theoretical framework of queer theology, intersectionality, transfeminism, body theology, and Black theology to deconstruct personal experiences of integration and tension living in the liminal space of trans-Christian identity. Ray and Jay’s memoirs show that, not only are trans men and Christianity not mutually exclusive, but the (Catholic) Church can learn and strengthen their collective relationship with God by coming to know and love God’s trans children. There is no theological justification for anti-trans rhetoric.