Sacramental Trans Feminism : Ritualism, Liberation and Trans Rites

Over the past few years, there has been increasing media attention focussed on transgender people, and in particular the perceived tension between trans rights and certain kinds of feminism.This can be seen through articles across the popular press. Inevitably, this popular debate has also emerged within the churches, from the Roman Catholic Church’s stand against what it calls ‘gender theory’ to complaints about ‘transgender ideology’ raised at the Church of England’s General Synod. This book engages at the intersection between transness, feminism, and theology, and seeks to work towards a sacramental trans feminism.It identifies ‘gender trouble’ within the sacramental life of the Christianity, and offers a theological account of how and why sacramental practices trouble gender.This will help the church in exploring questions of gender and sexuality beyond reductive, essentialist frames, as well as helping trans people to find themselves within the practices of the church. Sacramental Trans Feminism will explore historical and contemporary accounts of sacramental gender trouble, and bring them into dialogue with trans and feminist thinkers and concepts.It is inspired and informed by the author's own experience of gender exploration in the context of Anglo-Catholicism in the Church of England – a tradition with a long history of being accused of fostering gender transgression.