Telling Stories About intersex and Christianity: Saying Too Much or Not Saying Enough?

Abstract

Intersex conditions (those where an individual’s body cannot be classified as male or female) have received little attention in theological or church circles. This paper draws on empirical research with ten intersex Christians, suggesting that their stories are of relevance to broader theological discourse about sex, gender and sexuality. In a narrative theological framework, stories constitute and reinforce world-views. Christian communities which invest only clearly male or clearly female bodies with legitimacy and cosmic significance risk eliding other types of body-story.