Introduction
Hi all! I am ZJ, the author of (A)gender The/x/ology.
I grew up in a religious community that nourished my soul and my social life. My (queer) crisis of faith is so deep and so powerful it causes a creative explosion. The story will come out here in various ways.
About Me
ZJ is not my birth name. ZJ is not my chosen name either, in the sense that people in my daily life do not use this name. Unlike some agender folks, I do not intend to rename myself in this lifetime. I prefer to reclaim my birth name, which is found in many culture's ancient texts, and so carries great meaning. I am not using my birth name because I am not ready to share all of what I say here with the world in my name. I am using ZJ because my queer platonic partner named me that in her book...without either of us knowing.
I am agender. To me this means I do not have a gender identity. This does not mean gender does not affect me - gender affects everyone. I think gender is both an identity and a system, that is both personal and social. The world treats me in gendered ways, and though I dream of it not being so, I have found great power in feminism as a movement to understand this.
I am assigned female at birth. I share this because it has colored my experience of interacting with the world's system of gender. I know misogyny. In the trans community, I have privilege.
I am white. In a racialized society, this is the highest point of privilege. As I examine and reflect on religious and spiritual experiences of gender diverse people, I will take care to comment in a way that acknowledges context and difference. I do not intend to present as a expert on any culture, including my own. I do not seek to appropriate experiences that are not mine. All that being said, I come from an Anglo American and white background, and have biases. Likely, I will make mistakes in this blog.
I am a citizen of the United States. I think this is worth saying, because the world system privileges certain citizenships over others. I have lived and traveled in many places, and I know that not everyone is allowed that freedom of movement. This means I will take things for granted.
About the Blog
(A)gender The/x/ology is a blog exploring the religious experience of trans and non-binary folks. The title is a play on the word “theology”, which goddess worshipers have re-branded “thealogy” (to refer to a feminine godhead), and I am now re-branding “thexology” (to refer to an agender or ambiguous godhead). Each blog post will be a list of sources exploring the lives, practices, and beliefs of non-binary and/or trans folks within the religion. In other words, it will explore how trans folks make thexology. I will provide resources on belief systems I am not a part of, and my personal narrative account of belief systems I am or have been a part of.
I am now a social work student. This blog is being written for a class assignment, but I believe this will not diminish the writing's authenticity.
I grew up in a religious community that nourished my soul and my social life. My (queer) crisis of faith is so deep and so powerful it causes a creative explosion. The story will come out here in various ways.
About Me
ZJ is not my birth name. ZJ is not my chosen name either, in the sense that people in my daily life do not use this name. Unlike some agender folks, I do not intend to rename myself in this lifetime. I prefer to reclaim my birth name, which is found in many culture's ancient texts, and so carries great meaning. I am not using my birth name because I am not ready to share all of what I say here with the world in my name. I am using ZJ because my queer platonic partner named me that in her book...without either of us knowing.
I am agender. To me this means I do not have a gender identity. This does not mean gender does not affect me - gender affects everyone. I think gender is both an identity and a system, that is both personal and social. The world treats me in gendered ways, and though I dream of it not being so, I have found great power in feminism as a movement to understand this.
I am assigned female at birth. I share this because it has colored my experience of interacting with the world's system of gender. I know misogyny. In the trans community, I have privilege.
I am white. In a racialized society, this is the highest point of privilege. As I examine and reflect on religious and spiritual experiences of gender diverse people, I will take care to comment in a way that acknowledges context and difference. I do not intend to present as a expert on any culture, including my own. I do not seek to appropriate experiences that are not mine. All that being said, I come from an Anglo American and white background, and have biases. Likely, I will make mistakes in this blog.
I am a citizen of the United States. I think this is worth saying, because the world system privileges certain citizenships over others. I have lived and traveled in many places, and I know that not everyone is allowed that freedom of movement. This means I will take things for granted.
About the Blog
(A)gender The/x/ology is a blog exploring the religious experience of trans and non-binary folks. The title is a play on the word “theology”, which goddess worshipers have re-branded “thealogy” (to refer to a feminine godhead), and I am now re-branding “thexology” (to refer to an agender or ambiguous godhead). Each blog post will be a list of sources exploring the lives, practices, and beliefs of non-binary and/or trans folks within the religion. In other words, it will explore how trans folks make thexology. I will provide resources on belief systems I am not a part of, and my personal narrative account of belief systems I am or have been a part of.
I am now a social work student. This blog is being written for a class assignment, but I believe this will not diminish the writing's authenticity.
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