Abstract
In this chapter, Caroline Blyth and Prior McRae explore the symbolic violence of language, as they discuss the transphobic violence inherent within conservative Christian discourses. Written as a dialogue between the two authors, Blyth and McRae look at a number of Christian responses to the “transgender debate” which have appeared in recent years on Christian social media sites, in book and journal publications, and within formal statements issued by churches and Christian-based community interest groups. Their discussions explore the violence intrinsic to these responses, which range from outright intolerance on the one hand to those tempered with a veneer of “benign concern” for the sinful status of transgender people. Although less explicit than the subjective physical violence affecting many people within the trans community, Blyth and McRae argue that these discourses nevertheless act as a constant source of transphobic violence, by problematizing or even negating the validity of trans identities, and ultimately attempting to erase trans people from families, churches, and communities.
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Notes
- 1.
In our discussion of symbolic violence, we utilize Žižek’s (2008) definition to refer to violence wrought through the language of hate speech and discrimination.
- 2.
Special thanks to Tim Page, Digital Media Specialist at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Arts, who recorded our discussion.
- 3.
After transcribing our discussion, we edited out any personal information we did not wish to share, and trimmed down some of our responses that were repetitious or that veered a little too far off topic. We also added explanatory notes to supplement our comments, either in the endnotes or into the text in square brackets. In-text citations were also added (in round brackets, as per referencing style).
- 4.
A number of the most prolific (and panic-stricken) voices to emerge in this “transgender debate” come from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the world’s largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant denomination in the United States. With over 15 million members, its influence is therefore significant. Strongly evangelical, it has taken a particularly intolerant stance towards trans identities, even passing a resolution, “On Transgender Identity” (2014), which judges trans identities as the result of “fallen human nature in ways contrary to God’s design,” opposes any attempts by trans people to transition medically, and opposes all efforts by governing bodies or cultural groups to “validate transgender identity as morally praiseworthy.”
- 5.
Leelah Alcorn was 17 years old when she committed suicide. In her final letter, posted on social media site Tumblr, she noted the distress caused by her Christian parents’ refusal to accept her trans identity as a significant factor in her decision to end her life: “After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong. If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won’t do anything but make them hate them self. That’s exactly what it did to me” (cited in Fantz 2015).
- 6.
Yarhouse admits that not all trans people experience “significant” gender dysphoria or report “as much” distress (2015b). These qualifiers would appear to suggest that he believes all trans people experience at least some level of gender dysphoria. He also uses the term “gender identity confusion” synonymously with gender dysphoria (2015a, b), drawing on the familiar Christian rhetoric of transgender “confusion” that we mentioned earlier.
- 7.
For example , Gen. 1:27 (where God creates humanity “male and female ”); Deut. 22:5 (a law stating men should not wear women’s garments, or vice versa ); Matt. 19:4 (where Jesus cites Gen. 1:27 in his argument with the Pharisees concerning divorce). None of these texts address the issue of transgender (or gender fluid) identities either explicitly or implicitly, yet they are often proof-texted by conservative Christians as “evidence” that a trans existence goes against God’s will.
- 8.
A very explicit example of this can be seen in a Christian Post article, whose headline promises readers the chance to learn “what Jesus thinks about the transgender debate ” (Zaimov 2016b). Clearly, Jesus thought nothing about the “transgender debate”; there was no “transgender debate” in first-century Judaea. Yet, this does not stop the pastor in the video (Robert Jeffress) citing Matt. 19:4 (Jesus’ condemnation of divorce) to demonstrate that “gender identity confusion” is an “emotional disorder” and a “rebellion against God’s plan” (ibid.)
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Blyth, C., McRae, P. (2018). “Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts”: Transphobia, Symbolic Violence, and Conservative Christian Discourse. In: Blyth, C., Colgan, E., Edwards, K. (eds) Rape Culture, Gender Violence, and Religion. Religion and Radicalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72224-5_7
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