Over the next two weeks we will continue our work toward understanding a “concrete,” “here and now” Christ through studying the incarnation. This first week is largely about gender, next week on culture–though of course there are overlapping/intersectional categories here.

As a quick primer, here are some helpful definitions before we enter these readings. All definitions are from Scarleteen, a wildly inclusive sex ed resource for teens!

🩳 Gender: “Gender isn’t about biology or science. It is a human-made set of concepts and ideas about how people are supposed to or do look, act, relate and interrelate, typically based on their assigned sex.”

🍑 Sex: “When we say ‘sex,’ what we mean is any number of different things people freely choose to do to tangibly and actively express or enact their sexuality; what things people have identified and do identify as a kind of sexual experience.”

🔥 Sexuality: “If we say sexuality, we mean the physical, chemical, emotional and intellectual properties and processes and the cultural and social influences and experiences that are how people experience and express themselves as sexual beings. Some aspects of all those things are very diverse and unique, others are very common or collective.”

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This first reading is from Rita Nakashima Brock from a book I mentioned in class, Christianity, Patriarchy, and Abuse. It’s an older text (written in the 1980s), but Brock brings some of the categories early Christian feminists like herself were wrestling with at the time. Note: This chapter is about child abuse; while Brock does not get into the details of abuse, please read with care.

From here, we will read a piece by Kwok Pui-lan about Jesus’ sexuality. This chapter is a great overview of the conversations and imaginations around Jesus’ sexuality in feminist and queer theologies.

Georgia Day’s piece on being “Trans-Formed by the Spirit” imagines and argues for liberative a reading of Jesus as an intersex trans person.

April introduced us to Patrick Cheng’s Christology earlier this term in her Cultural Jesus Presentation. We will be reading one chapter of his book, From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ.

And then you will be reading a chapter by M. Shawn Copeland, a womanist scholar. Copeland writes about the incarnation in light of gender and race. Her piece will be a helpful transition to next week’s conversation! [Note: The Copeland chapter has shifted between weeks 9 and 10 on the syllabus; make sure you don’t skip over it by accident!]

Finally, I have moved the Norris text from required to optional. This is a lovely piece that always touched me as a creative writer. (Norris is a feminist contemplative writer.) Maybe you creative types can keep this one tucked away for future reading. 😉