Subject

The term transgenderism or transgender is used by those affected to describe the experience – which they describe as central to their identity – of incongruence with external definitions of gender that infer one’s gender identity based on specific physical characteristics. For people on the trans spectrum, assuming gender positions that correspond to their inner experience is a matter of life itself. On the one hand, therefore, transgender identity has increasingly become part of a theological consensus regarding the diversity of the foundations of experience and expressions of personality based on physicality. On the other hand, in society – and spurred by authoritarian and right-wing populist political styles – there is an increasing tendency to link transgender identity with debates that cast doubt on or vehemently reject the ethical and political legitimacy of non-binary bodily representations, sometimes even attempting to justify this stance with biblical arguments. This article orients debates about gender, transgender identity, and queer theology and discusses the systematic-theological relevance of transgender identity.

• Anthropology