Gender variance in Christianity: Difference between revisions
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Several Christian saints were gender-variant. Several were people who were assigned female at birth and lived as men, which made it possible for them to do things that their societies saw as only for men to do, such as being priests or warriors. As with many gender variant historical figures, it's open to interpretation whether they were passing as men for practicality, or if they were transgender men, or something else. Even though the book of Deuteronomy condemned cross-dressing, and medieval Christianity penalized that act, the Church nonetheless canonized as many as twenty-five saints who are known to have cross-dressed or been gender-variant.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68">Leslie Feinberg, ''Transgender Warriors: Making history from Joan of Arc to RuPaul.'' Beacon: Boston, Massachusetts. 1996. P. 68-69.</ref> A list of some gender-variant saints, in alphabetical order: | Several Christian saints were gender-variant. Several were people who were assigned female at birth and lived as men, which made it possible for them to do things that their societies saw as only for men to do, such as being priests or warriors. As with many gender variant historical figures, it's open to interpretation whether they were passing as men for practicality, or if they were transgender men, or something else. Even though the book of Deuteronomy condemned cross-dressing, and medieval Christianity penalized that act, the Church nonetheless canonized as many as twenty-five saints who are known to have cross-dressed or been gender-variant.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68">Leslie Feinberg, ''Transgender Warriors: Making history from Joan of Arc to RuPaul.'' Beacon: Boston, Massachusetts. 1996. P. 68-69.</ref> A list of some gender-variant saints, in alphabetical order: | ||
* '''Saint Anastasia''' was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | * '''Saint Anastasia''' was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | ||
* '''Saint Anna of Constantinople''' was assigned female at birth, and after the death of her husband, she dressed in men's clothing and called herself Euthymianus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2018/10/29/103107-righteous-anna-of-constantinople|title=Righteous Anna of Constantinople|date=2018-10-29|website=Orthodox Church of America|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250525181220/https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2018/10/29/103107-righteous-anna-of-constantinople|archive-date=2025-05-25|access-date=2025-05-25}}</ref> | |||
* '''Saint Apollinaris''' (also called Saint Appollinaria). A monk who was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man.<ref>Conner, Sparks, and Sparks. ''Cassell's Encyclopedia of queer myth, symbol, and spirit, covering gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender lore''. 1997. P. 65.</ref><ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | * '''Saint Apollinaris''' (also called Saint Appollinaria). A monk who was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man.<ref>Conner, Sparks, and Sparks. ''Cassell's Encyclopedia of queer myth, symbol, and spirit, covering gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender lore''. 1997. P. 65.</ref><ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | ||
* '''Saint Athanasia''' (also called Saint Alexandria) was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | * '''Saint Athanasia''' (also called Saint Alexandria) was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | ||
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* '''Saint Pelagia''' was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man. Later, the scholar Herman Usener pointed out that Pelagia was also a name of Aphrodite, which is significant for the aforementioned reasons.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | * '''Saint Pelagia''' was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man. Later, the scholar Herman Usener pointed out that Pelagia was also a name of Aphrodite, which is significant for the aforementioned reasons.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | ||
* '''Saint Theodora''' was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | * '''Saint Theodora''' was assigned female at birth, and lived as a man.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> | ||
[[File:Hl kuemmernis museum neunkirchen.jpg|thumb|Saint Wilgefortis is often shown as with one shoe off, and a fiddler. Legend says a silver shoe miraculously fell from her statue to help this poor pilgrim.]] | [[File:Hl kuemmernis museum neunkirchen.jpg|thumb|Saint Wilgefortis is often shown as with one shoe off, and a fiddler. Legend says a silver shoe miraculously fell from her statue to help this poor pilgrim.<ref>{{Cite news|last=King|first=Jade|url=https://artuk.org/discover/stories/saint-wilgefortis-a-bearded-woman-with-a-queer-history|title=Saint Wilgefortis: a bearded woman with a queer history|date=2021-08-13|access-date=2025-05-25|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250324223605/https://artuk.org/discover/stories/saint-wilgefortis-a-bearded-woman-with-a-queer-history|archive-date=2025-03-24}}</ref>]] | ||
* '''Saint Wilgefortis''' (also called Saint Uncumber, Saint Librata, or other names) was a woman with a full beard.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> She's thought not to be a historical figure, but a folklore figure. She had prayed to make herself unappealing to a pagan Portuguese king who wanted to marry her, and her prayer was answered by the miraculous growth of her beard. In retaliation, the pagan crucified her. Saint Wilgefortis is the patron of women who wish to be freed from abusive husbands. | * '''Saint Wilgefortis''' (also called Saint Uncumber,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15622a.htm|title=Wilgefortis|website=New Advent|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250511163254/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15622a.htm|archive-date=2025-05-11|access-date=2025-05-25}}</ref> Saint Librata,<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=465|title=St. Wilgefortis|website=Catholic Online|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250301073624/https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=465|archive-date=2025-03-01|access-date=2025-05-25}}</ref> or other names<ref name=":0" />) was a woman with a full beard.<ref name="FeinbergWarriors68" /> She's thought not to be a historical figure, but a folklore figure.<ref name=":1" /> She had prayed to make herself unappealing to a pagan Portuguese king who wanted to marry her, and her prayer was answered by the miraculous growth of her beard. In retaliation, the pagan crucified her. Saint Wilgefortis is the patron of women who wish to be freed from abusive husbands. | ||
Leslie Feinberg reflects on the reasons why so many saints on the female-to-male transgender spectrum in particular were canonized, even though the medieval Church specifically condemned female-to-male crossdressing in its contemporary laws: | Leslie Feinberg reflects on the reasons why so many saints on the female-to-male transgender spectrum in particular were canonized, even though the medieval Church specifically condemned female-to-male crossdressing in its contemporary laws: | ||