embodied!spirits:!comparing!sarah!coakley!and!john!paul!ii!on ...

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EMBODIED!SPIRITS:!COMPARING!SARAH!COAKLEY!AND!JOHN!PAUL!II!ON!ISSUES!!

OF!GENDER!!!

Thesis!!

Submitted!to!!

The!College!of!Arts!and!Sciences!of!the!!

UNIVERSITY!OF!DAYTON!!!

In!Partial!Fulfillment!of!the!Requirements!for!!

The!Degree!of!!!

Master!of!Theology!!!By!!

Susan!Mohall!!

Dayton,!Ohio!!

December,!2013!!!!

!!

! ii! !!!

!!!EMBODIED!SPIRITS:!COMPARING!SARAH!COAKLEY!AND!JOHN!PAUL!II!ON!ISSUES!!

!OF!GENDER!

!!!!Name:!Mohall,!Susan!!!!APPROVED!BY:!!!_________________________________________________!Jana!Bennett,!Ph.D.!Faculty!Advisor!!!!_________________________________________________!William!L.!Portier,!Ph.D.!Faculty!Reader!!!_________________________________________________!Ramón!Luzárraga,!Ph.D.!Faculty!Reader!!!

! iii! !!!

ABSTRACT!!!!!

EMBODIED!SPIRITS:!COMPARING!SARAH!COAKLEY!AND!JOHN!PAUL!II!ON!ISSUES!!!

OF!GENDER!!

Name:!Mohall,!Susan!University!of!Dayton!!Advisor:!Dr.!Jana!Bennett!!I!attempted!to!address!the!issue!of!gender!fluidity!and!whether!the!concept!is!a!

feasible!one!for!dealing!with!the!issues!of!sexism!and!gender!stereotypes!in!

Christianity.!I!did!this!by!primarily!using!Protestant!feminist!theologian!Sarah!

Coakley,!whose!own!work!has!managed!to!bring!together!the!voices!of!early!Church!

Fathers!and!secular!feminists!to!discuss!gender!theory.!Coakley!employs!a!

hermeneutics!of!charity!to!bring!together!these!divergent!voices!and!to!discuss!a!

concept!of!gender!that!is!more!fluid!and!potentially!more!empowering!for!men!and!

women.!I!brought!Sarah!Coakley!into!dialogue!with!secular!feminist!Judith!Butler,!

who!views!gender!as!being!largely!a!social!construct!and!who!has!greatly!influenced!

feminism!today.!I!also!brought!Sarah!Coakley!into!discussion!with!traditional!

Christian!concepts!of!gender!as!understood!by!the!Catholic!Church,!particularly!John!

Paul!II,!who’s!encyclical!Mulieris(Dignitatem!has!highly!influenced!the!Catholic!

Church’s!beliefs!on!gender!and!the!place!of!women.!! !

! iv! !!!

TABLE!OF!CONTENTS!!!!

ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………………………..!iii!

!INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………….1!

!

CHAPTER!1:!BIOLOGICAL!SEX……………………………………………………………………16!

!

CHAPTER!2:!GENDER!IDENTITY!AND!GENDER!PERFORMANCE!………………...28!

!

CHAPTER!3:!GENDER!ROLES……………………………………………………………………..47!

!

CHAPTER!4:!GENDER!FLUIDITY………………………………………………………………..67!

!

CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………………………79!

!

BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………………………………………...81

! 1! !!!!

!INTRODUCTION!

!!!!

In!Ursula!K.!Le!Guin’s!science!fiction!novel,!The(Left(Hand(of(Darkness,!she!describes!

a!planet!called!Winter,!where!a!species!exists!that!has!no!gender,!only!taking!on!the!

form!of!a!male!or!a!female!during!mating!seasons.!Furthermore,!one!person!can!

change!into!either!male!or!female,!so!it!is!possible!to!be!the!father!of!one!child!and!

the!mother!of!another.1!In!Star(Trek:(The(Next(Generation,!an!episode!titled!“The!

Outcast”!depicted!a!race!called!the!J’naii,!an!androgynous!people!that!finds!any!

gender!distinctions!as!inappropriate,!believing!they!have!evolved!beyond!gender.2!

The!idea!of!a!world!without!gender!or!a!way!to!evolve!beyond!gender!has!

certainly!seemed!to!capture!the!contemporary!imagination.!It’s!a!tempting!thought.!

To!evolve!beyond!gender,!to!have!no!longer!the!need!for!gender,!or!to!have!no!

distinctions!of!gender!could!seem!to!solve!many!of!the!problems!that!come!from!

gender,!such!as!the!hatred!of!women,!also!known!as!sexism,!and!the!male!

domination!of!women!in!society!known!as!patriarchy.!In!the!academic!world,!the!

question!of!gender,!and!escaping!or!overcoming!gender,!is!certainly!on!the!mind!of!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!Ursula!K.!Le!Guin,!The!Left!Hand!of!Darkness!(New!York:!The!Berkley!Publishing!Group,!1969).!2!Wikipedia,!Star!Trek:!The!Next!Generation!“The!Outcast”!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outcast_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)!2!Wikipedia,!Star!Trek:!The!Next!Generation!“The!Outcast”!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outcast_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)!(accessed!May!20,!2013).!

! 2! !!!!

secular!feminist!scholars.!Feminist!theologians,!however,!seem!to!be!less!inclined!to!

abandon!gender!distinctions,!despite!the!problems!that!gender!distinctions!have!

caused!for!Christian!women.!Concepts!of!gender!have!been!used!throughout!history,!

often!to!the!detriment!of!women!by!showing!the!male!gender!as!superior!and!the!

female!gender!as!weak!and!submissive.!In!the!Bible,!gender!is!something!given!to!us!

by!God,!that!reflects!God’s!image!and!likeness,!making!the!concept!of!gender!very!

important!to!many!Christian!theologians.!However,!because!gender!has!been!used!

to!harm!women,!many!secular!feminist!scholars!have!started!to!postulate!that!a!

broader,!more!fluid!concept!of!gender!could!potentially!benefit!women!more!by!not!

confining!them!to!sexist!roles!and!stereotypes.!However,!concepts!of!gender!fluidity!

can!also!harm!women.!By!erasing!gender,!the!overall!experience!of!women!can!also!

be!erased.!Homogenizing!people!so!that!we!are!all!essentially!the!same!also!means!

that!women!have!nothing!unique!and!particular!to!offer.!A!female!perspective!would!

be!no!different!from!a!male!perspective.!By!saying!gender!is!fluid!one!could!claim!

that!the!problems!affecting!women!aren’t!specific!to!them.!Gender!fluidity!could!

have!the!potential!to!erase!gender,!thereby!ignoring!the!experiences!and!struggles!

of!women.!Gender!fluidity!could!deny!an!already!marginalized!group!their!basic!

right!to!their!own!identity.!

In!this!paper,!I!will!attempt!to!address!the!issue!of!gender!fluidity!and!

whether!the!concept!is!a!feasible!one!for!dealing!with!the!issues!of!sexism!and!

gender!stereotypes!in!Christianity.!I!will!do!this!by!primarily!using!Protestant!

feminist!theologian!Sarah!Coakley,!whose!own!work!has!managed!to!bring!together!

the!voices!of!early!Church!Fathers!and!secular!feminists!to!discuss!gender!theory.!

! 3! !!!!

Coakley!employs!a!hermeneutics!of!charity!to!bring!together!these!divergent!voices!

and!to!discuss!a!concept!of!gender!that!is!more!fluid!and!potentially!more!

empowering!for!men!and!women.!I!will!bring!Sarah!Coakley!into!dialogue!with!

secular!feminist!Judith!Butler,!who!views!gender!as!being!largely!a!social!construct!

and!who!has!greatly!influenced!feminism!today.!I!will!also!bring!Sarah!Coakley!into!

discussion!with!traditional!Christian!concepts!of!gender!as!understood!by!the!

Catholic!Church,!particularly!John!Paul!II,!who’s!encyclical!Mulieris(Dignitatem!has!

highly!influenced!the!Catholic!Church’s!beliefs!on!gender!and!the!place!of!women.!

In!order!to!understand!why!gender!is!such!an!important!issue,!we!must!first!

understand!the!history!of!how!gender!has!contributed!to!a!culture!of!sexism!and!

patriarchy!in!Christianity.!By!better!understanding!the!history!of!gender!and!

Christianity,!we!can!better!understand!where!gender!stereotypes!come!from!that!

still!affect!Christian!notions!of!gender!today.!It!is!also!important!to!understand!what!

gender!is!and!how!notions!of!gender!have!affected!our!Christian!history.!

Concepts!of!gender!are!what!ultimately!have!shaped!humanity’s!views!of!

women!and!men,!and!how!they!relate!to!each!other.!It!is!these!poor!ways!of!

understanding!gender!that!leads!to!gender!bias!and!sexism.!When!gender!is!

analyzed!through!theology,!these!gender!biases!can!become!especially!problematic.!

Much!of!Christian!theology!views!creation!as!a!pyramid,!a!hierarchy,!with!the!male!

as!the!superior!gender!on!top.!In!order!to!break!from!this!sexist!understanding!of!

gender,!we!first!need!to!better!understand!what!gender!really!is.!Gender!can!be!

understood!in!three!separate!parts:!sex,!gender!identity,!and!gender!roles.!

! 4! !!!!

Probably!the!most!common!understanding!of!gender!is!that!it!is!only!a!

physical!attribute!or!based!on!one’s!biological!sex.!Biological!sex!is!something!

physical.!It!is!the!physical!representation!of!whether!we!are!male!or!female.!In!other!

words,!XX!or!XY!chromosomes!and!male!and!female!sex!organs!reflect!a!person’s!

physical!sex.!Regina!Ammicht!Quinn,!in!her!article!“Dangerous!Thinking!Gender!and!

Theology,”!describes!Tertullian,!a!theologian!born!in!Carthage!in!150!AD!who!wrote!

a!treatise!entitled!“On!Female!Fashion.”!In!the!article!she!quotes!him!as!saying3:!

Do!you!not!know!that!you!are!(each)!Eve?!The!sentence!of!God!on!this!sex!of!yours!lives!in!this!age:!the!guilt!must!of!necessity!live!too.!You!are!the!devil’s!gateway:!you!are!the!unsealer!of!that!(forbidden)!tree:!you!are!the!first!deserter!of!the!divine!law:!you!are!she!who!persuaded!him!whom!the!devil!was!not!valiant!enough!to!attack.!You!destroyed!so!easily!God’s!image,!man.!On!account!of!your!desert—that!is,!death—even!the!Son!of!God!had!to!die.4!!

Quinn!explains!how!this!quote!from!Tertullian!does!so!much!more!than!simply!show!

the!sexism!of!the!early!Church,!but!rather!it!illustrates!the!gender!theology!of!the!

early!Church.5!Firstly,!the!normative!body!was!seen!as!male.!Men!were!the!default!

and!the!correct!human!form!of!the!body.!Women’s!bodies!were!some!inferior!

aberration.6!Secondly,!not!only!was!the!female!body!seen!as!an!aberration!from!the!

normative!male!body,!but!women!could!also!not!control!the!base!desires!of!their!

body.!This!resulted!in!people!like!Tertullian!believing!that!he!needed!to!control!the!

female!body!so!that!women!would!not!tempt!men!and!not!be!slaves!to!their!own!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!3!Regina!Ammicht!Quinn,!“Dangerous!Thinking!Gender!and!Theology.”!!In!Gender(in(Theology,(Spirituality(and(Practice,!ed.!by!Lisa!Sowle!Cahill,!Diego!Irarrazaval,!and!Elaine!M.!Wainwright!International!Journal!of!Theology!(2012/4),!13.!4!Ibid.!!5!Ibid,!14.!!6!Ibid,!20.!!

! 5! !!!!

desires.7!The!biological!sex!of!women!is!seen!as!inferior!and!that!inferior!body!was!

believed!to!cause!women!to!be!ruled!by!their!desires—so!much!so!that!they,!as!

Tertullian!explains,!brought!about!original!sin!and!subsequently!caused!the!death!of!

Christ.!For!Tertullian!and!for!many!early!Christians,!it!is!clear!that!the!male!sex!is!

the!norm,!having!been!created!in!God’s!image,!while!the!female!sex!is!inferior!and!

destroying!the!male!image!of!God.!

How!do!these!concepts!from!our!Christian!past!affect!us!today?!Today,!most!

Christians!would!agree!that!men!and!woman!are!equal!partners!who!are!both!

redeemed!in!Christ,!both!created!in!the!image!and!likeness!of!God!with!full!human!

dignity.!Women!are!no!longer!blamed!for!the!sins!of!Eve.!Furthermore,!Eve—and!

with!her,!women—are!no!longer!viewed!as!the!sole!reason!for!sin!and!humanity’s!

fallen!nature.!But!attitudes!and!beliefs!similar!to!the!ones!supported!by!Tertullian!

have!had!a!lasting!effect!on!our!Christian!interpretation!and!understanding.!To!this!

day,!Christian!Churches!and!theologies!have!taken!views!on!biological!sex!that!is!

often!biased!in!favor!of!men!and!to!the!detriment!of!women.!

Biological!sex!has!become!a!major!way!to!judge!a!person’s!gender!identity.!

However,!a!person’s!biological!sex!does!not!always!denote!their!gender.!Gender!

identity!is!often!described!as!how!individual!people!see!themselves!in!regard!to!

their!gender,!while!biological!sex!is!something!physical.!Gender!identity!is!both!

biological!and!psychological.!A!person!whose!gender!identity!matches!their!

biological!sex!is!called!cisgender.!A!cisgender!person!would!be!a!person!who!

identifies!as!a!woman!and!whose!biological!sex!is!also!that!of!a!female.!Transgender!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!7!Jack!Holland,!A(Brief(History(of(Misogyny:(The(World’s(Oldest(Prejudice,!(London:!Constable!and!Robinson!Ltd,!2006),!82n85.!!

! 6! !!!!

people!are!individuals!whose!biological!sex!does!not!match!their!gender!identity.!

This!idea!of!gender!identity!is!very!new!and!not!one!that!anyone!in!Christian!history!

would!understand.!Even!today,!the!Catholic!Church!has!discussed!very!little!about!

gender!identity.!Within!the!Catholic!Church,!a!person’s!biological!sex!still!denotes!

their!gender!as!male!or!female,!adhering!to!the!gender!binary.!To!identify!as!a!

gender!contrary!to!a!person’s!own!body!is!viewed!as!abnormal,!though!many!

secular!feminists!and!feminist!theologians!are!questioning!this!concept!today.!

However,!a!person’s!biological!sex,!and!thus!his!or!her!gender!identity,!has!

historically!been!linked!to!men!and!women’s!roles!and!place!in!society.!

Gender!roles!are!how!gender!is!perceived!and!understood!by!society.!These!

roles!often!develop!because!of!sexist!views!on!biological!sex!and!gender!identity.!

Gender!roles!become!a!problem!because!they!dictate!how!we!perceive!men!and!

women,!and!how!we!impose!these!perceptions!onto!men!and!women.!Gender!roles,!

as!understood!in!society,!believe!that!men!and!women!have!specific!parts!that!they!

must!play!or!act!out.!The!reason!for!these!roles!is!because!of!a!perceived!

understanding!of!how!men!and!women!“really!are”!biologically.!In!other!words,!our!

physical!bodies!cause!us!to!have!certain!attributes!that!are!believed!to!be!inherently!

masculine!and!feminine.!These!masculine!and!feminine!attributes!then!define!the!

roles!or!parts!men!and!women!are!supposed!to!play.!

Historically!speaking,!JudeonChristianity!saw!women!as!filling!only!particular!

gender!roles.!The!sole!purpose!for!women!was!to!be!wives!who!help!their!husbands,!

as!well!as!to!provide!children!for!their!husband.!Ideal!women!in!the!Bible!are!

described!as!being!obedient!to!their!husbands!and!good!at!taking!care!of!the!

! 7! !!!!

household.!Women!as!a!collective!are!seen!as!evil,!lazy,!lustful,!and!jealous.!In!the!

Old!Testament,!women!such!as!Ruth!and!Esther!are!praised!for!their!strength!and!

wisdom.!The!idea!seems!to!be!that!certain!individual!women!can!work!for!God,!but!

only!if!they!follow!God’s!mandates!by!staying!in!their!prescribed!gender!role.8!

It!is!these!gender!roles!that!are!sexist,!because!what!is!defined!as!masculine!

or!feminine!is!often!biased!toward!men,!creating!a!balance!of!power!that!leaves!

women!on!the!bottom!and!men!on!the!top.!A!few!masculine!attributes!are!active,!

aggression,!dominance,!reasonability,!and!strength,!while!female!attributes!tend!to!

reflect!the!opposite!of!the!male!attributes.!So!feminine!attributes!tend!to!be!passive,!

docility,!submission,!uncontrollability,!and!weakness.!Societal!norms!such!as!these!

teach!that!masculinity!is!powerful!while!femininity!is!subservient.!This!

understanding!of!femininity!and!masculinity,!of!powerful!males!and!subservient!

females,!naturally!creates!social!structures!that!uphold!these!notions.!Ideas!that!

women!could!not!have!any!sort!of!control!or!power!over!their!lives!because!they!

were!too!weak,!uncontrollable,!and/or!just!naturally!obedient!to!the!whims!of!

others!(i.e.!men)!placed!women!in!roles!that!were!always!subservient!to!their!male!

counterparts.!Men!have!autonomy,!power,!selfncontrol,!and!reason,!which!women!

“naturally”!lack,!making!it!necessary!for!women!to!be!enslaved!and!controlled!by!

men.!

Though!Christianity!has!often!held!these!sexist!understandings!of!traditional!

gender!roles,!it!has!also!been!the!cause!of!a!radical!break!from!these!same!gender!

roles.!Despite!this!bias!toward!men,!many!female!theologians!point!out!that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!8!Barbara!Crandall,!Gender(and(Religion:(The(Dark(Side(of(Scripture!2nd!edition.!(New!York:!Continuum!International!Publishing!Group,!2012),!85!

! 8! !!!!

Christianity’s!roots!were!not!in!sexism.!One!feminist!theologian,!Patricia!Beattie!

Jung,!writes:!

Jesus’s!stance!toward!women!was!strikingly!countercultural.!The!way!Jesus!is!portrayed!in!Christian!scriptures!is!remarkably!egalitarian.!The!ancient!Mediterranean!world!was!thoroughly!patriarchal.!In!contrast,!Jesus!affirmed!the!full!agency!of!women!who!studied!with!and!followed!him.9!

!Jung!argues!that!Jesus’s!ministry!was!one!that!embraced!women!as!equals!to!men,!

never!regarding!them!as!inferior!or!lesser!beings.!In!the!New!Testament,!women!are!

mentioned!several!times:!the!Samaritan!woman,!the!woman!who!anoints!Jesus’s!

feet,!and!many!others!are!some!of!the!few!that!play!a!role!in!the!New!Testament.10!

There!are!also!many!women!named!as!followers!of!Jesus.!

The!friends!of!Jesus!included!many!women!and!five!of!the!most!frequently!mentioned!are!Mary!Magdalene,!Mary!of!Bethany,!Joanna,!Susanna!and!Salome.11!!!

The!fact!that!these!women!were!not!only!mentioned!several!times,!but!specifically!

named,!shows!their!importance!in!Jesus’s!story!and!message.!It!is!unlikely!that!they!

would!be!named!if!they!did!not!have!some!significance.!

Pope!John!Paul!II!further!supports!the!belief!that!Jesus!is!portrayed!as!an!

egalitarian!in!the!scriptures.!He!writes,!“In!all!of!Jesus'!teaching,!as!well!as!in!his!

behaviour,!one!can!find!nothing!which!reflects!the!discrimination!against!women!

prevalent!in!his!day.!On!the!contrary,!his(words(and(works(always(express(the(respect(

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!9!Patricia!Beattie!Jung,!ed.!“Patriarchy,!Purity,!and!Procreativity:!Developments!in!Catholic!Teachings!on!Human!Sexuality!and!Gender.”!In!God,(Science,(Sex,(Gender:(An(Interdisciplinary(Approach(to(Christian(Ethics!edited!by!Patricia!Beattie!Jung!and!Aana!Marie!Vigen.!(Chicago:!University!of!Chicago!Press,!2010),70.!10!Crandall,!119.!11!Ibid.!

! 9! !!!!

and(honour(due(to(women.”12!Early!Christianity!challenged!typical!sexist!and!

patriarchal!understandings!of!women!in!many!ways.!

The!very!notion!of!women!being!able!to!choose!their!own!faith!without!the!

male!patriarchs’!permission!gave!women!agency!over!their!own!lives.!Whereas!

before,!they!were!excluded!from!making!such!decisions!and!forced!into!servile!

household!gender!roles.!Furthermore,!the!martyrdom!of!such!notable!and!popular!

Saints,!such!as!Felicity!and!Perpetua,!challenged!patriarchal!notions!by!showing!that!

women!can!be!active!in!society.!Women!were!choosing!their!own!faith!and!fighting!

for!that!faith!without!male!approval.!What!happened!then!that!caused!Christianity!

to!go!from!challenging!traditional!sexist!gender!roles!to!upholding!them!to!such!

extremes!like!Tertullian!did?!Christianity’s!challenge!of!patriarchy!also!presented!a!

challenge!for!Christianity,!and!soon!many!Christian!communities!began!to!

deemphasize!many!of!these!egalitarian!notions.!

Today!some!biblical!scholars!theorize!that!in!order!to!reduce!the!appearance!of!posing!such!a!grave!threat!to!the!social!fabric,!some!New!Testament!communities!adopted!more!traditional!household!codes!and!organizational!patterns.!Some!communities!coupled!their!radically!transformative!baptismal!and!Eucharistic!practices!with!calls!for!female!and!slave!submission!in!order!to!reduce!the!threat!of!persecution.13!!

Jung!sees!this!shift!as!a!way!to!not!only!lessen!the!threat!of!persecution!against!

Christianity,!but!also!to!make!Christianity!appear!less!controversial!and!therefore!

more!appealing!to!a!broader!number!of!people,!specifically!to!male!patriarchs!who!

had!power!over!their!whole!household!and!who!often!held!powerful!and!influential!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!12!John!Paul!II,!Mulieris(Dignitatem!(Rome:!Libreria!Editrice!Vaticana,!1988), §!13,!http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jpnii_apl_15081988_mulierisndignitatem_en.html,!(Accessed!April!19,!2013).!13!Jung,!71.!

! 10! !!!

government!positions.14!JudeonChristianity!had!many!aspects!that!allowed!for!

woman!to!have!more!control!and!power!over!their!own!lives,!but!to!challenge!

patriarchal!structures!that!were!already!in!place!seemed!too!risky!and!

controversial.!

A!proper!understanding!of!biological!sex,!gender!identity,!and!gender!roles!

becomes!an!extremely!important!question,!especially!in!this!modern!age.!As!I!

already!stated!historically,!Christianity!has!been!both!revolutionary!and!reactionary!

when!it!comes!to!gender.!Today,!many!traditional!and!often!harmful!gender!roles!

for!men!and!women!are!still!held!to!be!a!true!and!acceptable!way!of!understanding!

gender.!This!leads!feminists!to!critique!these!traditional!gender!roles!as!a!sexist!

understanding!of!what!it!means!to!be!male!and!female!and!puts!them!into!conflict!

with!the!Church.!

These!two!very!different!voices!show!the!large!divide!between!current!

postmodern!feminist!voices!and!traditional!Christian!understandings!of!gender.!

Feminist!Christian!theologians!have!tried!to!bring!these!two!strands!of!thought!

together.!Sarah!Coakley,!however,!is!one!of!the!best!and!most!qualified!feminist!

Christian!theologians!to!do!so.!

Sarah!Coakley!is!an!Anglican!and!one!of!the!most!important!theologians!in!

the!western!world.!She!was!born!in!1951!in!London.!In!1973!she!graduated!from!

Cambridge!and!then!attended!Harvard,!she!later!returned!to!Cambridge!to!do!her!

PhD,!and!she!did!her!dissertation!on!Ernst!Toeltsch,!which!was!later!published!by!

Oxford!University!Press.!According!to!her!faculty!profile!at!Cambridge!University,!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!14!Ibid.!

! 11! !!!

she!is!currently!the!first!female!NorrisnHulse!Professor!of!Divinity!and!holds!an!

established!chair!at!Cambridge!in!philosophy!and!religion.!She!held!previous!

positions!at!the!University!of!Lancaster!(1976n1991),!Oxford!(1991n1993),!and!

Harvard!(1995n2007).!She!is!an!ordained!Anglican!priest!in!the!diocese!of!Ely!and!

has!worked!in!parishes!in!both!the!U.K.!and!the!U.S..!She!is!an!honorary!canon!of!Ely!

Cathedral!and!a!founder!of!the!Littlemore!Group.!

Celebrating!the!Eucharist!led!her!to!reflect!on!anthropologist!Mary!Douglas!

and!Balthasar!in!her!article!“Woman!at!the!Altar:!Cosmological!Disturbance!or!

Gender!Subversion?”!which!appeared!in!the!Anglican!Theological!Review.!In!the!

2012!Gifford!lectures,!she!gave!a!talk!entitled!Sacrifice(Regained:(Evolution,(

Cooperation(and(God. Coakley!also!wrote!an!entry!on!“Feminist!Theology”!in!

Modern(Christian(Thought,(Vol.(2(The(Twentieth(Century.!In!the!chapter,!she!

discusses!Mary!Daly,!Elisabeth!Schussler!Fiorenza,!Sallie!McFague,!and!Luce!

Irigaray.!In!her!2002!book!Powers(and(Submissions:(Spirituality,(Philosophy,(and(

Gender,!Coakley!discusses!the!issues!of!gender!in!Christianity!by!looking!at!

traditional!Christian!theologians!like!Gregory!of!Nyssa!and!postmodern!gender!

theorists!like!Judith!Butler.1516!

Her!extensive!research!on!gender!theory!and!feminist!theology—as!well!as!

her!reflections!on!feminist!Judith!Butler!and!her!devotion!to!the!Christian!tradition,!

seen!in!both!her!research!and!as!a!priest!in!the!Anglican!Church—make!her!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!15!Sarah!Coakley!Profile,!Faculty!of!Divinity,!University!of!Cambridge,!http://www.divinity.cam.ac.uk/component/mipeople/?view=person&id=16&departmentid=2!(Accessed!April!17,!2013).!!16!Sarah!Coakley,!Gifford!Lecture!Series!2012,!http://www.abdn.ac.uk/gifford/people/!(Accessed!April!17,!2013).!

! 12! !!!

perfect!theologian!to!bridge!the!gap!between!modern!feminist!theory!and!the!

Christian!tradition.!She!has!personally!stated!in!an!interview!in!Faith(and(Leadership!

how!she!dealt!with!choosing!between!church!tradition!and!Protestant!Liberalism.!

She!said,!“At!an!ideological!level!I!don’t!assume!we!can!always!escape!lining!

ourselves!up!in!complete!opposition!against!another!position.!But!I!certainly!find!it!

more!intriguing!theologically!to!reflect!critically!before!I!just!jump!in!with!a!negative!

riposte!to!a!kind!of!thinking!that!I'm!not!attracted!to!initially.!I!try!to!practice!not!so!

much!a!hermeneutics!of!suspicion,!but!a!gentle!hermeneutics!of!charity!nn!that!which!

you!are!most!likely!to!dismiss!outright!is!something!you!ought!to!constantly!

reconsider.”17!Traditionally,!feminist!theologians!have!employed!a!hermeneutic!of!

suspicion,!meaning!that!they!analyze!church!documents,!traditional!writings,!and!

even!the!Bible!with!the!realization!that!much!of!what!they!are!reading!will!be!sexist!

and!male!oriented!in!nature.!This!is!understandable,!considering!that!all!of!these!

were!written!in!societies!strongly!influenced!by!patriarchy.!

Likewise,!Christianity!has!often!been!concerned!about!some!forms!of!

feminism,!because!they!seem!to!deny!the!very!basic!Christian!understanding!that!

men!and!women!are!created!in!God’s!image.!A!large!part!of!this!debate!comes!from!

an!understanding!of!gender.!How!much!of!a!role!does!biological!sex!and!gender!

identity!play!and!are!there!particular!traits!inherent!to!each!gender,!thus!shaping!

their!gender!roles!not!only!within!the!Church!but!in!the!whole!of!God’s!divine!plan!

for!humanity?!The!critiques!of!feminist!theologians!have!often!left!Christians!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!17!“Sarah!Coakley:!Living!Prayer!and!Leadership,”!Faith(and(Leadership:(Where(Christian(Leaders(Reflect,(Connect,(and(Learn,!(Leadership!Education!at!Duke!Divinity,!2013).!http://www.faithandleadership.com/qa/sarahncoakleynlivingnprayernandnleadership?page=0,1!(Accessed,!April!20,!2013).!!

! 13! !!!

uncomfortable.!In!one!document,!called!On(the(Collaboration(of(Men(and(Women(in(

the(Church(and(in(the(World,!the!Catholic!bishops!notably!seem!to!accuse!feminism,!

and!not!institutionalized!patriarchy,!on!the!problems!between!men!and!women.!

They!wrote,!“Recent!years!have!seen!new!approaches!to!women's!issues.!A!first!

tendency!is!to!emphasize!strongly!conditions!of!subordination!in!order!to!give!rise!

to!antagonism:!women,!in!order!to!be!themselves,!must!make!themselves!the!

adversaries!of!men.”18!While!feminist!theologians!are!often!criticized!for!using!a!

hermeneutics!of!suspicion,!it!seems!that!the!Catholic!Church!is!no!less!suspicious!

when!it!comes!to!feminism.!

That!being!said,!it!will!be!impossible!for!any!progress!to!be!made!on!the!

issues!of!sexism!if!we!do!not!attempt!to!be!charitable!toward!each!other.!I!will!use!

the!work!of!Sarah!Coakley!to!think!about!gender!in!more!depth,!particularly!in!

regard!to!the!question!of!gender!fluidity.!Coakley’s!“hermeneutic!of!charity”!allows!

her!to!sympathize!with!both!feminist!voices!that!critique!church!tradition!and!views!

on!gender,!as!well!as!to!look!at!traditional!Christian!beliefs!with!as!little!bias!as!

possible!in!order!to!bring!together!both!views!to!create!a!more!thorough!and!welln

thoughtnout!understanding!of!gender!that!will!be!acceptable!to!both!feminist!

critique!and!Christian!tradition.!

Sarah!Coakley,!along!with!many!other!feminist!theologians,!is!particularly!

interested!in!understanding!gender,!because!it!has!been!the!reason!that!women!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!18!Congregation!for!the!Doctrine!of!the!Faith, Letter(to(the(Bishops(of(the(Catholic(Church!on(the(Collaboration(of(Men(and(Women(in(the(Church(and(in(the(World,!(May!31,!2004),!http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20040731_collaboration_en.html#top,!(Accessed,!May!28,!2013).!!

! 14! !!!

have!been!limited!in!Christianity!for!so!long.!Biological!sex,!gender!identity,!and!

gender!roles!are!explicitly!linked!within!the!Christian!understanding!of!gender.!

Traditional!gender!roles—such!as!a!focus!on!women!being!wives!and!mothers,!or!

submission!being!viewed!as!a!feminine!trait!and!quality,!while!roles!and!traits!for!

men!tend!to!be!power!and!authority—tend!to!hurt!women,!leading!to!an!inequality!

between!the!genders.!Sarah!Coakley!argues!that!these!traditional!gender!roles!do!

not!accurately!reflect!the!message!of!the!Genesis!story,!nor!do!they!accurately!

reflect!what!it!means!to!be!a!man!or!a!woman.!

We!have!already!illustrated!something!of!the!doublensidedness!of!this!theme!in!tradition:!the!urging!of!the!submission!of!the!(significantly!‘female’)!soul!to!God!or!the!Virgin!on!the!one!hand,!but!the!implicit!legitimation!of!male!power!over!female!subordination!on!the!other.19!!

Coakley!will!use!Judith!Butler’s!gender!theories!and!Gregory!of!Nyssa’s!theories!on!

the!soul!and!body!to!come!to!a!more!complete!understanding!of!gender.!Coakley!will!

address!the!issues!of!bringing!about!a!more!fluid!understanding!of!gender!by!

bringing!together!these!two!voices.!However,!it!is!important!to!note!that!her!concept!

of!gender!fluidity!has!less!to!do!with!abandoning!gender!roles!entirely!for!a!gendern

fluid!world,!but!rather!to!rethink!how!we!view!the!concepts!of!power!and!

submission!when!it!comes!to!gender!roles.!

In!order!to!effectively!discuss!gender,!I!will!discuss!each!of!the!three!parts!of!

gender!in!three!chapters,!biological!sex,!gender!identity,!and!gender!roles.!In!

chapter!one,!I!will!discuss!the!physical!body!and!biological!sex!and!how!

understanding!the!physical!body!affects!understandings!of!gender.!How!we!as!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

19!Sarah!Coakley,!Power(and(Submissions:(Spirituality,(Philosophy,(and(Gender,((Blackwell!Publishing,!MA:!2002),!61.!

!

! 15! !!!

Christians!interpret!the!fact!that!we!are!embodied!spirits!and!how!that!belief!affects!

concepts!of!gender.!

In!chapter!two,!I!will!go!into!deeper!discussion!of!the!idea!of!embodied!

spirits!and!how!this!theological!belief!is!similar!to!the!concepts!of!gender!identity.!I!

will!also!illustrate!Judith!Butler’s!ideas!of!gender!performance!as!social!construct.!I!

will!also!show!how!Coakley!attempts!to!bring!together!Butler!with!more!traditional!

Christian!concepts!of!gender.!

In!chapter!three,!I!will!illustrate!traditional!feminine!and!masculine!gender!

roles!understood!primarily!through!the!hierarchy!of!the!Catholic!Church.!I!will!

attempt!to!reveal!the!positive!things!about!the!gender!roles,!as!well!as!critique!and!

explore!if!it!is!possible!to!break!away!from!these!stereotyped!gender!roles!without!a!

more!fluid!concept!of!gender.!

And!finally,!in!chapter!four,!I!will!take!on!the!task!of!using!Coakley’s!concepts!

of!gender!fluidity!to!a!transformed!view!of!gender.!I!will!discuss!how!the!

eschatological!body!reveals!a!longing!for!gender!transformation.!I!will!discuss!this!

by!analyzing!Coakley’s!beliefs!of!gender!fluidity!and!both!Gregory!of!Nyssa’s!and!

Judith!Bulter’s!beliefs!about!gender!transformation.

!

! !

! 16! !!!

CHAPTER!!1!

BIOLOGICAL!SEX!!!!!

One!of!the!main!problems!with!a!fluid!concept!of!gender!is!the!physical!body.!As!

stated!in!the!introduction,!there!is!a!difference!between!physical!biological!sex,!

gender!identity,!and!gender!roles.!However,!the!body!is!still!something!very!

important.!It!is!our!experience!of!our!body!that!first!begins!to!shape!our!gender.!

Either!from!society!declaring!us!male!and!female!based!on!our!bodies,!or!even!from!

those!who!don’t!fit!the!gender!binary!by!reacting!to!their!physical!bodies,!which!I!

will!discuss!more!in!chapter!two.!Our!physical!body!shapes!how!other!people!view!

our!gender!and!how!we!perceive!our!own!gender.!Certainly,!from!a!Christian!

perspective,!the!body!is!something!important,!not!just!because!God!created!our!

bodies,!but!also!because!we!believe!in!the!resurrection!of!the!body.!Our!bodies!were!

created!by!God!and!will!continue!to!be!our!bodies!in!paradise.!That!means!that!our!

bodies!are!something!significant!and!important.!Bodies!cannot!be!so!easily!

dismissed.!

In!this!chapter,!I!will!examine!how!the!female!body!has!been!viewed!and!how!

science!and!theology!have!been!used!to!justify!a!negative!view!of!the!female!sex.!I!

will!also!explore!the!theological!implications!of!the!physical!body!being!created!in!

the!image!of!God!and!how!the!beliefs!of!some!of!the!early!Church!Fathers,!like!

! 17! !!!

Origen’s!and!Gregory!of!Nyssa’s!belief!of!second!creation,!can!create!a!more!fluid!

understanding!of!gender!and!the!body.!I!will!then!offer!critique!on!this!belief!from!

Augustine.!I!will!further!explain!how!Augustine’s!views!influenced!the!modern!day!

Catholic!Church,!which!continues!to!stress!the!importance!of!the!body!through!the!

works!of!John!Paul!II.!

I!have!already!explained!in!the!introduction!what!biological!sex!is!and!how!it!

fits!into!the!concept!of!gender.!While!I!firmly!believe!biological!sex!should!not!be!the!

only!factor!when!considering!gender,!it!is!a!very!important!factor.!However,!defining!

gender!only!on!the!basis!of!the!body!has!many!complications.!For!women!in!

particular,!our!bodies!have!been!used!against!us,!as!science!and!theology!have!been!

used!to!“prove”!that!women!are!lesser!beings!than!men.!Theologian!Regina!

Ammicht!Quinn!explains:!

Theological!complementarity!theories!strike!a!response!and!find!support!in!(popular)!sociobiology!from!Wilson!to!Dawkins.!New!theses!in!this!regard!constantly!link!male!dominance!and!female!caring!and!compassion!with!forms!of!human!reproduction!and!give!them!a!biological!basis.!Here!scientific!research!and!a!rhetoric!of!apology!or!even!fear!are!closely!interlocked.!‘We!can’t!do!anything!about!it,’!is!the!message,!‘because!Mother!Nature!is!sexist!!The!right!and!left!halves!of!the!brain,!the!motility!and!plain!numerical!superiority!of!sperm,!hormonal!influences,!and!of!course!physical!size!and!strength,!are!struggled!with!and!displayed!in!evernnew!patterns.!These!are!all!assembled!to!show!that!the!old!socioncultural!patterns!should!not!only!be!kept!just!as!they!are,!but!can’t!be!changed!anyway.20!!

Women!have!been!told!that!they!are!inferior!due!to!their!basic!biology,!because!of!

their!physical!sex.!As!Quinn!explains,!this!supposed!inferiority!of!the!female!body!

and!thus!the!female!nature!“proves”!that!men!have!a!natural!superiority.!In!this!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!20!Quinn,!19.!

! 18! !!!

view,!men!aren’t!dominating!women,!but!simply!following!with!the!natural!order!of!

things.!Women!like!Quinn,!who!then!deny!this!sexist!understanding!of!their!body,!

are!viewed!as!going!against!their!very!nature!and!rebelling!against!their!own!bodies.!

Rosemary!Radford!Ruether!describes!how!these!assumptions!created!an!

understanding!“that!the!male!is!the!normative!and!representative!expression!of!the!

human!species!and!the!female!is!only!secondary!and!auxiliary!to!the!male!but!lacks!

full!human!status!in!physical!strength,!moral!selfncontrol,!and!mental!capacity.!This!

lesser!‘nature’!thus!confirms!the!female’s!subjugation!to!the!male!as!her!‘natural’!

place!in!the!universe.”21!Women’s!natural!place!or!role!in!society!is!as!slaves!by!their!

very!“nature,”!whereas!men’s!natural!place!puts!them!in!the!position!of!leaders!and!

thinkers!who!must!bind!and!control!women!for!“their!own!good.”!

Sarah!Coakley!describes!this!same!idea!of!binding!women!that!is!found!in!the!

construction!of!Francis!Bacon’s!understanding!of!man!and!nature.!She!explains!that!

Bacon!connects!men!to!the!“scientific!mind,”!but!women!are!connected!to!“nature.”!

She!writes:!

Notoriously,!Bacon!then!identifies!‘Nature’!here!as!‘female,’!urging!the!scientist!to!enter!a!‘holy!and!legal!wedlock,’!to!‘bind![Nature]!to!your!service!and!make!her!your!slave.’22!!

Coakley!describes!how!this!quote!from!Bacon!draws!the!lines!between!the!genders,!

very!clearly!showing!women!to!once!again!be!in!the!subservient!gender!role,!while!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!21!Rosemary!Radford!Ruether,!Womanguides:(Readings(Toward(a(Feminist(Theology,!(Boston:!Beacon!Press,!1985),!65.!!22!Sarah!Coakley,!Power(and(Submissions,!90.!

! 19! !!!

placing!men!in!the!powerful!role,!on!the!basis!of!that!the!male!body!is!inherently!

better.23!

It!is!important!to!reflect!upon!both!science!and!theology!and!realize!that!

these!negative!views!of!a!women’s!physical!sex!come!from!a!place!of!bias.!These!

beliefs!and!attitudes!toward!women’s!bodies!as!I!showed!in!the!introduction!existed!

for!a!long!time.!Science!and!theological!reasoning!are!then!used!to!justify!these!

negative!understandings!of!the!female!body!and!female!nature.!Then!the!negative!

and!limiting!gender!roles!that!are!placed!upon!men!and!women!are!justified!and!

viewed!as!natural!because!of!this!reasoning.!Joan!Roughgarden,!an!evolutionary!

biologist,!writes:!

Scientists!are!remarkably!unaware!of!how!their!enterprise!serves!as!a!weapon!of!oppression!and!are!happily!content!to!think!of!themselves!as!‘objective.’!Yet!not!long!ago,!science!and!medicine!were!actively!underwriting!the!Nazi!effort!to!exterminate!Jews,!Gypsies,!gays,!and!the!handicapped!in!Nazi!Germany.24!!

Here,!Roughgarden!explains!how!science!is!not!always!purely!objective!as!many!

people!today!seem!to!think,!but!various!agendas!and!biases!have!influenced!

scientists!in!their!research,!which!then!affect!the!lives!of!others,!such!as!those!

people!in!Nazi!Germany!whose!genes!were!viewed!as!genetically!deficient.!

Roughgarden!also!demonstrates!how!these!same!agendas!and!bias!apply!to!

science!when!it!comes!to!gender.!She!describes!Darwin’s!examples!of!evolution!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!23!Ibid.!!24!Joan!Roughgarden,!“Evolutionary!Biology!and!Sexual!Diversity,”!In!God,(Science,(Sex,(Gender:(An(Interdisciplinary(Approach(to(Christian(Ethics!edited!by!Patricia!Beattie!Jung!and!Aana!Marie!Vigen.!(Chicago:!University!of!Chicago!Press,!2010),101n102.!!

! 20! !!!

depicting!only!“coy!females”!and!“passionate!males”!as!a!product!of!his!sexist!biases.!

She!illustrates!many!natural!variations!that!contradict!Darwin.!She!writes:!

Does!not!natural!variation!in!gender!expression!contradict!the!Darwinian!prescription!of!one!template,!or!norm,!per!sex—the!passionate!armed!and!ornamented!males!on!one!side!and!coy,!drab!females!on!the!other?!Does!such!natural!variation!in!gender!expression!point!to!multiple!norms!for!each!sex,!a!multiplicity!of!possible!roles!evolutionarily!negotiated!within!each!species!depending!on!local!circumstance.25!!

Science,!just!as!much!as!theology,!has!contributed!to!a!sexist!understanding!of!

gender!and!the!female!body,!which!is!why!it!is!so!important!to!analyze!data!that!

until!recently!hasn’t!been!questioned!and!to!look!at!new!data!to!help!us!come!to!a!

better!understanding!of!gender.!

Sarah!Coakley!also!notes!how!many!recent!theories!about!biology!and!gender!

have!been!called!into!question.!She!explains,!“As!Darwin’s!theory!of!sexual!selection!

has!come!under!fire!and!has!needed!modification!and!extension,!so!new!

understandings!of!the!relation!between!sex,!gender!and!cooperation!in!humans!

have!emerged!and!are!in!turn!being!‘found’!by!biologists!in!animal!behaviours!which!

up!to!now!have!been!sidelined!or!ignored.”26!Coakley!notes!that!stock!narratives!and!

theories!about!gender!are!no!longer!reflective!of!a!true!biological!reality,!because!

certain!aspects!of!our!nature!have!been!pointedly!or!subconsciously!ignored.!

Coakley!further!explains,!“In!recent!decades!the!investigation!of!the!intersection!of!

sexual!selection!theory!with!kin!selection!and!other!forms!of!‘cooperation’!has,!for!

some!empirical!biologists,!been!a!point!of!increasingly!fruitful!focus;!but!by!and!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!25!Ibid,!92.!26!Sarah!Coakley,!“Ethics,!Cooperation!and!the!Gender!Wars:!!Prospects!for!a!New!Asceticism,”!Sacrifice(Regained:(Evolution,(Cooperation(and(God,!(Gifford!Lecture,!2012),!3.!http://www.abdn.ac.uk/gifford/about/!(Accessed,!June!21,!2013).!

! 21! !!!

large!mathematical!biologists!such!as!Nowak![an!evolutionary!scientist]!have!taken!

very!little!notice!of!the!differential!influences!of!gender!or!of!sexual!roles!in!

discerning!patterns!of!‘cooperation’.!One!has!to!wonder,!therefore,!whether!this!

omission!is!consciously!strategic!or!unconsciously!averse.”27!Ignoring!differences!

and!influences!on!gender!and!sex!roles!is!a!major!problem!and!shows!a!gap!in!many!

understandings!of!sex!and!gender!on!a!biological!level.!

Roughgarden!shows!how!incorrect!understanding!of!biological!nature!can!be!

harmful!when!discussing!gender,!because!of!the!gender!stereotypes!these!theories!

create.!While!Coakley!agrees!with!this!belief,!she!is!also!quick!to!point!out!that!it!is!

good!to!be!critical!and!call!attention!to!problems!in!these!theories,!but!she!argues!

that!dismissing!them!altogether!is!just!as!problematic.!She!argues!that!though!much!

understanding!of!gender!and!sex!selection!is!now!seen!as!more!complex!than!

originally!thought,!that!does!not!mean!that!we!should!reject!sexual!selection!

altogether.!“They!simply!have!to!become!more!nuanced!and!complex.!In!particular,!

‘the!operation!of!sexual!selection!in!females!has!…received!relatively!little!attention’.!

For!instance,!‘in!many!animals!competition!between!females!for!breeding!

opportunities!is!intense,!and!females!show!pronounced!secondary!character.’”28

Coakley does not want to dismiss science but wants to look at science critically in order

to avoid bias and show the true diversity of gender in nature.!

Of!course!science!isn’t!the!only!thing!that!shapes!our!view!of!the!body.!

Theology!greatly!affects!the!Christian!view!of!the!body.!Furthermore,!theology!

draws!its!understanding!of!gender!from!a!long!tradition!going!back!to!the!story!of!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!27!Ibid,!2.!!!28!Ibid,!14.!

! 22! !!!

Genesis.!The!early!Church!fathers!interpreted!gender!differently!based!on!how!they!

understood!both!creation!of!the!body!and!the!resurrection!of!the!body.!Some!of!

these!beliefs!held!a!strict!view!on!the!body!and!gender!distinction,!while!others!had!

a!more!fluid!understanding!of!gender.!

Origen!was!one!Church!Father!that!believed!in!the!notion!of!double!creation.!

He!believed!that!humanity!existed!in!a!primal!spiritual!state!with!pure!spiritual!

bodies!before!the!fall.!Then,!humanity!turned!away!from!God!and!fell,!thus!needing!

the!creation!of!terrestrial!bodies,!as!well!as!the!creation!of!the!physical!world.!In!this!

view,!a!double!creation!happens.!The!first!one!is!a!pure!and!spiritual!creation!in!

God’s!image.!The!second!creation!happened!after!the!fall,!which!created!embodied!

souls!that!fell!away!from!God.29!Origen!writes!in!On(First(Principles:!

For!when!the!prophet!says,!‘Before!I!was!humbled,!I!went!wrong’,!the!saying!is!uttered!in!the!person!of!the!soul!itself,!to!the!effect!that!formerly!in!heaven!it!‘went!wrong’,!before!it!was!‘humbled’!in!the!body.30!!

Here!Origen!describes!the!soul!in!a!state!of!a!spiritual!body!before!the!fall,!but!after!

the!fall!it!is!“humbled”!in!a!physical!body!that!it!did!not!possess!before.!These!

embodied!souls!also!developed!sexual!difference.!This!differentiation!into!the!male!

and!female!genders!represents!human!kind’s!fallen!nature!and!separation!from!

oneness!and!unity!with!God.31!Origen’s!anthropology!of!male!and!female!

allegorically!implies!an!existential!unity!that!needs!to!transpire!to!create!a!unity!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!29!Benjamin!P.!Blosser,!Becoming(Like(the(Angels:(Origen’s(Doctrine(of(the(Soul,!!(Washington,!DC:!The!Catholic!University!of!America!Press,!2012),!158.!30!Origen,!On(First(Principles,!trans.!G.W.!Butterworth!(New!York:!Harper!and!Row!Publishers,!1966),!124.!31!Ibid.!

! 23! !!!

between!men!and!women.32!The!embodied!souls!and!marked!sexual!differences!of!

male!and!female!isn’t!evil!in!Origen’s!view,!nor!in!the!view!of!other!Church!Fathers!

that!supported!second!creation,!but!rather!the!first!creation!(the!spiritual!one)!is!

more!profoundly!good,!because!it’s!pure!and!united!with!God.!The!second!creation!

is!less!good,!because!it!is!marked!by!the!duality!between!the!soul!and!body,!and!

male!and!female.!This!indicates!the!sinful!division!and!the!propensity!to!sin,!because!

of!humanity’s!fallen!nature.33!

Sarah!Coakley!describes!how!Gregory!of!Nyssa!also!believed!in!a!double!

creation,!one!that!was!purely!spiritual!and!another!that!was!embodied!as!both!male!

and!female.!Nyssa,!she!claims,!believed!that!before!the!fall,!humans!were!nonnsexual!

spiritual!beings.!He!believed!that!only!in!this!way!could!humans!truly!be!in!the!

image!of!God.34!In!this!way,!Gregory!of!Nyssa!regards!a!spiritual!body!that!is!gender!

fluid!or!androgynous!as!a!higher!form!than!a!physical,!genderndistinct!body.!Coakley!

writes:!

On!this!view,!then,!the!female!creature!is!not!regarded!as!intrinsically!more!physical!or!bodily!than!the!male;!but!both!origins!and!goal!of!perfect!creatureliness!lie!in!a!sort!of!state,!where!sexual!differentiation!is!irrelevant.35!!

If!the!more!perfect!state,!one!that!is!more!reflective!of!the!image!of!God,!is!one!were!

gender!is!irrelevant,!then!a!gendernfluid!view!of!gender!may!allow!us!to!achieve!a!

sense!of!that!spiritual!body!that!we!will!possess!again!when!the!body!is!resurrected.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!32!John!Anthony!McGuckin,!ed.!The(Westminster(Handbook(to(Origen,!(Louisville,!KY:!Westminster!John!Knox!Press,!2004),!202.!33!Andrew!Louth,!“The!Body!in!Western!Christianity,”!In!Religion(and(the(Body!edited!by!Sarah!Coakley!(NY:!Cambridge!University!Press,!1997),!115.!34!Coakley,!Power(and(Submissions,!63!35!Ibid.!

! 24! !!!

This!view!of!gender!fluidity!would!not!deny!the!physical!body!we!have!now,!but!

would!push!for!a!worldview!that!makes!gender!irrelevant,!which!could!potentially!

eliminate!many!of!the!problems!with!gender!that!come!from!our!patriarchal!culture.!

Augustine!directly!began!to!combat!the!dualism!of!the!body!and!spirit,!as!

well!as!the!idea!that!the!distinctions!between!male!and!female!were!not!a!part!of!

God’s!original!design,!so!he!naturally!comes!into!conflict!with!the!concept!of!second!

creation.!Augustine!dismissed!the!idea!that!Eve!was!created!as!a!companion!to!

Adam.!Augustine!believed!that!if!God!meant!to!create!a!companion!for!Adam,!God!

would!have!created!a!friend,!who!in!Augustine’s!view!would!have!to!be!a!man,!and!

not!a!woman.!He!surmised!that!God!never!intended!for!Adam!and!Eve!to!be!a!

virginal!couple!with!no!gender!distinction,!because!of!the!clearly!defined!and!

different!bodies!and!gender!roles!of!Adam!and!Eve!in!Genesis!before!the!fall.!He!

instead!postulated!that!Eve!was!created!to!be!Adam’s!wife!and!had!humanity!not!

fallen!from!grace!that!they!would!have!conceived!and!had!children!in!Paradise,!but!

they!would!not!have!ever!felt!lustfully!toward!each!other.36!

Augustine!argues!that!the!sexes!are!intrinsic!from!the!very!beginning!and!

that!sexual!relations!are!part!of!God’s!purpose!for!creation.!Augustine!views!women!

as!not!being!in!the!full!image!of!God.!Rather,!he!sees!women!as!people!who!need!to!

be!subdued!by!men!as!being!the!natural!order!of!things.!In!The(Confessions(he!

writes:!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!36!Andrew!Louth,!“The!Body!in!Western!Christianity,”!In!Religion(and(the(Body,!118.!

! 25! !!!

And!just!as!within!the!human!soul!one!faculty!deliberates!and!takes!decisions,!while!the!other!must!be!submissive!and!obedient,!so!too!was!woman!made!physically!subordinate!to!man.37!!

Augustine,!Coakley!argues,!does!not!see!women!as!not!being!the!rightful!image!of!

God,!but!rather!men!possess!the!full!image!of!God.!Coakley!explains:!

Augustine!sees!the!male,!alone,!as!the!proper!and!full!image!of!God.!He!contains!both!‘male’!spirit!and!‘female’!bodiliness!within!himself,!whereas!the!woman!is!intrinsically!carnal,!subordinate!to!the!male,!and!in!the!image!of!God!only!insofar!as!she!conjoins!herself!with!her!husband.!The!result,!as!Ruether!avers,!is!that!‘woman!is!not!really!seen!as!a!selfnsufficient,!whole!person!with!equal!honor,!as!the!image!of!God!in!her!own!right,!but!is!seen,!ethically,!as!dangerous!to!the!male.’38!!

Augustine’s!view!is!one!that!places!women!in!a!gender!role!that!is!submissive!on!the!

basis!of!her!physical!body;!the!woman!is!carnal,!physical,!bodily,!but!contains!none!

of!the!“spirit”!represented!by!men.!In!Augustine’s!view,!this!way!women!must!be!

controlled!by!men,!because!on!their!own!they!cannot!be!part!of!the!image!of!God.!

However,!this!may!have!little!to!do!with!what!gender!is.!Despite!gender!being!

simply!boiled!down!to!one’s!physical!sex,!deviations!have!shown!that!that!is!not!

always!the!case.39!Margaret!Farley!writes:!

Gender!may!be!constructed!out!of!a!myriad!of!influences,!but!it!has!to!relate!somehow!to!biological!difference.!And!yet!even!here!our!surety!becomes!unstable.!We!learned,!mainly!from!people’s!experience!but!also!from!scientific!exploration,!that!these!clearly!defined!male!or!female!configurations!are!not!universal!among!humans.40!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!37!Augustine,!The(Confessions,!trans.!Maria!Boulding,!ed.!John!E.!Rotelle!(New!York:!New!City!Press,!1997),!Book!XII!§!47,!304.!38!Ibid,!63.!39!Margaret!A.!Farley,!Just(Love:(A(Framework(for(Christian(Sexual(Ethics,!(New!York:!The!Continuum!International!Publishing!Group,!2010),!149.!40!Ibid.!

! 26! !!!

As!Farley!explains,!science!is!showing!us!that!humans!are!not!so!simple.!Human!

bodies!may!not!be!entirely!male!or!female,!and!thus!are!unable!to!be!easily!

categorized!into!a!binary!sexual!division.!There!are!people!“born!with!alternative!

chromosomal!sexual!constitutions,”!those!with!“a!mixture!of!male!and!female!

reproductive!organs,”!and!those!with!“secondary!sex!characteristics!that!appear!to!

be!out!of!harmony!with!their!chromosomal!sexual!identity.”41!These!individuals!that!

cannot!be!simply!classified!as!male!or!female!are!called!intersexuals,!or!

hermaphrodites,!though!the!terms!have!largely!fallen!out!of!favor.!

While!these!individuals!do!not!make!up!the!entirety!of!the!human!

community,!they!show!that!even!something!that!seems!as!concrete!as!biological!sex!

isn’t!always!very!clear.!Furthermore,!how!these!mixedn!or!ambiguousnsexed!

individuals!were!treated!also!says!something!about!gender.!These!individuals!were!

forced!into!a!binary!sex!at!an!early!age.!Nothing!of!their!chromosomal!or!hormonal!

characteristics!was!considered,!but!rather!the!physical!appearance!of!their!sex!

organs!decided!their!gender.!While!a!person’s!physical!sex!can!be!male,!female,!or!

ambiguous,!trying!to!assign!a!person!a!specific!gender!based!on!the!appearance!of!

the!genitals!is!problematic,!because!although!the!physical!body!does!say!something!

about!our!gender,!that!characteristic!is!not!the!only!aspect!that!defines!it.!

As!stated!earlier,!from!the!very!beginning,!Christianity!has!asserted!the!

importance!of!physical!matter!and!especially!of!the!physical!body!and!the!spirit!

embodied!within!it.!Even!if!there!was!debate!over!ideas!about!second!creation!or!

gender!distinctions,!the!goodness!of!the!physical!body!is!always!affirmed.!Origen’s!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!41!Ibid.!

! 27! !!!

and!Gregory’s!beliefs!eventually!became!less!prevalent!than!Augustine’s!theories!on!

creation,!which!are!now!the!mainstream!beliefs!within!traditional!Christianity,!

especially!when!it!comes!to!the!distinction!of!gender.!John!Paul!II!writes:!

In!its!masculinity!and!femininity,!the!body!is!called,!‘from!the!beginning’!to!become!the!manifestation!of!the!spirit.42!!

Despite!the!fall!of!humankind,!Christianity!continues!to!assert!the!importance!and!

goodness!of!the!body!and!the!distinction!between!the!male!and!female!gender.!!

The!body!will!always!be!important!when!discussing!gender.!With!that!in!

mind,!when!examining!gender!identity,!gender!performance,!and!gender!roles!we!

cannot!abandon!or!forget!about!the!body.!As!tempting!as!it!is!to!deny!our!physical!

bodies!or!biological!nature,!it!is!just!not!possible!because!it!is!through!the!body!that!

we!experience!the!world!and!interact!with!other!people.! !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!42!John!Paul!II,!Theology(of(the(Body:(Human(Love(in(the(Divine(Plan,((Pauline!Books!and!Media:!Boston,!1997),(163.!

! 28! !!!

CHAPTER!2!

GENDER!IDENTITY!AND!GENDER!PERFORMANCE!!!!!

It!is!clear!that!biological!sex!or!the!physical!body!is!extremely!important!when!

discussing!the!issue!of!gender.!Gender!identity!is!no!less!important!to!consider!in!

the!discussion,!but!even!with!gender!identity!we!must!constantly!keep!the!body!at!

the!forefront!of!our!minds.!Gender!identity!is,!as!mentioned!before,!how!a!person!

identifies!himn!or!herself!as!either!male!or!female!(or!even!something!in!between).!

Physical!sex!is!clearly!shown!and!identified!through!the!body.!A!male!has!masculine!

physical!traits!and!male!sex!organs!and!a!female!has!feminine!physical!traits!and!

female!sex!organs.!

However,!as!we!have!already!discussed,!even!identifying!gender!through!the!

physical!body!becomes!complicated!in!the!case!of!intersex!individuals!or!individuals!

with!secondary!sex!characteristics.!How!then!would!these!individuals!identify!

themselves?!A!person’s!gender!is!not!defined!just!by!biological!sex,!but!also!by!

gender!identity.!Often!gender!identity!and!a!person’s!physical!body!are!compatible,!

but!in!some!cases,!such!as!in!the!case!of!transgender!individuals,!a!person’s!

biological!sex!and!gender!identity!do!not!always!match.!That!does!not!mean!that!

biology!plays!no!part!in!gender!identity.!Some!recent!studies!are!beginning!to!show!

!

! 29! !!!

that!gender!is!in!the!brain,!by!looking!at!psychobiology!and!how!hormones!affect!the!

brain.!

Though!studies!on!gender!identity!are!very!new,!recent!research!shows!that!

there!is!often!a!psychobiological!component!where!a!person’s!brain!chemistry!is!

female!or!male.43!Melissa!Hines,!a!doctor!of!psychology,!argues!that!a!person’s!

predisposition!to!femininity!or!masculinity!is!largely!due!to!hormonal!influences.!

She!writes,!“These!hormonal!influences!do!not!mean!that!the!social!environment!is!

unimportant!for!gender!development.!However,!infants!enter!the!world!with!some!

predispositions!to!‘masculinity’!and!‘femininity,’!and!these!predispositions!appear!to!

result!largely!from!hormones!to!which!they!were!exposed!before!birth.”44!Hines!

describes!how,!before!birth,!a!child’s!exposure!to!certain!hormones!begins!to!

determine!his!or!her!gender!identity.!If!this!is!true,!then!scientifically!speaking,!

there!is!more!of!a!case!for!transgender!and!intersex!persons—if,!for!example,!their!

brain!chemistry!could!be!shown!to!be!female,!but!their!biological!sex!is!male.45!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!43!Simon!BaronnCohen,!“Does!Biology!play!any!role!in!sex!difference!in!the!mind?”!in(The(Future(of(Gender!edited!by!Jude!Browne!(Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,!2007),!92.!I!should!add!here!that!though!BaronnCohen!theories!are!interesting!some!feminist!scholars!are!critical!of!these!studies!because!it!often!claims!that!certain!traits!are!inherently!male!or!female.!It!would!be!potentially!problematic!if!that!science!is!used!to!justify!excluding!men!and!women!from!certain!fields!(like!science)!or!to!claim!that!certain!behavioral!features!are!more!male!or!female!like!claiming!that!men!aren’t!as!empathic!as!women.!!44!Melissa!Hines,!“Androgen,!Estrogen,!and!Gender:!Contributions!of!the!Early!Hormone!Environment!to!GendernRelated!Behavior,”!in!The(Psychology(of(Gender,!2nd!edition,!edited!by!Alice!H.!Eagly,!Anne!E.!Beall,!and!Robert!J.!Sternberg!(New!York:!The!Guilford,!2004),!10.!45!Terrell!Carver,!“!‘Trans’!Trouble:!Transnsexuality!and!the!End!of!Gender”!in!The(Future(of(Gender!edited!by!Jude!Browne!(Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,!2007),126.!In!this!article!Carver!relies!heavily!on!the!queer!theories!of!FaustonSterling!to!describe!how!sex!as!a!binary!does!not!exist!but!rather!is!much!broader.!He!writes,!“FaustonSterling!conclusion!is!that!sex!does!not!exist,!human!physical!and!

!

! 30! !!!

However,!Hines!is!quick!to!point!out!that!attempts!to!prove!genetic!or!hormonal!

abnormalities!in!transgender!adults!have!been!unsuccessful.!She!is!still!confident!

that!exposure!to!hormones!during!prenatal!development!could!hold!the!answer!to!

how!children!begin!to!develop!sex!difference.46!She!explains,!“High!levels!of!

androgen!prenatally!would!lead!to!preferences!for!objects!and!activities!modeled!by!

males!or!labeled!as!being!for!males,!regardless!of!what!these!were,!whereas!low!

levels!would!have!the!opposite!effect.”47!Here!Hines!argues!that!hormones!may!

influence!people!to!prefer!certain!things!that!society!considers!masculine!or!

feminine,!based!on!what!hormones!they!were!exposed!to.!

This!could!then!explain!why!transgender!individuals!are!more!drawn!to!

things!that!they!feel!reflect!their!gender.!Furthermore,!there!is!no!difference!in!

personal!identity,!meaning!that!transgender!persons!do!not!change!their!personality!

based!on!their!gender!identity.!Farley!writes:!

Even!when!transsexuals!want!to!change!bodily!identity,!surgically!and!otherwise,!they!do!so!in!a!way!that!their!deepest!personal!identity!does!not!change;!they!understand!themselves,!after!all,!as!seeking!to!become!more!wholly!themselves.48!!

So!despite!the!fact!that!their!gender!identity!does!not!match!their!physical!sex,!who!

they!are!as!people!remains!the!same.!Seeking!a!different!gender!from!their!

biological!sex!is!an!attempt!to!become!more!truly!themselves.!However,!these!are!

new!studies!and!one!of!the!most!difficult!things!to!understand!is!how!much!of!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!psychological!variability!does,!and!that!the!two!interact!in!important!and!demonstrable!ways.”!46!Hines,!“Androgen,!Estrogen,!and!Gender:!Contributions!of!the!Early!Hormone!Environment!to!GendernRelated!Behavior,”!in!The(Psychology(of(Gender,!15n16.!47!Ibid,!30n31.!48!Farley,!Just(Love:(A(Framework(for(Christian(Sexual(Ethics,!25.!

!

! 31! !!!

“feminine”!and!“masculine”!behaviors!are!determined!by!hormones!or!by!social!

environment.!Despite!how!hormones!may!affect!the!brain,!how!people!recognize!

gender!in!daily!life!is!by!how!gender!is!performed.!

This!has!led!feminist!theorist!Judith!Butler!to!focus!on!gender!performance,!

in!order!to!start!thinking!of!gender!as!something!that!we!do,!rather!than!something!

that!we!simply!are.!These!concepts!of!gender!also!become!problematic!when!we!

turn!the!focus!to!a!Christian!understanding!of!gender,!which!often!asserts!that!there!

are!certain!traits!or!attributes!that!are!inherently!and!naturally!masculine!or!

feminine.!

Judith!Butler!believes!that!gender!isn’t!natural,!but!rather!something!that!is!

repetitively!taught!and!performed.!

The!univocity!of!sex,!the!internal!coherence!of!gender,!and!the!binary!framework!for!both!sex!and!gender!are!considered!throughout!as!regulatory!fictions!that!consolidate!and!naturalize!the!convergent!power!regimes!of!masculine!and!heterosexist!oppression.49!!

To!Butler,!having!a!gender!is!not!simply!something!you!possess.!It!does!not,!as!I!

discussed!earlier,!have!necessarily!anything!to!do!with!a!person’s!physical!sex!or!

having!a!particular!type!of!brain!chemistry,!or!gender!identity.!For!Butler,!gender!is!

something!that!you!do!and!perform.!She!writes:!

If!gender!is!a!kind!of!a!doing,!an!incessant!activity!performed,!in!part,!without!one’s!knowing!and!without!one’s!willing,!it!is!not!for!that!reason!automatic!or!mechanical.!On!the!contrary,!it!is!a!practice!of!improvisation!within!a!scene!of!constraint.!Moreover,!one!does!not!‘do’!gender!alone.!One!is!always!‘doing’!with!or!for!another,!even!if!the!other!is!only!imaginary.!What!I!call!my!‘own’!gender!appears!perhaps!at!times!as!something!that!I!author!or,!indeed,!own.!But!the!terms!that!make!up!one’s!own!gender!are,!from!the!start,!outside!oneself,!beyond!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!49!Judith!Butler,!Gender!Trouble:!Feminism!and!the!Subversion!of!Idenity,!(New!York:!Routledge!Classics,!1990),!46.!!

!

! 32! !!!

oneself!in!a!sociality!that!has!no!single!author!(and!that!radically!contests!the!notion!of!authorship!itself).50!!

Butler!believes!that!most,!if!not!all,!of!what!we!know!about!gender,!or!how!we!act!

out!our!genders,!is!taught!to!us!to!keep!any!understanding!of!gender!specifically!in!a!

reproductive!and!heterosexual!framework.!In!this!way,!Butler!believes!that!all!

understanding!of!gender!and!gender!roles!can!be!linked!back!to!conforming!to!

heterosexual!reproduction.!If!this!is!the!case,!then!Butler!is!right!in!saying!that!

gender!cannot!be!performed!alone.!There!is!no!single!author!of!gender,!but!rather!

multiple!agents!interacting!with!each!other!to!create!gender.!When!Butler!is!talking!

about!gender!overall,!she!is!referring!to!how!we!play!out!or!perform!gender,!based!

on!the!three!parts!of!gender!I!outlined!in!the!introduction.!Butler!describes!how!

gender!is!performed!as!a!binary,!based!on!the!physical(male(and(female(sex,!and!

ignoring!any!other!variant!with!intersex!or!transgender!individuals.!She!writes:!

Further,!even!if!the!sexes!appear!to!be!unproblematically!binary!in!their!morphology!and!constitution!(which!will!become!a!question),!there!is!no!reason!to!assume!that!genders!ought!to!remain!as!two.!The!presumption!of!a!binary!gender!system!implicitly!retains!the!belief!in!a!mimetic!relation!of!gender!to!sex!whereby!gender!mirrors!sex!or!is!otherwise!restricted!by!it.51!!

Butler!illustrates!how!the!gender!binary!doesn’t!fit!the!experiences!of!men!and!

women!who!may!identify!as!male!or!female,!though!their!gender!identity!doesn’t!

necessarily!fit!their!body.!Furthermore,!she!argues!there!is!no!reason!for!gender!to!

simply!remain!in!binary!system.!!

However,!despite!sex!and!gender!not!always!simply!corresponding,!the!body!

does!not!always!escape!“the!mark”!of!gender!as!Butler!calls!it.!She!writes:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!50!Judith!Butler,!Undoing!Gender,!(New!York:!Routledge!Classics,!2004),!1.!51!Butler,!Gender(Trouble,!9.!

!

! 33! !!!

Bodies!cannot!be!said!to!have!a!signifiable!existence!prior!to!the!mark!of!their!gender;!the!question!then!emerges:!To!what!extent!does!the!body!come!into!being!through!the!mark(s)!of!gender?52!!

The!body!is!marked!then!by!the!gender!identity!and!then!roles!discussed!earlier!

through!the!use!of!both!language!and!cultural!expectations.!Butler!argues!that!

persons!become!intelligible!by!conforming!to!recognizable!standards!of!gender.53!

Butler!explains:!!

“Intelligible”!genders!are!those!which!in!some!sense!institute!and!maintain!relations!of!coherence!and!continuity!among!sex,!gender,!sexual!practice,!and!desire.!In!other!words,!the!spectres!of!discontinuity!and!incoherence,!themselves!thinkable!only!in!relation!to!existing!norms!and!continuity!and!coherence,!are!constantly!prohibited!and!produced!by!the!very!laws!that!seek!to!establish!causal!or!expressive!lines!of!connection!among!biological!sex,!culturally!constituted!genders,!and!the!expression!or!effect!of!both!in!the!manifestation!of!sexual!desire!through!sexual!practice.54!!

Butler!explains!that!only!certain!gender!identities!or!sexual!desires!are!acceptable!in!

cultural!understandings.!She!further!argues!that:!

The!heterosexualization!of!desire!requires!and!institutes!the!production!of!discrete!and!asymmetrical!oppositions!between!‘feminine’!and!‘masculine’!where!these!are!understood!as!expressive!attributes!of!‘male’!and!‘female.’55!!

Butler!shows!how!any!person!that!does!not!fit!into!these!understood!gender!

identities!is!seen!as!a!failure!or!impossibility!according!to!cultural!intelligibility.!She!

argues!that!gender!identity!may,!like!sex!and!sexual!desire,!be!regulated!by!

compulsory!heterosexuality.!This!is!not!to!say!that!gender!identity!or!sexuality!is!

something!solely!created!by!culture!and!society!shaping!people,!but!rather!that!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!52!Ibid,!12.!53!Ibid,!22.!54!Ibid,!23.!55!Ibid,!24.!

!

! 34! !!!

gender!performances!of!masculine!and!feminine!traits!which!teach!heterosexuality!

and!enforce!a!gender!binary!naturally!affect!and!shape!individuals!that!may!not!

have!necessarily!fit!neatly!into!this!same!system.!

Butler!believes!that!gender!does!have!some!basis!in!biology!and!psychology.!

However,!she!believes!much!of!what!is!understood!as!masculine!or!feminine;!in!

other!words,!the!strict!heterosexual!binary!system!is!something!that!is!taught!and!

performed.!

The!view!that!gender!is!performative!sought!to!show!that!what!we!take!to!be!an!internal!essence!of!gender!is!manufactured!through!a!sustained!set!of!acts,!posited!through!the!gendered!stylization!of!the!body.!In!this!way,!it!showed!that!what!we!take!to!be!‘internal’!feature!of!ourselves!is!one!that!we!anticipate!and!produce!through!certain!bodily!acts,!at!an!extreme,!an!hallucinatory!effect!of!naturalized!gestures.56!!

Butler!argues!that!we!associate!biological!sex!with!gender.!However,!despite!the!fact!

that!gender!does!not!necessarily!match!the!physical!sex!of!a!person,!certain!gender!

traits!are!taught!to!them!by!society!through!various!actions,!because!of!that!

biological!sex.!

This!promotes!a!certain!performance!when!it!comes!to!gender!roles!and!

gender!identity.!Femininity!should!be!performed!one!way!and!masculinity!another!

way.!Butler!then!argues!that!these!culturally!stipulated!performances!become!

internalized!and!people!begin!to!see!them!as!something!inherent!about!themselves,!

even!if!that!wouldn’t!necessarily!be!the!case!should!they!be!removed!from!that!need!

to!perform.!In!other!words,!what!is!considered!a!masculine!or!feminine!trait!

changes!from!culture!to!culture!and!thus!is!performative.!However,!it!is!interesting!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!56Ibid,!xv.!

!

! 35! !!!

that!Butler!does!concede!to!their!being!some!type!of!gender,!even!though!she!is!

unwilling!to!put!boundaries!on!it!or!define!it!in!any!way.!Instead!she!opts!for!gender!

fluidity!and!further!does!not!seem!to!believe!that!the!cultural!norms!placed!on!

gender!will!be!so!easily!gotten!rid!of!because!of!their!pervasiveness!through!history.!

Because!of!the!pervasiveness!of!these!heterosexist!and!patriarchal!gender!roles,!

Butler!argues!that!these!gender!roles!that!we!are!taught!and!then!perform!cannot!be!

so!easily!shaken.!Instead!what!she!attempts!to!do!is!subvert!and!confuse!our!

established!notions!of!gender.!Butler!explains:!

This!text!continues,!then,!as!an!effort!to!think!through!the!possibility!of!subverting!and!displacing!those!naturalized!and!reified!notions!of!gender!that!support!masculine!hegemony!and!heterosexist!power,!to!make!gender!trouble,!not!through!strategies!that!figure!a!utopian!beyond,!but!through!mobilization,!subversive!confusion,!and!proliferation!of!precisely!those!constitutive!categories!that!seek!to!keep!gender!in!its!place!by!posturing!as!the!foundational!illusions!of!identity.57!!

Butler!doesn’t!believe!that!the!gender!roles!we!have!placed!upon!men!and!women!

will!be!dissolved.!She!thinks!it!is!impossible!to!create!any!type!of!egalitarian!society,!

so!instead!she!attempts!to!lessen!the!effects!that!gender!roles!have!on!us!by!

confusing!and!subverting!them,!by!causing,!as!she!says,!“gender!trouble”!in!a!

heteronormative!patriarchal!society.!

Traditional!Christian!understandings!of!gender,!however,!take!a!much!

different!approach!than!Butler.!Gender!is!not!conceived!as!being!fluid,!nor!

something!that!is!performed,!but!rather!gender!has!a!deepnrooted!connection!to!God!

and!relies!much!more!heavily!on!the!connection!between!biological!sex!and!gender!

identity!and!does!separate!the!two.!Gender,!from!a!Christian!perspective,!cannot!be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!57!Ibid,!44.!

!

! 36! !!!

separate!from!the!physical!body.!Much!of!Christianity,!because!of!the!assertion!of!

the!importance!and!goodness!of!the!physical!body,!holds!true!to!the!belief!that!

physical!sex!and!gender!identity!are!one!in!the!same.!To!separate!the!two!could!

mean!putting!too!much!emphasis!on!the!spirit!and!not!focusing!enough!on!the!

goodness!of!the!body.!Furthermore,!many!traditional!Christians!view!the!separation!

between!physical!gender!and!gender!identity!as!an!attack!on!what!it!means!to!be!

human.!After!the!Fourth!World!Conference!on!Women!in!Beijing,!the!Vatican!

asserted!its!views!on!gender!and!even!seemed!to!disapprove!of!the!term!gender!

because!of!how!gender!is!being!used!to!create!new!gender!theories!that!contradict!

the!Church’s!teachings.!The!Vatican!further!explained!that!the!original!

understanding!of!gender!should!be!applied!and!defined!gender!as!a!person’s!

biological!sexual!identity—male!and!female.58!Judith!Butler’s!theories!come!into!

conflict!with!the!Church’s!because!of!the!assertion!that!a!person!can!choose!their!

gender!and!that!gender!is!made!and!not!simply!about!biological!sexual!identity.!In!

2012,!the!former!Pope!Benedict!XVI!addressed!this!issue!of!gender!in!his!Christmas!

Homily.!He!wrote:!

While!up!to!now!we!regarded!a!false!understanding!of!the!nature!of!human!freedom!as!one!cause!of!the!crisis!of!the!family,!it!is!now!becoming!clear!that!the!very!notion!of!being!–!of!what!being!human!really!means!–!is!being!called!into!question.!He![Gilles!Bernheim]!quotes!the!famous!saying!of!Simone!de!Beauvoir:!“one!is!not!born!a!woman,!one!becomes!so”!(on(ne(naît(pas(femme,(on(le(devient).!These!words!lay!the!foundation!for!what!is!put!forward!today!under!the!term!“gender”!as!a!new!philosophy!of!sexuality.!According!to!this!philosophy,!sex!is!no!longer!a!given!element!of!nature,!that!man!has!to!accept!and!personally!make!sense!of:!it!is!a!social!role!that!we!choose!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!58!Rebeka!Jadranka!Anić,!“Gender!Politics!and!the!Catholic!Church,”!in!Gender(in(Theology,(Spirituality(and(Practice,!ed.!by!Lisa!Sowle!Cahill,!Diego!Irarrazaval,!and!Elaine!M.!Wainwright!International!Journal!of!Theology!(2012/4),!28n29.!

!

! 37! !!!

for!ourselves,!while!in!the!past!it!was!chosen!for!us!by!society.!The!profound!falsehood!of!this!theory!and!of!the!anthropological!revolution!contained!within!it!is!obvious.!People!dispute!the!idea!that!they!have!a!nature,!given!by!their!bodily!identity,!that!serves!as!a!defining!element!of!the!human!being.!They!deny!their!nature!and!decide!that!it!is!not!something!previously!given!to!them,!but!that!they!make!it!for!themselves.59!!

Here!Pope!Benedict!XVI!details!how!separating!gender!from!biological!sex!is!to!deny!

our!very!humanity!and!that!viewing!gender!as!made!or!performed!is!denying!

nature.!He!argues!that!this!attitude!is!a!way!of!not!dealing!with!our!real!physical!

reality.!Instead!of!trying!to!make!sense!of!our!gender!distinction!and!dealing!with!

them,!he!argues!that!these!new!gender!theories!allow!us!to!deny!an!element!that!

defines!humanity,!allowing!human!beings!to!play!God!by!defining!and!creating!

themselves,!even!if!it!goes!against!their!own!natural!bodies.!

Christianity!has!largely!focused!on!the!goodness!of!the!physical!body!and!the!

importance!of!God!creating!man!and!woman!as!two!separate!and!distinct!genders!

created!in!the!image!and!likeness!of!God.!The!Imago(Dei!is!probably!the!most!

important!concept!when!it!comes!to!physical!sex!and!gender!as!discussed!by!

Christianity.!Humanity!is!crowned!with!the!most!important!gift!God!could!give!us,!

that!of!God’s!image!and!likeness.!Humanity!deformed!that!gift!by!sinning,!but!Christ,!

who!took!the!bodily!form!of!a!human!being,!redeemed!all!of!humanity.60!But!what!

does!it!really!mean!to!be!in!God’s!image!and!how!does!that!affect!gender?!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!59!Benedict!XVI,!Address(of(His(Holiness(Benedict(XVI(on(the(Occasion(of(Christmas(Greetings(to(the(Roman(Curia,((Libreria!Editrice!Vaticana,!given!Friday,!21!December!2012)!http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/december/documents/hf_bennxvi_spe_20121221_augurincuria_en.html,!(Accessed!April!11,!2013)!60!John!Paul!II,!Theology(of(the(Body:(Human(Love(in(the(Divine(Plan,(521.!

!

! 38! !!!

Pope!Benedict!XVI!argues!that!dismissing!the!body!and!saying!that!gender!is!

something!that!can!be!created!for!oneself!takes!away!a!person’s!very!human!dignity.!

He!writes:!

When!the!freedom!to!be!creative!becomes!the!freedom!to!create!oneself,!then!necessarily!the!Maker!himself!is!denied!and!ultimately!man!too!is!stripped!of!his!dignity!as!a!creature!of!God,!as!the!image!of!God!at!the!core!of!his!being.!The!defence!(sic)!of!the!family!is!about!man!himself.!And!it!becomes!clear!that!when!God!is!denied,!human!dignity!also!disappears.61!!

Here,!Benedict!XVI!explains!that!when!humans!can!create!gender!for!themselves,!as!

Judith!Butler!does,!their!basic!human!dignity!can!be!taken!away.!Attempting!to!make!

women!and!men!the!same!would!erase!the!struggles!and!experiences!of!women.!

Pope!Benedict!XVI!could!be!correct!in!his!fear!that!new!gender!theories!making!men!

and!women!the!same!could!have!the!opposite!effect!of!gaining!more!equality!for!

women,!but!rather!further!take!away!their!human!dignity.!

The!creation!story!in!Genesis!points!out,!for!Christians,!certain!

anthropological!truths!about!humanity:!(1)!humanity!is!the!high!point!of!creation,!

(2)!humanity!is!created!in!God’s!image,!and!(3)!that!image!is!reflected!in!the!

creation!of!humans!as!male!and!female.!In!Genesis,!God!specifically!creates!Eve!as!a!

helper!to!Adam,!as!a!companion,!to!be!with!him!united!as!one!person!and!no!longer!

in!solitude.!As!John!Paul!II!describes,!it!is!then!a!question!of!what!Eve!is!meant!to!

help!Adam!with.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!61!Benedict!XVI,!Address(of(His(Holiness(Benedict(XVI(on(the(Occasion(of(Christmas(Greetings(to(the(Roman(Curia,!(Libreria!Editrice!Vaticana,!given!Friday,!21!December!2012)!http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/december/documents/hf_bennxvi_spe_20121221_augurincuria_en.html,!(Accessed!April!11,!2013)!

!

! 39! !!!

Is!it!only!a!question!here!of!a!‘helper’!in!activity,!in!‘subduing!the!earth’!(cf.!Gn!1:28)?!Certainly!it!is!a!matter!of!a!life’s!companion,!with!whom,!as!a!wife,!the!man!can!unite!himself,!becoming!with!her!‘one!flesh’!and!for!this!reason!leaving!‘his!father!and!his!mother’!(cf.!Gn!2:24).!(TotB!449n450)62!!

Here!John!Paul!II!describes!how!men!and!women!are!meant!to!work!together,!

united!as!companions.!Men!and!women!are!distinctly!different!and!complementary!

to!each!other.!It!is!important!to!note!that,!though!both!John!Paul!II!and!Benedict!XVI!

stress!marriage!as!a!reason!for!the!complementarity!of!men!and!women,!they!do!not!

mean!to!suggest!that!marriage!is!the!only!way!that!the!distinction!and!

complementarity!between!men!and!women!is!shown.!

Woman!was!created!as!a!helper.!Men!and!women!are!supposed!to!act!as!

helpers!and!companions!to!each!other.!Each!reflects!and!shares!in!God’s!image!in!a!

different!way!and!contributes!in!a!different!way.!Men!and!women!are!supposed!to!

live!in!communion!with!one!another,!reflecting!the!unity!of!God!as!seen!in!the!

trinity.63!If!God!created!humanity!purposefully!as!two!separate!and!distinct!beings,!

both!physically!and!spiritually!in!order!to!complement!each!other!and!be!in!

communion!with!each!other,!then!it!stands!to!reason!that!these!binary!genders!must!

hold!firm!to!traditionalist!Christians.!!

John!Paul!II!describes!what!is!masculine!and!what!is!feminine!as!key!for!

understanding!our!humanity,!and!that!those!feminine!and!masculine!traits!

understandably!tie!in!with!the!Genesis!story!where!man!and!woman!are!created!in!

the!image!and!likeness!of!God.!He!further!explains:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!62!John!Paul!II,!Mulieris(Dignitatem,!(Libreria!Editrice!Vaticana:!August!15,!1988),!§!6.!http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jpnii_apl_15081988_mulierisndignitatem_en.html!(Accessed!March!30,!2013).!!63!Ibid,!§!7.!

!

! 40! !!!

The!personal!resources!of!femininity!are!certainly!no!less!than!the!resources!of!masculinity:!they!are!merely!different.!Hence!a!woman,!as!well!as!a!man,!must!understand!her!"fulfillment"!as!a!person,!her!dignity!and!vocation,!on!the!basis!of!these!resources,!according!to!the!richness!of!the!femininity!which!she!received!on!the!day!of!creation!and!which!she!inherits!as!an!expression!of!the!‘image!and!likeness!of!God’!that!is!specifically!hers.64!!

In!this!understanding,!the!traditional!Christian!teaching!expresses!how!gender!is!

intimately!connected!to!the!Imago(Dei,!or!the!image!and!likeness!of!God.!Both!male!

and!female!reflect!of!God!something!unique!and!specific!to!each!gender,!because!

humans!are!in!the!image!of!God.!!

God!is!neither!masculine!nor!feminine,!but!it!is!believed!that!God!has!both!

masculine!and!feminine!traits.!These!traits!are!then!reflected!in!the!male!and!female!

genders.!John!Paul!II!further!explains:!

By!reflecting!on!the!whole!account!found!in!Gen(2:18n25,!and!by!interpreting!it!in!light!of!the!truth!about!the!image!and!likeness!of!God!(cf.!Gen(1:26n27),!we!can!understand(even!more(fully(what(constitutes(the(personal(character(of!the!human!being,!thanks!to!which!both!man!and!woman!are!like!God.!For!every!individual!is!made!in!the!image!of!God,!insofar!as!he!or!she!is!a!rational!and!free!creature!capable!of!knowing!God!and!loving!him.65!!

In!this!account,!both!man!and!woman!are!created!like!God,!but!different!from!each!

other,!though!they!are!still!both!equal,!because!they!are!in!God’s!image.!John!Paul!II!

explains:!

Moreover,!we!read!that!man!cannot!exist!‘alone’!(cf.!Gen(2:18);!he!can!exist!only!as!a!"unity!of!the!two",!and!therefore!in(relation(to(another(human(person.(It!is!a!question!here!of!a!mutual!relationship:!man!to!woman!and!woman!to!man.66!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!64!John!Paul!II,!Mulieris(Dignitatem!§!10.!65!Ibid,!§!7.!66!Ibid.!

!

! 41! !!!

They!are!different!from!each!other!in!order!to!complement!each!other!and!need!to!

be!together.!Being!in!relation!to!each!other!is!a!necessity!for!beings!created!in!the!

image!and!likeness!of!God.!

Traditional!Christian!thinking!on!gender!is!heavily!connected!between!both!

the!body!and!spirit.!Though!it!can!be!argued!that!Butler!still!sees!the!body!as!

important,!traditional!Christian!thought!views!the!body!and!gender!as!linked,!

because!God!created!men!and!women!with!those!particular!bodies.!Marguerite!A.!

Peters!writes!in!the!book!Woman(and(Man:(The(Humanum(in(its(Entirety(on!the!

postmodern!separation!of!sex!and!gender!in!her!article!“Gender:!An!Anthropological!

Deconstruction!and!a!Challenge!for!Faith.”!She!writes:!

This!presumed!freedom!is!arrived!at!through!a!process!of!liberation!from!that!which!is!given,!from!reality,!from!nature,!from!traditions!and!from!the!distinctive!female!and!male!features!inscribed!by!God!in!the!anthropological!composition!of!men!and!women.67!!

This!view!connects!sex!and!gender,!whereas!most!postmodern!thinkers,!like!Judith!

Butler,!view!them!as!separate.!This!is!viewed!as!not!only!natural!and!biological,!but!

something!mandated!by!God.!!

This!does!not!just!extend!to!a!biological!view!of!gender,!but!also!to!gender!

roles,!arguing!that!these!particular!roles,!as!well!as!specific!masculine!and!feminine!

traits,!are!also!a!part!of!God!creating!men!and!women!in!God’s!image.!Peters!

believes!that!current!gender!ideologies!that!ignore!the!“call”!of!motherhood!and!the!

women’s!reproductive!roles!attack!men!and!women!by!trying!to!make!them!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!67!Marguerite!A.!Peters,!“Gender:!An!Anthropological!Deconstruction!and!a!Challenge!for!Faith,”!in!Woman(and(Man:(The(Humanum(in(its(Entirety:(On(the(20th(Anniversary(of(John(Paul(II’s(Apostolic(Letter(Mulieris(Dignitatem,(International!Congress!Rome,!7n9!Feburary!2008!(Libreria!Editrice!Vaticana,!2010),!290.(!

!

! 42! !!!

indistinct!and!androgynous.!Peters!believes!that!this!problematic!view!of!gender!

stems!from!separating!biological!sex!from!gender!identity.!She!explains:!

When!disassociated!from!sex,!femininity!and!masculinity!become!interchangeable!and!end!up!without!any!content.!We!see!how!the!new!world!culture!is!asexual!or!unisex,!and!having!no!welln!defined!gender,!it!is!‘neuter’.!This!‘asexualisation’!deconstructs!the!configuration!of!the!human!person!as!a!father!or!mother,!husband!or!wife,!son!or!daughter,!brother!or!sister.68!!

Gender!and!sex!are!linked!to!these!gender!roles!and!traits.!These!masculine!and!

feminine!traits!are!connected!to!a!person’s!natural!biology,!such!as!a!women’s!

natural!biological!ability!to!give!birth.!This!is!connected!then!to!gender!roles!and!

traits.!The!specific!traits!of!femininity!and!masculinity!are!reflective!of!the!roles!that!

God!has!created!for!men!and!women,!making!them!different!and!complimentary!to!

each!other.!

However,!despite!the!valid!critiques!of!recent!postmodern!gender!theories!

by!the!hierarchy!of!the!Catholic!Church,!there!is!still!much!that!needs!to!be!

addressed.!The!Catholic!Church!emphasizes!gender!distinction,!but!often!from!a!

viewpoint!that!is!still!steeped!in!patriarchy.!Much!of!these!gender!distinctions!go!

toward!dictating!how!men!and!women!should!act!in!order!to!be!helpers!to!one!

another.!These!same!gender!distinctions!defended!by!John!Paul!II!and!Benedict!XVI!

are!often!used!to!hurt!women.!Women!have!been!reduced!to!their!biological!

functions!and!limited!by!soncalled!“feminine!attributes”!that!have!been!defined!

solely!by!men!within!in!the!church.!The!problem!with!gender!distinctions!is!that!

they!often!create!gender!roles—roles!which,!because!of!our!patriarchal!society,!are!

almost!exclusively!defined!by!men!and!to!the!detriment!of!women.!A!gendernfluid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!68!Ibid,!291.!

!

! 43! !!!

worldview!could!have!the!benefit!of!eliminating!harmful!gender!roles.!However,!the!

body!is!still!something!that!cannot!simply!be!denied.!Judith!Butler,!despite!her!belief!

in!gender!as!a!social!construct,!does!recognize!the!importance!of!the!body.!

Despite!how!it!may!seem!to!many!critics!of!Judith!Butler,!Butler!actually!puts!

a!similarly!high!importance!on!the!body.!Many!have!criticized!Butler!for!dismissing!

the!body!and!claiming!that!gender!is!entirely!constructed,!but!this!is!not!the!case.!

Butler!explains!in!her!book!Bodies(that(Matter:!

The!category!of!‘sex’!is,!from!the!start,!normative;!it!is!what!Foucault!has!called!a!‘regulatory!ideal.’!In!this!sense,!then,!‘sex’!not!only!functions!as!a!norm,!but!is!a!part!of!the!regulatory!practice!that!produces!the!bodies!it!governs,!that!is,!whose!regulatory!force!is!made!clear!as!a!kind!of!productive!power,!the!power!to!produce—demarcate,!circulate,!differentiate—the!bodies!it!controls.69!!

The!body!is!not!something,!in!Butler’s!view,!to!be!easily!dismissed!or!recreated!in!

some!way.!Instead,!the!body!informs!everything!that!will!later!affect!gender!

performance.!It!is!the!physical!body!that!causes!people!to!determine!whether!or!not!

someone!is!male!or!female;!their!body!determines!the!gender!assigned!to!them!that!

they!will!then!be!forced!practice!and!perform.!Even!though!Butler’s!view!does!not!

connect!physical!sex!and!gender!identity!as!something!that!is!true,!natural,!and!

indissoluble,!her!views!make!the!body!no!less!important,!nor!do!her!views!take!

away!from!the!importance!of!the!body!in!any!way.!!

Butler!explains!that!many!critics!of!her!work!and!other!feminist!writers!have!

asked!the!questions!“what!happens!to!the!body?”70!Butler!counters,!though,!that!she!

is!not!dismissing!or!attempting!to!get!rid!of!the!body!in!any!way.!In!the!same!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!69!Judith!Butler,!Bodies(that(Matter:(On(the(Discursive(Limits(of(“Sex”,!(NY:!Routledge!Classics,!1993),!xinxii.!70!Ibid,!4.!

!

! 44! !!!

manner!that!Butler!realizes!that!she!cannot!fix!many!problems!with!how!gender!is!

viewed!and!performed,!but!still!sets!out!to!cause!“gender!trouble”!and!confuse!how!

we!understand!gender,!she!employs!the!same!methods!with!the!body.!Butler!does!

not!want!to!destroy!the!material!or!physical!body,!but!she!wants!to!change!how!it!is!

viewed!and!perceived.!She!writes:!

To!call!a!presupposition!into!question!is!not!the!same!as!doing!away!with!it;!rather,!it!is!to!free!from!its!metaphysical!lodgings!in!order!to!understand!what!political!interests!were!secured!in!and!by!that!metaphysical!placing,!and!thereby!to!permit!the!term!to!occupy!and!to!serve!very!different!political!aims.71!!

Butler!is!describing!how!from!the!beginning!people!have!made!certain!

presumptions!and!put!certain!expectations!on!gender!because!of!a!person’s!physical!

sex.!The!reasons!for!this!being!various!political!aims,!here!referring!to!the!politics!of!

gender!and!how!a!person’s!physical!sex!and!subsequent!gender!has!allowed!society!

to!determine!how!men!and!women!should!be!and!act,!what!their!roles!are,!and!how!

they!are!allowed!to!perform!that!gender!to!an!effort!to!uphold!patriarchal!and!

heterosexist!imperatives.!

Butler!is!aware!that!reexamining!the!body!and!attempting!to!regard!it!

without!the!original!presumptions!can!seem!as!if!she!is!disregarding!the!body,!but!

she!is!not.!Rather,!she!is!complicating!the!body!in!the!hope!to!reveal!some!of!its!

previously!unknown!complexities.!She!writes:!

To!problematize!the!matter!of!bodies!may!entail!an!initial!loss!of!epistemological!certainty,!but!a!loss!of!certainty!is!not!the!same!as!political!nihilism.!On!the!contrary,!such!a!loss!may!well!indicate!a!significant!and!promising!shift!in!political!thinking.!This!unsettling!of!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!71!Ibid,!6.!

!

! 45! !!!

‘matter’!can!be!understood!as!initiating!new!possibilities,!new!ways!for!bodies!to!matter.72!!

For!Butler,!the!body!cannot!be!easily!dismissed!because!it!is!where!the!

presumptions!of!gender!and!gender!performance!start.!It!is!important!to!note,!

however,!that!Butler!regards!the!body!in!the!same!way!she!regards!gender.!She!does!

not!believe!there!was!any!idealized!time!that!these!gender!presumptions!were!not!

put!on!them!by!the!body.!She!argues!that!the!only!way!to!undo!these!oppressive!

restrictions!is!to!confuse!and!transform!what!is!meant!by!both!the!body!and!gender.!

Christian!theology!and!Bulter’s!own!gender!theories,!both!view!the!body!as!

important,!though!they!see!them!as!important!for!different!reasons.!Each!theory!

makes!a!claim!about!the!body,!gender!identity,!and!gender!performance.!Sarah!

Coakley!is!most!interested!with!how!Butler’s!ideas!about!gender!performance!are!

transformative.!Coakley!sees!Butler’s!notions!about!the!body!as!having!an!inherent,!

if!unintentional,!longing!for!the!eschatological!body.!Coakley!believes!that!Butler’s!

theories!reflect!older!theistic!traditions!of!gender!fluidity!and!a!longing!for!a!

transformation!of!the!body!that!can!only!be!achieved!through!the!divine,!which!I!

will!describe!in!greater!depth!in!chapter!four.!

Coakley!believes!that!Gregory!of!Nyssa’s!views!on!gender!can!provide!us!with!

a!more!fluid!understanding!of!gender!that!does!not!hold!such!strict!binaries,!but!

also!does!not!dismiss!gender!as!socially!constructed.!She!writes:!

Gregory!of!Nyssa!also,!and!not!coincidentally!I!believe,!held!a!rich,!surprising,!and!ascetic!perspective!on!the!intrinsic!malleability!of!gender!(as!we!would!now!call!it).!!I!cannot!imagine!what!he!would!have!thought!of!something!like!Darwin’s!sexual!selection!theory!with!its!rigid!accompanying!binaries!!!He!does!quite!often!enunciate!himself!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!72!Ibid.!!

!

! 46! !!!

what!he!takes!to!be!the!‘worldly’!view!of!a!clear!gender!binary!which!has!its!uses,!he!thinks,!for!the!immature;!but!he!contrasts!it!with!what!happens!to!a!person!whose!desire!is!primarily!and!focusedly!fixed!on!God.!73!!

Sarah!Coakley!also!believes!that!not!only!did!Gregory!not!follow!the!belief!of!

a!strict!binary,!but!furthermore!he!saw!that!women!do!not!have!to!follow!the!

strict!gender!roles!assigned!to!them!because!of!his!sister’s!example.!

It!was!his!ascetic!sister,!Macrina,!who!represented!for!Gregory!and!his!brother!Basil!the!heights!of!ascetic!life;!and!she!too!confounded!gender!expectations!and!roles!simply!by!being!who!she!was.!We!might!say!that!she!lived!on!an!ascetic!gender!spectrum!sustained!wholly!by!prayer!practice,!and!seemingly!no!longer!concerned!in!any!way!with!genetic!reproductive!success.!Her!interest,!in!contrast,!was!in!spiritual!‘progeny’:!what!we!might!now!call!‘cultural!reproduction’.!74!!

Biological!sex,!gender!identity,!and!gender!performance!ultimately!lead!to!society!

making!decisions!on!what!is!acceptable!for!men!and!women!to!do.!Gender!roles!

become!a!serious!issue!because!of!how!they!limit!and!dictate!what!men!and!women!

can!do.!

! !

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!73!Coakley,!Gifford!Lecture,!19.!74!Ibid.!!

!

! 47! !!!

CHAPTER!3!

GENDER!ROLES!AND!THE!ESCAPE!FROM!STEREOTYPE!!

!!!!

Perhaps!the!biggest!reasons!that!gender,!whether!gender!identity!or!biological!sex,!

is!so!hotly!debated!is!because!of!the!gender!roles!that!both!stem!from!and!inform!it.!

Gender!roles,!as!I!mentioned!in!chapter!one,!often!become!harmful,!sexist!

stereotypes,!and!it!is!precisely!because!of!these!stereotypes!that!cause!gender!to!be!

so!hotly!contested!today.!Coakley!writes:!

Somehow!it!is!the!allure!of!gender!liberation!(not!now!sexual!liberation,!note)!that!has!fascinated!the!latentwentiethncentury!mind,!the!prospect!of!an!escape!from!stereotype,!the!hope!of!an!elusive!personal!transformation!beyond!normal!human!expectations!and!restrictions.75!!

Liberation!from!gender!has!become!the!goal,!not!because!men!or!women!are!in!any!

way!ashamed!of!their!gender,!but!because!of!gender!stereotypes!that!limit!how!

gender!is!perceived!and!understood.!

In!chapter!one,!I!discussed!how!certain!attributes!are!applied!solely!to!either!

men!or!women,!while!these!different!attributes!have!been!viewed!as!“naturally”!a!

part!of!what!it!means!to!be!male!or!female.!Historically,!these!gender!roles!have!

been!used!to!keep!women!out!of!active!roles!within!the!world,!limiting!them!to!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!75!Coakley,!Power(and(Submissions,(161.!

!

! 48! !!!

home!and!breaking!them!to!their!basic!bodily!functions.!Even!today,!when!women!

have!gain!more!ability!to!go!out!into!the!workforce!and!have!autonomy!from!their!

husbands,!women!are!still!told!that!there!are!certain!things!they!either!cannot!or!

simply!should!not!do.!Even!men!have!been!limited!and!confined!by!these!gender!

roles.!Many!feminist!scholars!view!these!gender!roles!not!as!natural,!but!as!sociallyn

constructed!gender!stereotypes!that!limit!women!and!men!from!their!full!

experience!and!potential.!

Women!are!shown!as!needing!to!be!controlled!by!men,!which!places!them!in!

the!subservient!gender!role.!This!has!broad!implications!for!how!gender!roles!are!

then!played!out!in!society.!Our!history!has!encouraged!men!to!be!great!thinkers!and!

leaders,!while!women!are!encouraged!to!be!mothers!and!wives.!While!there!is!

nothing!wrong!with!being!a!wife!or!mother,!the!notion!that!this!is!the!only!function!

a!woman!is!capable!of!stems!from!the!idea!that!women!are!somehow!less!than!men.!

Women!are!not!considered!capable!of!being!great!leaders!or!thinkers.!Rather,!they!

must!remain!in!the!home!where!they!can!be!protected!and!cared!for.!

Not!all!gender!roles!are!negative,!but!they!can!still!have!negative!

connotations.!However,!the!idea!that!women!are!somehow!naturally!more!nurturing!

or!loving!justifies!the!idea!that!women!must!remain!in!the!home!as!they!are!“most!

capable”!of!being!wives!and!mothers!due!to!their!“feminine!nature.”!This!gender!

role!also!has!an!oftennoverlooked!negative!effect!on!men,!claiming!that!men!are!

incapable!of!being!loving!or!nurturing!because!of!their!“natural”!aggression!and!

power.!These!concepts!of!feminine!gender!roles!also!control!women!sexually.!Since!

women!are!viewed!as!more!bodily,!lustful!creatures,!that!are!unable!to!control!

!

! 49! !!!

themselves,!emphasis!for!women!is!placed!almost!entirely!on!being!a!virgin!and!

then!a!wife!and!mother,!with!her!soul!function!being!one!of!biological!reproduction.!

These!gender!roles!build!and!maintain!patriarchal!relationships!between!men!and!

women.!Ruether!writes:!

Patriarchal!relationships!of!male!and!female!would!seem!to!be!intended!not!only!to!make!woman!the!servile!laborer!of!the!household!but!also!to!subordinate!the!woman!sexually—to!make!her!sexually!available!and!to!prevent!her!from!having!control!over!her!own!sexuality!and!fertility.!She!becomes!hands,!vagina,!and!womb!owned!by!her!husband.76!!

Gender!roles!are!how!society!views!and!understands!masculinity!and!femininity!and!

dictate!how!men!and!women!are!to!act!and!what!parts!they!are!or!are!not!allowed!to!

play!in!society.!This!is!often!to!the!detriment!of!women,!claiming!that!women!are!

inherently!subservient!to!men,!because!of!their!natural!feminine!attributes,!such!as!

being!weak!and!passive,!or!even!loving!and!nurturing.!!

However,!there!are!still!many!theologians!who!argue!that!these!traditional!

gender!roles!for!men!and!women!are!good!and!natural.!In!the!Vatican!document,!On(

the(Collaboration(of(Men(and(Women(in(the(Church(and(World!written!by!the!

Congregation!for!the!Doctrine!of!the!Faith,!the!magisterium!maintains!certain!

gender!roles!as!natural!feminine!and!masculine!attributes.!They!write:!

Their!equal!dignity!as!persons!is!realized!as!physical,!psychological!and!ontological!complementarity,!giving!rise!to!a!harmonious!relationship!of!“uninduality”,!which!only!sin!and!“the!structures!of!sin”!inscribed!in!culture!render!potentially!conflictual.77!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!76!Ruether,!65.!77!Congregation!for!the!Doctrine!of!the!Faith,!On(the(Collaboration(of(Men(and(Women(in(the(Church(and(World,!§!8.!

!

! 50! !!!

This!quote!shows!how!masculine!and!feminine!identity!is!seen!as!naturally!different,!

physically,!psychologically,!and!ontologically.!In!this!view,!men!and!women!are!

equal,!but!certain!gender!roles!are!enforced!and!seen!as!good,!because!they!

highlight!the!natural!difference!between!men!and!women.!These!differences!are!not!

supposed!to!harm!or!limit!women!or!men,!but!rather!work!in!“harmonious!

relationship”!with!each!other!by!complementing!and!helping!each!other!achieve!

their!full!potential!together!as!human!beings!created!in!the!image!of!God.!However,!

though!these!gender!roles!are!not!meant!to!harm!women,!that!doesn’t!mean!that!

isn’t!exactly!what!they!do.!Perhaps!unintentionally,!and!due!largely!to,!the!lack!of!

female!voices!discussing!these!roles.!Furthermore,!the!constant!assertion!that!these!

gender!roles!are!something!mandated!by!God!makes!it!difficult!to!both!question!

them!and!reimagine!them.!

In!this!chapter,!I!will!detail!how!traditional!gender!roles!are!understood!in!

relation!to!one!of!the!most!wellnknown!proponents!of!a!more!traditional!view;!John!

Paul!II.!In!part!one!of!this!chapter,!I!will!discuss!how!both!masculine!and!feminine!

gender!roles!have!been!viewed!and!understood!in!Christianity.!In!part!two!of!this!

chapter,!I!will!then!discuss!the!criticisms!of!these!gender!roles!as!viewed!in!

Christianity,!and!finally!I!will!discuss!how!a!fluid!view!of!gender!might!be!better!

than!accepting!the!currently!established!societal!gender!roles.!

In!recent!history,!probably!one!of!the!most!significant!documents!discussing!

women!and!gender!roles!is!John!Paul!II’s!apostolic!letter!Mulieris(Dignitatem,!also!

known!as!On(the(Dignity(and(the(Vocation(of(Women.!This!document!is!one!of!the!

!

! 51! !!!

first!and!most!significant!to!address!the!issues!about!gender!and!gender!roles!

brought!to!light!by!secular!and!religious!feminists.!John!Paul!II!writes:!

In!our!times!the!question!of!‘women's!rights’!has!taken!on!new!significance!in!the!broad!context!of!the!rights!of!the!human!person.!The(biblical(and(evangelical(message(sheds!light!on!this!cause,!which!is!the!object!of!much!attention!today,!by(safeguarding(the(truth(about(the(‘unity’(of(the(‘two’,(that!is!to!say!the!truth!about!that!dignity!and!vocation!that!result!from!the!specific!diversity!and!personal!originality!of!man!and!woman.78!!

John!Paul!II!makes!it!clear!that!while!he!wishes!to!address!the!concerns!of!feminists!

pushing!for!the!rights!of!women,!he!also!wants!to!emphasize!that!equality!while!still!

drawing!a!distinctions!between!the!“natural”!differences!between!men!and!women.!

He!further!wants!to!emphasize!that!those!differences,!when!unified!and!

complementing!each!other,!are!exactly!what!makes!men!and!women!equal!and!

exactly!what!God!intended!for!them.!

In!the!view!of!John!Paul!II,!gender!roles!are!good!because!they!emphasize!the!

difference!that!make!men!and!women!unique!and!special,!as!well!as!enabling!them!

to!complement!and!help!each!other.!These!gender!roles!emphasize!the!gifts!that!God!

has!given!each!gender.!That!is!not!to!say!that!John!Paul!II!would!be!in!favor!of!roles!

that!force!women!into!subservient!roles!to!men.!He!clearly!wants!these!roles!to!not!

hurt!one!gender!or!the!other,!but!rather!he!asserts!that!these!roles!should!allow!

women!and!men!to!support!each!other!better.!He!writes:!

The!overcoming!of!this!evil!inheritance!is,!generation!after!generation,!the!task!of!every!human!being,!whether!woman!or!man.!For!whenever!man!is!responsible!for!offending!a!woman's!personal!dignity!and!vocation,!he!acts!contrary!to!his!own!personal!dignity!and!his!own!vocation.79!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!78!John!Paul!II,!Mulieris(Dignitatem,!§!10.!79!Ibid.!

!

! 52! !!!

!Here,!John!Paul!II!explains!that!original!sin!has!caused!sexism!to!come!into!the!

world.!Men!and!women!were!never!meant!to!be!at!odds,!and!certainly!the!

systematic!oppression!of!women!was!something!that!God!certainly!never!intended,!

but!with!original!sin!came!such!oppression.!However,!that!is!not!to!say!that!we!

should!allow!such!oppression!to!continue.!Sexism!can!be!viewed!as!stemming!from!

original!sin!and!then!dismissed.!John!Paul!II!certainly!believes!that!men!should!not!

harm!women!in!any!way.!How!then!could!John!Paul!II’s!concept!of!gender!roles!be!

able!to!help!women!without!devolving!into!harmful!gender!stereotypes?!

He!describes!that!the!best!way!to!overcome!this!sexism!is!for!each!gender!to!

adhere!to!their!own!gender!roles,!or!the!specific!feminine!and!masculine!attributes!

gifted!to!them!by!God!at!the!start!of!creation.!John!Paul!II!stresses!specific!masculine!

and!feminine!traits,!while!critiquing!feminist!theorists!for!trying!to!confuse!these!

gender!roles.!John!Paul!II!writes:!

Consequently,!even!the!rightful!opposition!of!women!to!what!is!expressed!in!the!biblical!words!‘He!shall!rule!over!you’!(Gen(3:16)!must!not!under!any!condition!lead!to!the!‘masculinization’!of!women.!In!the!name!of!liberation!from!male!‘domination’,!women!must!not!appropriate!to!themselves!male!characteristics!contrary!to!their!own!feminine!‘originality’.!There!is!a!wellnfounded!fear!that!if!they!take!this!path,!women!will!not!‘reach!fulfilment’,!but!instead!will!deform(and(lose(what(constitutes(their(essential(richness.80(

Here!John!Paul!II!is!concerned!with!women!denying!their!femininity!and!men!

denying!their!masculinity,!and!views!such!a!denial!of!these!roles!and!attributes!as!

turning!one’s!back!on!the!gifts!that!God!gave!to!each!gender.!He!argues!that!denying!

these!roles!turn!us!away!from!God’s!plan!for!men!and!women!by!disrupting!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!80!Ibid.!!

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unity!and!complementarity!that!allows!men!and!women!to!help!and!support!each!

other,!while!also!destroying!what!makes!each!gender!so!unique.!He!explains:!

The!personal!resources!of!femininity!are!certainly!no!less!than!the!resources!of!masculinity:!they!are!merely!different.!Hence!a!woman,!as!well!as!a!man,!must!understand!her!‘fulfilment’!(sic)!as!a!person,!her!dignity!and!vocation,!on!the!basis!of!these!resources,!according!to!the!richness!of!the!femininity!which!she!received!on!the!day!of!creation!and!which!she!inherits!as!an!expression!of!the!‘image!and!likeness!of!God’!that!is!specifically!hers.81!!

John!Paul!II!does!not!believe!that,!in!order!for!men!and!women!to!finally!be!seen!as!

equal,!there!must!be!an!erasure!of!gender!roles!and!masculine!and!feminine!

attributes—instead,!he!wants!the!differences!in!men!and!women!to!be!upheld!and!

rejoiced!in.!

Men!and!women!should!celebrate!their!differences,!but!at!the!same!time!

respect!them!and!see!them!as!equal!in!value.!The!gender!roles!that!John!Paul!II!

discusses!are!not!simply!limited!to!personal!feminine!and!masculine!attributes,!but!

to!how!these!attributes!affect!the!larger!world,!specifically!how!these!attributes!

affect!the!family.!John!Paul!II!looks!to!the!example!of!Mary,!the!mother!of!God,!to!talk!

about!women’s!vocation!and!gender!roles.!John!Paul!II!explains:!

We!must!now!focus!our!meditation!on!virginity82!and!motherhood!as!two!particular!dimensions!of!the!fulfillment!of!the!female!personality.!In!the!light!of!the!Gospel,!they!acquire!their!full!meaning!and!value!in!Mary,!who!as!a!Virgin!became!the!Mother!of!the!Son!of!God.!These!two(dimensions(of(the(female(vocation(were!united!in!her!in!an!exceptional!manner,!in!such!a!way!that!one!did!not!exclude!the!other!but!wonderfully!complemented!it.83!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!81!Ibid.!82!Though!John!Paul!II!describes!virginity!as!particularly!female!vocation!I!will!not!be!addressing!this!issue!in!this!paper.!Though!concepts!of!virginity!and!chastity!heavily!influence!and!are!influenced!by!gender!it!would!also!lead!into!a!much!more!lengthy!discussion!of!sexual!morality!that!I!will!not!discuss!here.!!!83!Ibid,!§!17.!

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! 54! !!!

!In!this!passage!John!Paul!II,!focuses!on!the!vocations!of!virginity!and!motherhood,!as!

they!are!represented!in!Mary,!as!something!uniquely!feminine.!Motherhood,!in!

particular,!is!regarded!by!John!Paul!II!as!uniquely!feminine,!because!women!are!

uniquely!suited!to!motherhood!because!of!their!ability!to!give!birth.!The!problem!

with!this!understanding!of!femininity!is!that!it!seems!to!limit!women!to!their!

biology.!

John!Paul!II!discusses!how!a!woman’s!natural!biological!and!psychological!

disposition!naturally!represents!a!woman’s!vocation!to!motherhood.!He!writes:!

Scientific!analysis!fully!confirms!that!the!very!physical!constitution!of!women!is!naturally!disposed!to!motherhood!n!conception,!pregnancy!and!giving!birth!n!which!is!a!consequence!of!the!marriage!union!with!the!man.!At!the!same!time,!this!also!corresponds!to!the!psychonphysical!structure!of!women.84!!

John!Paul!II!argues!that!a!woman’s!vocation!to!motherhood!is!evident!even!in!

scientific!study.!Both!in!understanding!women’s!biological!and!psychological!

structures,!however,!he!is!also!quick!to!point!out!that!women!cannot!and!should!not!

be!broken!down!simply!to!their!biological!functions.!He!explains:!

What!the!different!branches!of!science!have!to!say!on!this!subject!is!important!and!useful,!provided!that!it!is!not!limited!to!an!exclusively!bionphysiological!interpretation!of!women!and!of!motherhood.!Such!a!"restricted"(picture(would!go!hand!in!hand!with!a!materialistic!concept!of!the!human!being!and!of!the!world.!In!such!a!case,!what!is!truly!essential!would!unfortunately!be!lost.85!!

Here!John!Paul!II!stresses!how!reducing!women,!or!reducing!anyone,!to!their!basic!

biological!functions!limits!and!restricts!them!as!human!beings,!ignoring!any!

personal!or!spiritual!fulfillment!of!individual!people.!John!Paul!II!argues!that!one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!84!Ibid,!§!18.!85!Ibid.!

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! 55! !!!

must!let!these!biological!and!psychological!facts!inform!our!truths,!but!they!cannot!

be!viewed!as!the!entire!truth,!because!human!beings!are!so!much!more!than!their!

biology.!

John!Paul!II!argues!that!motherhood!is!so!much!more!than!biology,!but!

expresses!a!great!spiritual!significance!for!women.!He!writes:!

Motherhood!as!a!human(fact!and!phenomenon,!is!fully!explained!on!the!basis!of!the!truth!about!the!person.!Motherhood!is(linked(to(the(personal(structure(of(the(woman(and(to(the(personal(dimension(of(the(gift:(‘I!have!brought!a!man!into!being!with!the!help!of!the!Lord’!(Gen(4:1).!The!Creator!grants!the!parents!the!gift!of!a!child.!On!the!woman's!part,!this!fact!is!linked!in!a!special!way!to!‘a!sincere!gift!of!self’.!Mary's!words!at!the!Annunciation!–!‘Let!it!be!to!me!according!to!your!word’!n!signify!the!woman's!readiness!for!the!gift!of!self!and!her!readiness!to!accept!a!new!life.86!!

For!John!Paul!II,!motherhood!as!a!vocation!reflects!a!woman’s!“gift!of!self”!and!a!

“readiness!to!accept!a!new!life.”!Both!these!examples!of!the!giving!of!one’s!self!and!

creating!and!accepting!new!life!uniquely!reflect!God’s!image!in!women.!John!Paul!II!

argues!that!motherhood!puts!a!greater!burden!and!responsibility!on!the!woman!

than!it!does!the!man!and!uniquely!affects!her.!He!explains:!

This!unique!contact!with!the!new!human!being!developing!within!her!gives!rise!to!an!attitude!towards!human!beings!n!not!only!towards!her!own!child,!but!every!human!being!n!which!profoundly!marks!the!woman's!personality.87!!

Women,!because!of!the!part!they!play!in!carrying!and!giving!birth!to!a!child,!are!

much!closer!to!the!mystery!of!creation!and!life!than!men!are.!John!Paul!II!argues!

that!the!relationship!between!mother!and!child!not!only!shapes!the!child!she!is!

carrying,!but!also!shapes!how!we!view!all!human!beings.!He!writes:!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!86!Ibid.!!87!Ibid.!

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! 56! !!!

It!is!commonly!thought!that!women(are!more!capable!than!men!of!paying!attention!to(another(person,(and!that!motherhood!develops!this!predisposition!even!more.!The!man!n!even!with!all!his!sharing!in!parenthood!n!always!remains!‘outside’!the!process!of!pregnancy!and!the!baby's!birth;!in!many!ways!he!has!to!learn(his!own!‘fatherhood’(from(the(mother.88((

This!view!of!motherhood!accurately!reflects!the!more!traditional!views!of!gender!

roles!for!men!and!women.!The!gender!roles!enforced!here!are!not!meant!to!diminish!

or!limit!women!or!men,!but!rather!allow!their!differences!to!flourish!and!

complement!each!other.!However,!many!secular!and!religious!feminists!view!these!

gender!roles!as!problematic!and!more!of!the!same!patriarchal!and!sexist!gender!

roles!enforced!to!the!advantage!of!men!and!to!the!detriment!of!women.!

The!major!problem!with!John!Paul!II’s!argument!is!his!lack!of!clarity!in!

defining!femininity!and!masculinity.!He!constantly!mentions!the!importance!of!

femininity!and!masculinity,!constantly!asserts!that!both!men!and!women!need!to!

remain!true!to!their!natural!masculine!and!feminine!attributes,!but!never!fully!

defines!those!attributes.!This!could!potentially!mean!that!John!Paul!II!is!

purposefully!not!defining!these!attributes!to!allow!for!a!more!opennended!

understanding!of!gender,!allowing!men!and!women,!at!least!to!some!extent,!to!

define!their!gender!for!themselves.!However,!John!Paul!II!never!defines!masculinity!

in!any!way!except!to!point!out!how!men!are!not!as!capable!at!fulfilling!female!roles.!

He!further!defines!femininity!only!through!motherhood!and!childbirth,!and!while!

John!Paul!II!attempts!to!redefine!these!feminine!gender!roles!in!a!more!egalitarian!

way,!it!doesn’t!change!the!fact!that!motherhood!and!childbirth!are!all!stereotypical!

roles!that!have!always!been!applied!to!women.!Is!there!really!nothing!else!about!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!88!Ibid.!

!

! 57! !!!

women!that!John!Paul!II!or!anyone!in!the!magisterium!of!the!Catholic!Church!can!

think!of!that!is!uniquely!feminine?!Despite!the!assertions!of!egalitarianism,!this!view!

of!gender!seems!to!beg!the!question:!if!women!can!only!be!defined!through!the!

virtues!of!childbirth!and!motherhood,!then!what!business!do!they!have!outside!the!

sphere!of!the!home?!I!am!in!no!way!saying!that!John!Paul!II!views!women!in!such!a!

way,!but!because!of!his!inability!to!more!clearly!define!the!terms!of!masculinity!and!

femininity,!the!result!is!relying!on!the!alreadynestablished!definitions!of!such!terms,!

which!are!often!stereotypical!and!sexist!in!nature.!

The!critiques!to!these!gender!roles!don’t!always!attempt!to!erase!or!confuse!

gender,!but!rather!call!into!question!where!these!perceived!“natural”!gender!roles!

come!from.!Do!these!mandated!gender!roles,!and!feminine!and!masculine!attributes,!

really!come!from!God!or!has!God!been!used!as!justification!for!continued!support!of!

sociallynconstructed!gender!roles!that!ultimately!hurt!women!and!men?!Gender!

roles!can,!as!John!Paul!II!discussed,!be!perceived!in!an!egalitarian!way!that!

emphasizes!the!good!things!about!each!gender!and!allows!each!gender’s!unique!gifts!

to!complement!each!other.!However,!the!downside!to!this!view!is!that,!if!women!try!

to!break!away!from!these!gender!roles,!the!assumption!is!immediately!that!they!are!

doing!something!that!goes!against!their!nature.!This!attitude!toward!gender!roles!

has!the!potential!to!limit!discussion!on!gender!roles!and!sexism.!In!other!words,!any!

time!women!attempt!to!critique!established!gender!roles,!instead!of!the!church!

hierarchy!using!such!critique!to!take!a!second!look!at!perceived!gender!roles,!the!

experiences!of!women!are!immediately!dismissed!and!shown!to!be!going!against!

their!nature.!By!saying!that!God!has!created!each!gender!to!fill!certain!roles,!but!not!

!

! 58! !!!

questioning!these!roles!at!all,!could!lead!to!the!problem!of!claiming!that!socially!

constructed!gender!stereotypes!are!actually!instilled!by!God.!Feminist!theologian!

Elizabeth!Johnson!writes:!

Conflict!arises,!however,!over!whether!and!in!what!way!sexual!differences!of!the!body!should!play!into!social!roles,!with!egalitarian!anthropology!declaring!that!people!should!be!able!to!do!whatever!their!giftedness!equips!them!to!do,!and!complementarity!anthropology!asserting!that!there!are!prengiven!roles!based!on!the!difference!that!sexual!identity!makes.!For!the!former,!gender!as!a!construal!of!sex!is!a!social!construction!that!can!change!with!new!experiences!of!history.!For!the!later,!gender!is!a!‘given’!that!a!woman!seeking!a!role!traditionally!reserved!for!men!is!said!to!be!acting!against!her!own!nature.!89!!

John!Paul!II!does!not,!as!stated!earlier!in!this!chapter,!rely!solely!on!the!sexual!

differences!of!the!body!to!justify!his!gender!theories.!While!he!believes!in!taking!into!

consideration!what!biology!has!to!say,!he!also!warns!against!limiting!women!solely!

to!their!biological!functions.!However,!because!John!Paul!II!is!unclear!in!how!he!

defines!masculinity!and!femininity,!it!is!easy!for!his!view!to!be!misconstrued!this!

way.!Femininity!is!only!defined!by!John!Paul!II!in!relation!to!motherhood!and,!while!

I!doubt!he!believes!these!are!the!only!gifts!women!have!to!offer,!the!consequence!of!

stressing!motherhood!to!such!a!degree!does!seem!to!limit!women!to!the!biological!

function!of!giving!birth.!John!Paul!II,!as!described!in!the!first!part!of!this!chapter,!

attributes!the!fact!of!women!carrying!children!in!their!wombs!as!one!of!the!main!

reasons!that!women!are!not!only!more!capable!of!being!parents,!but!also!more!

capable!of!being!caring!and!attentive!to!all!human!beings.!He!states!that!in!many!

ways!men!must!learn!to!be!fathers!and!better!people!from!women.!But!if!men!are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!89!Elizabeth!A.!Johnson!ed.,!“Embodiment:!Women!and!Men,!Equal!or!Complementary?”!in!The(Church(Women(Want:(Catholic(Women(in(Dialogue!(NY:!Crossroad!Publishing!Company,!2002),!33.!

!

! 59! !!!

not!as!gifted!at!being!parents!or!even!being!caring!and!attentive!to!other!people!in!

general,!what!exactly!is!the!role!of!men?!

Rosemary!Radford!Ruether!points!out!that!much!of!the!traditional!

documents!that!discuss!the!roles!of!women!are!severely!restricted!because!no!

attempt!has!been!made!to!discuss!the!equivalent!roles!of!men.!While!Mulieris(

Dignitatem,!or!On(the(Dignity(of(Women,!was!written!to!address!the!concerns!of!

women!as!well!as!discuss!the!roles!of!women,!no!equivalent!was!ever!written!for!

men.!How!can!equal!partnerships!exist!if!there!have!been!no!discussions!about!the!

roles!of!men!and!only!about!the!roles!of!women?!Ruether!particularly!sees!this!

problem!in!discussion!about!the!family!and!the!affirmation!of!motherhood!for!

women.!She!writes:!

Women!are!said!to!have!a!‘vocation’!to!motherhood,!while!men!are!never!said!to!have!any!vocation!to!fatherhood.!This!means!that!parenting!is,!in!fact,!not!a!‘partnership,’!but!a!female!job.!Fathers!‘help’!mothers!in!what!essentially!remains!‘women’s!work.’90!!

Ruether!explains!that!in!this!view!women!are!men!cannot!be!seen!as!being!equal!or!

being!in!a!partnership!together.!Rather,!Ruether!argues!that!these!gender!roles!

support!more!of!the!same!sexist!gender!stereotypes.!

One!of!the!biggest!problems!with!discussing!gender!roles,!and!especially!how!

they!affect!women,!is!due!to!the!fact!that!until!very!recently!the!conversation!has!

been!held!entirely!by!men.!Johnson!writes:!

This!arrangement!in!society![patriarchy]!prevailed!also!in!the!church.!It!is!a!poignant!loss!that!we!have!no!record!of!the!words!of!the!women!disciples!of!Jesus!preaching!his!message,!discussing!among!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!90!Rosemary!Radford!Ruether,!“The!Catholic!Bishops’!Pastoral!on!Women:!A!Flawed!Effort,”!reprinted!from!May/June!1988!in!Conscience:(The(News(Journal(of(Catholic(Opinion,(a(commemorative(issue,!June!2011,!6.!!

!

! 60! !!!

themselves!what!faith!might!mean,!and!contributing!to!the!postresurrection!(sic)!decisions!of!the!community—though!traces!of!this!activity!can!be!found!in!the!Scriptures.91!!

The!loss!of!female!voices!in!religion!due!to!a!patriarchal!monopoly!on!the!faith!is!a!

tragedy,!but!in!today’s!world!women!from!around!the!globe!are!making!their!voices!

heard!in!order!to!help!enforce!that!women!are!full!human!beings!with!basic!human!

dignity.!However,!despite!the!emerging!voices!of!women!in!theology,!much!of!the!

discussion!on!theology!and!gender!roles!is!still!dominated!by!men.!

As!stated!at!the!beginning!of!this!chapter,!Mulieris(Dignitatem(is!the!definitive!

modern!document!on!the!dignity!and!vocation!of!women!in!the!Catholic!Church,!but!

despite!John!Paul!II’s!best!of!intentions!and!his!excellent!attempt!to!move!in!the!

direction!of!a!more!egalitarian!view!of!gender,!he!is!still!a!man!talking!about!what!

women’s!roles!are!in!society.!That!is!not!to!say!that!men!can!never!discuss!or!say!

anything!about!the!roles!of!women,!just!as!it!would!be!wrong!to!say!that!women!can!

never!discuss!or!say!anything!about!the!roles!of!men.!The!problem!is!that!women!

are!often!never!even!invited!into!the!conversation!about!the!very!roles!that!they!are!

supposed!to!be!fulfilling.!Instead,!those!who!contribute!are!often!white!celibate!men,!

often!in!a!position!of!the!Church!hierarchy,!and!the!rare!occasion!when!women!are!

invited!into!the!conversation!they!are!often!ignored!or!their!opinions!are!dismissed.!

Rosemary!Radford!Ruether!discusses!The!U.S.!Roman!Catholic!bishop’s!

pastoral!letter!“Response!to!Women’s!Concerns.”!She!explains!that!a!variety!of!

women!were!consulted!by!the!bishops!to!help!with!this!document.!Ruether!explains!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!91!Elizabeth!A.!Johnson!ed.,!“Imagining!God,!Embodying!Christ:!Women!as!a!Sign!of!the!Times”!in!!The(Church(Women(Want:(Catholic(Women(in(Dialogue!(NY:!Crossroad!Publishing!Company,!2002),!45.!!

!

! 61! !!!

that!during!these!discussions!these!women!urged!the!bishops!not(to(write(about(

women,!but!rather!to!write!a!letter!about!patriarchy!and!condemning!sexism!in!the!

same!way!that!structures!of!racism!were!condemned!in!past!documents.!The!

bishops!ignored!this!advice,!however,!and!decided!to!write!about!women!and!

address!the!concerns!of!women.92!Ruether!describes!that,!despite!how!sincere!the!

bishops!seemed!in!their!attempts,!they!“have!little!sense!of!what!sexism!is,!as!a!part!

of!a!legal,!social,!political,!economic!and!ideological!system.”93!Though!men!can!have!

valuable!insights!into!the!lives!of!women!and!women’s!experiences,!as!Ruether!

points!out,!men!don’t!entirely!understand!how!patriarchy!and!sexist!sociallyn

constructed!gender!roles!affect!women,!so!including!women!in!the!conversation!

about!these!gender!roles!and!allowing!them!to!define!gender!roles!themselves!is!

essential.!

These!gender!roles,!whether!in!the!family!or!outside!of!it,!tend!to!portray!

men!as!the!active!force!in!the!world!and!women!remaining!in!the!home!and!

supporting!men!in!their!work.!Salzman!and!Lawler!describe!how!these!gender!roles!

are!distinguished!and!separated.!They!write:!

One!finds!certain!gender!stereotypes!in!magisterial!documents!where!femaleness!is!defined!primarily!in!terms!of!motherhood,!receptivity,!and!nurturing!and!maleness!is!defined!primarily!in!terms!of!fatherhood,!initiation,!and!activity.94!!

As!Salzman!and!Lawler!point!out,!these!roles!are!separate!and!define!women!as!

primarily!passive!while!men!are!active!in!the!world.!Johnson!further!explains:!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!92!Ruether,!“The!Catholic!Bishops’!Pastoral!on!Women:!A!Flawed!Effort,”!5.!93!Ibid.!94!Todd!A.!Salzman!and!Michael!G.!Lawler,!The(Sexual(Person:(Toward(a(Renewed(Catholic(Anthropology!(Washington,!DC:!Georgetown!University!Press,!2008),!148.!

!

! 62! !!!

‘Masculine!nature’!with!its!active!orientation!to!rationality,!order,!and!decision!making!is!equipped!for!leadership!in!the!public!realm.!‘Feminine!nature’!with!its!receptive!orientation!to!love,!life,!and!nurturing!is!fit!for!the!private!domain!of!childbearing,!homemaking,!and!care!for!the!vulnerable.95!!

These!gender!roles!show!how!men!again!are!active,!while!women!are!submissive,!

and!though!these!gender!roles!are!supposed!to!be!seen!as!something!natural!and!

egalitarian,!to!many!they!seem!to!justify!sexism.!Johnson!further!explains:!

It!does!not!escape!women’s!notice!that!the!proposed!division!of!labor!inevitably!privileges!men!in!terms!of!social,!political,!and!economic!power.!In!the!church!this!model!justifies!the!practice!of!excluding!women!from!positions!of!ritual!leadership!and!public!governance.96!!

Gender!roles!when!viewed!in!this!light!can!be!seen!as!gender!stereotypes!that!

privilege!men!at!the!disadvantage!of!women,!limiting!women!and!men!in!the!

fulfillment!of!their!natural!basic!human!dignity.!

These!gender!roles!limit!both!men!and!women,!claiming!that!men!cannot!be!

nurturing!and!women!cannot!be!aggressive.!Salzman!and!Lawler!write:!

Psychoaffective,!social,!and!spiritual!traits!are!variously!distributed!among!males!and!females!and!are!not!intrinsic!to!either’s!‘nature’!prior!to!socialization.!For!instance!some!males!are!more!nurturing!than!females!and!some!females!more!dominant!and!analytical!than!males.97!!

Gender!roles!limit!men!and!women,!because!dualistic!gender!roles!fail!to!recognize!

the!wide!diversity!of!men!and!women!and!the!various!possible!traits!that!may!be!

expressed!in!each!gender.!Johnson!further!explains:!

Rather,!human!aptitudes!exist!across!a!wide!spectrum!for!women!and!men.!Women!can!be!rational!and!great!at!leadership;!men!can!be!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!95!Johnson,!“Imagining!God,!Embodying!Christ,”!53.!96!Ibid.!97!Todd!A.!Salzman!and!Michael!G.!Lawler,!The(Sexual(Person,(148.!

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! 63! !!!

loving!and!nurturing.!And!rational!women!and!nurturing!men!can!form!beautiful!mutual!relationships.98!!

Johnson!shows!how!traditional!gender!roles!that!are!usually!viewed!as!being!

“naturally”!inherent!in!women!or!men!are!actually!much!more!diverse!and!fluid.!

However,!it!should!also!be!noted!that!these!structures!of!a!nurturing!partner!

and!analytical!partner,!whether!male!or!female,!are!not!working!structures.!Salzman!

and!Lawler!explain!how!even!these!roles!aren’t!necessary!for!a!healthy!relationship.!

It!is!not!necessary!for!one!partner!to!always!fill!the!“male!role”!and!another!to!fill!

the!“female!role.”!They!explain:!

These!traits!also!vary!within!relationships,!in!which!there!may!be!two!dominant!people!or!two!nurturing!people.!In!these!cases,!do!we!claim!that!these!two!people!do!not!complement!each!other?99!!

Despite!each!partner!not!fulfilling!one!of!the!two!stereotyped!gender!roles,!that!in!

no!way!means!that!they!cannot!have!a!fruitful!and!fulfilling!relationship.!People!are!

diverse!and!varied.!To!limit!them!to!particular!traits!limits!them!as!human!beings.!

Johnson!writes:!

Accordingly,!social!roles!are!not!to!be!preassigned!according!to!gender!but!engaged!in!according!to!persons’!gifts,!callings,!and!education.100!!

People!are!not!divided!into!“naturally”!assigned!gender!roles,!but!rather!each!

individual!is!endowed!with!their!own!unique!traits!and!gifts!that!can!add!to!and!

complement!the!lives!of!other!men!and!women!that!they!meet.!So!then!is!there!

really!nothing!unique!about!women!and!men?!Is!it!really!just!about!the!uniqueness!

of!each!individual!person!and!gender!plays!no!role!at!all?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!98!Johnson,!“Imagining!God,!Embodying!Christ,”!55.!99!Todd!A.!Salzman!and!Michael!G.!Lawler,!The(Sexual(Person,(148.!100!Johnson,!“Imagining!God,!Embodying!Christ,”!55.!

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! 64! !!!

Sarah!Coakley’s!article!“The!Woman!at!the!Altar:!Cosmological!Disturbance!

or!Gender!Subversion”!attempts!to!discuss!gender!roles!through!her!experience!as!a!

priest!in!the!Anglican!Church!in!a!way!that!would!not!diminish!her!uniqueness!as!a!

woman.!Coakley!argues!that!it!is!impossible!to!view!the!priest!as!entirely!masculine,!

but!argues!that!the!priest!both!uses!stereotypical!gender!associations!as!wells!as!

breaks!them!down!and!destabilizes!them.!She!writes:!

But!in!representing!both!“Christ!and!“church”!(that!is!the!first!rejoinder!to!the!conservatives),!the!priest!is!not!simply!divine/”masculine”!in!the!first!over!human/”feminine”!in!the!other,!but!both!in!both.!Yet!this!is!not!as!sometimes!argued!a!form!of!“androgyny”!that!either!flattens!‘difference’!or!down!plays!erotic!meaning.!For!in!the!course!of!the!liturgy!the!priest!moves!implicitly!through!these!different!roles!strategically!summoning!the!stereotypical!gender!associations!for!each,!but!always!destabilizing!the!attempt!to!be!“held”!in!one!or!the!other.!101!!

Coakley!argues!that!the!liturgy!calls!upon!stereotypical!notions!of!gender!roles!in!

order!to!undermine!them!and!subvert!them.!Coakley!sees!a!destabilizing!of!the!

expected!gender!norms!in!her!very!vocation!as!a!priest!in!something!as!simple!as!

deciding!what!to!wear,!both!on!the!altar!and!in!her!daily!life.!She!writes,!“Further!

decisions!which!were!to!affect!not!only!my!liturgical!activity!but!my!general!life!as!a!

priest!also!impinged:!what!sort!of!clerical!dress!to!choose,!what!shoes,!whether!to!

mix!the!clerical!collar!and!lay!clothes,!whether!to!wear!any!makenup!or!jewelry,!how!

to!wear!my!hair—none!of!these!decisions!are!without!considerable!impact!on!the!

nexus!of!themes!described!at!the!outset!of!this!paper,!as!any!reflective!priest!will!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!101!Sarah!Coakley,!“The!Woman!at!the!Altar:!Cosmological!Disturbance!or!Gender!Subversion”!The(Anglican(Theological(Review!edited!by!Cynthia!Shuttuck,!Volume!86!no.!1,!(Winter!20004),!76.!!

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! 65! !!!

surely!admit.”102!Here,!Coakley!describes!how!being!a!priest!particularly!affected!

her!dress,!how!she!presented!herself!as!a!woman,!and!how!she!performed!her!

gender,!both!in!the!liturgy!and!in!her!daily!life.!She!argues!that!these!same!questions!

affect!priests!of!any!gender,!masculine!or!feminine.!The!very!act!of!being!a!priest!

changes!how!one!views!and!performs!their!gender.!Coakley’s!understanding!of!

gender!fluidity!does!not!necessarily!call!for!a!removal!of!gender!roles!and!gender!

binaries,!but!calls!for!a!deeper!view!of!what!gender!is!by!subverting!our!sexist!

gender!roles!in!the!mass.!Coakley’s!views!can!help!create!a!more!fluid!idea!of!gender!

that!I!will!explore!further!in!the!next!chapter.!

A!fluid!view!of!gender!would!embrace!the!idea!that!there!is!no!true,!or!at!

least!easily!definable,!definition!for!femininity!and!masculinity.!Therefore,!is!it!

simply!better!to!not!define!gender!and!allow!people!to!define!their!genders!and!

what!those!genders!mean!for!themselves?!Certainly!it!seems!that!every!theologian!

and!scholar!engaged!in!the!debate!about!gender!comes!to!halt!and!stutter!when!

trying!to!define!these!concepts!in!a!way!that!is!egalitarian.!In!a!way!that!does!not!

naturally!fall!sway!to!what!are!fallen!natures!and!sexists!societies!have!to!say.!While!

the!concept!of!gender!can!be!connected,!and!in!some!ways!interpreted,!through!

physical!bodies!and!gender!identities,!the!concept!of!gender!roles!seems!to!be!a!lofty!

idea.!Concepts!that!we!attempt!to!describe!and!reach!for!but!don’t!fully!understand.!

If!we!cannot!attempt!to!define!these!gender!roles!in!a!way!that!more!clearly!reflects!

the!experiences!of!both!men!and!women!accurately,!then!perhaps!it!is!best!to!

embrace!a!fluid!notion!of!gender!and!allow!people!to!define!gender!for!themselves.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!102!Ibid,!78.!

!

! 66! !!!

But!Coakley!seems!to!assert!that!a!fluid!view!of!gender!is!not!necessarily!one!that!

calls!for!androgyny!and!destroys!the!differences!between!the!genders,!but!one!that!

can!deeper!explore!the!meaning!of!the!genders,!and!it!is!to!that!subject!we!turn.! !

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CHAPTER!4!

GENDER!FLUIDITY!!!!!

The!concept!of!gender!fluidity!is,!as!I!have!mentioned,!a!tricky!issue,!because!it!

seems!to!suggest!an!erasing!of!gender!entirely.!This!is!of!course!appealing!to!us.!An!

erasing!of!gender!could!set!us!free!from!the!prejudice,!stereotyping,!and!

expectations!that!have!been!so!limiting!to!us!as!women!and!men.!Why!can’t!we!just!

toss!out!any!notions!of!gender!altogether!and!let!people!decide!for!themselves!what!

they!want!about!gender?!The!problem!of!course!is!that!erasing!gender!is!just!as!

problematic!as!having!it,!if!not!more!so.!In!my!own!personal!experiences,!the!people!

I!have!met!who!claim!to!be!“blind!to!difference”—or!people!who!claim!that!they!

don’t!“see”!gender,!race,!sexual!orientation,!etc.—are!often!some!of!the!most!bigoted!

and!judgmental,!because!they!refuse!to!acknowledge!people’s!authentic!experiences!

and!struggles.!Any!particular!problem!or!experience!is!pushed!aside!under!the!guise!

of!equality!and!the!phrase!“everyone!is!the!same.”!Should!we!then!abandoned!this!

tempting!idea!of!gender!fluidity?!

I!have!hinted!throughout!this!paper!that!perhaps!there!is!a!different!way!to!

interpret!gender!fluidity.!Sarah!Coakley!certainly!seems!to!think!there!is!a!way!to!

employ!the!concept!of!gender!fluidity!without!erasing!gender!and!without!simply!

changing!gender!roles.!She!writes,!“It![gender!fluidity]!is!something!more!subtle!

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than!these!secular!theories!can!presume,!precisely!because!it!happens!on!the!limen!

between!the!divine!and!the!human!where!the!miracle!of!divine!enfleshment!

challenges!and!undercuts!the!rigid!orderings!of!the!world.”103!Coakley!believes!that!

a!fluid!view!of!gender!is!one!that!is!transformative.!It!is!not!erasing!gender,!but!

rather!a!practiced!attempt!to!look!beyond!stereotypes.!What!gender!truly!means,!

what!it!truly!means!to!be!male!and!female,!what!God!originally!intended!for!us!has!

been!changed!and!damaged!by!sin.!No!one!can!deny!that!women!have!and!still!are!

being!discriminated!against!based!on!their!gender.!What!gender!means!has!been!

perverted!by!sin.!Coakley!believes!that!we!are!longing!for!transformation!through!

grace.!We!long!for!a!better!understanding!of!our!own!genders!and!the!concept!of!

gender!fluidity!may!be!the!key!to!that!transformation.!

In!this!chapter,!I!will!discuss!Coakley’s!belief!on!why!gender!binaries!should!

not!be!inverted,!but!rather!more!subtly!subverted.!And!finally,!I!will!discuss!

Coakley’s!use!of!Butler!and!Gregory!of!Nyssa!to!talk!about!gender!fluidity!and!

eschatological!longing.!By!exploring!Coakley’s!beliefs,!a!clear!understanding!of!what!

gender!fluidity!will!be!understood!as!a!way!that!can!allow!us!to!better!transform!

gender.!

One!of!the!issues!between!feminist!theologians!and!traditional!Church!

thinking!is!the!attempt!to!invert!symbols,!either!by!attempting!to!change!male!

images!of!God!to!female!ones!or!by!trying!to!do!away!with!the!symbolism!of!the!

Bride!(the!Church)!and!the!Bridegroom!(Christ).!Coakley!argues!that!attempts!to!

invert!these!beliefs!and!symbols!are!not!fruitful,!but!rather!it!is!better!to!subvert!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!103!Coakley,!“The!Woman!at!the!Alter,”!92.!

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! 69! !!!

these!ideas.!Coakley!discusses!anthropologist!Mary!Douglas’s!view!of!the!priesthood!

and!the!BridenBridegroom!symbol.!Mary!Douglas!argued!in!support!of!the!Vatican!

decision!in!1976!not!to!ordain!women.!Douglas!argues!that!from!an!anthropological!

perspective,!natural!signs,!such!as!sacred!marriage,!are!defined!by!institutions!like!

the!Catholic!Church,!so!the!male!priesthood!is!justified!in!how!the!Church!defines!

the!divine!BridenBridegroom!symbol,!with!the!Church!as!the!Bride!and!Christ!as!the!

Bridegroom.104!Coakley!argues!that!Douglas’s!beliefs!unknowingly!reflect!a!more!

fluid!worldview.!She!writes,!“Our!signification!is!ever!fluid,!ever!remade,!ever!open!

to!new!‘interpretation:’!such,!by!Douglas’s!own!admission,!is!the!necessary!

conclusion!of!anthropological!insight.!Her!own!proposal!then,!that!feminists!must!

not!repress!the!BridenBridegroom!theme!(she!only!has!that!sort!of!‘feminist’!in!

mind,!unfortunately),!but!must!‘build!on!it!to!reformulate!their!universe,’!given!the!

capacity!for!fluid!signification,!is,!of!course,!precisely!what!I!too!am!after.”105!

Coakley!describes!how!she!does!not!what!to!do!away!with!gender!distinctions!that!

are!symbolically!present!in!the!Church,!but!rather!she!argues!these!symbols!are!

fluid!with!nuances!of!meaning!while!still!not!quelling!the!distinctive!differences!in!

gender.!Coakley!argues!then!that!gender!fluidity!does!not!naturally!call!for!us!to!

invert!gender!binaries,!but!rather!gender!fluidity!is!meant!to!subtly!subvert!

gender.106!

I!would!be!remiss!then!to!not!put!Coakley!and!John!Paul!II!into!dialogue!with!

one!another.!John!Paul!II!would!thoroughly!disagree!with!Coakley’s!attempts!to!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!104Ibid,!80n81.!105Ibid,!81.!106!Ibid,!82.!

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! 70! !!!

better!understand!gender!through!a!fluid!interpretation!of!gender.!John!Paul!II!

strongly!stressed!the!distinctions!between!the!genders!and!the!importance!of!the!

gender!binaries.!Coakley,!however,!is!right!to!point!out!the!complexities!of!gender,!

even!in!how!it!is!presented!within!the!traditional!framework!of!the!Catholic!Church.!

Coakley’s!critiques!Hans!Urs!von!Balthasar,!who!greatly!influenced!John!Paul!II!and!

is!one!of!the!major!theologians!used!by!New!Feminist!theologians,!can!help!lead!to!a!

better!understanding!of!how!Coakley!would!view!John!Paul!II’s!theology!of!gender!

as!something!more!fluid!than!perhaps!even!John!Paul!II!would!realize.!Coakley!

describes!how!Balthasar!was!influenced!by!Gregory!of!Nyssa!and!developed!his!own!

beliefs!about!gender!fluidity,!though!Coakley!argues!his!beliefs!and!understanding!of!

fluidity!only!extend!to!men.!She!writes:!

If!we!ask,!thirdly!and!finally,!how!this!(selective)!potential!for!gender!fluidity!finds!its!counterpart!in!Balthasar’s!thought,!about!GodnasnTrinity,!we!confront!even!more!fascinating!and!labile!material.!As!in!a!careful!reading!of!the!Theodramatik!in!particular!shows,!Balthasar!can!renapply!his!theory!of!“femininity”!and!“masculinity”!at!this!higher!level!of!theological!reflection!to!arrive!at!the!following!conundrum:!that!the!Son!is!“feminine”!in!relation!to!the!Father’s!“masculinity,”!yet!Father!and!Son!are!“masculine”!in!jointly!spirating!the!(initially!“feminine”!Spirit);!and!yet!again!that!the!Father!too!can!be!said!to!be!“feminine”!in!receiving!the!procession!back!into!himself!from!the!other!two.!All!the!persons,!in!other!words,!are!both!“masculine”!and!“feminine”;!and!by!extension!it!must!be!again!that!the!Christ/Word/priest!who!“pours!himself!out”!as!seed!at!the!altar!is!also!“feminine”,!receptive,!as!representing!the!capacity!of!the!church!so!to!be!fructified.107!!

Here,!Coakley!describes!how!Balthasar’s!own!assertions!about!the!Trinity!and!

gender!destabilized!when!more!thoroughly!examined.!Balthasar’s!understanding!of!

the!Trinity!is!also!used!by!John!Paul!II,!in!Mulieris(Dignitatem.!He!writes,!“The!order!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!107!Ibid,!86n87.!

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! 71! !!!

of!love!belongs!to!the!intimate!life!of!God!himself,!the!life!of!the!Trinity.!In!the!

intimate!life!of!God,!the!Holy!Spirit!is!the!personal!hypostasis!of!love.!Through!the!

Spirit,!Uncreated!Gift,!love!becomes!a!gift!for!created!persons.!Love,(which(is(of(God,(

communicates(itself(to(creatures:(‘God's!love!has!been!poured!into!our!hearts!

through!the!Holy!Spirit!who!has!been!given!to!us’(Rom(5:5).”108!In!this!passage,!John!

Paul!II!speaks!about!the!“order!of!love”!and!in!particular!the!love!of!God!is!poured!

into!women!and!reflected!in!the!Trinity.!Blanca!Castilla!de!Cortázar,!a!Doctor!in!

theology!and!philosophy!at!the!John!Paul!II!Pontifical!Institute!in!Madrid,!explains!

John!Paul!II’s!understanding!of!the!Imago(Dei!and!the!Trinity!in!connection!with!

Balthasar’s!and!how!it!affects!the!view!of!women!in!the!image!of!God.!She!writes,!“If!

we!take!the!imago!Dei!as!the!imago!Trinitatis,!if!being!a!woman!as!such!means!to!be!

an!image!of!God,!the!to!be!a!bride—another!way!of!saying!womannn,!should!not!

mean!outside!the!divine!image.!On!the!other!hand,!there!are!plenty!of!passages!in!

Holy!Scripture!in!which!God!personified!as!Wisdom,!is!also!presented!as!bride!and!

mother!for!which!reason!it!would!be!natural!to!wonder!which!divine!archetype!is!

the!one!in!whose!image!woman!was!created.”109!If!Cortázar’s!interpretation!of!John!

Paul!II!and!Hans!Urs!von!Balthasar!is!correct,!then!I!believe!Coakley!would!be!

justified!in!pointing!out!once!again!how!these!issues!of!gender!yet!again!become!

destabilized!and!transform!into!a!more!complex!image.!God!and!GodnasnTrinity!

cannot!have!strictly!defined!gender!roles,!even!according!to!proponents!of!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!108!John!Paul!II,!Mulieris(Dignitatem,(§!29.!109!Blanca!Castilla!de!Cortázar,!“’So!God!created!man!in!his!own!image,!in!the!image!of!God!he!created!him;!male!and!female!he!created!them’!(Gen!1:27):!Person,!nature!and!culture”!in!Woman(and(Man(the(Humanum(in(its(Entirety:(On(the(20th(Anniversary(of(John(Paul(II’s(Apostolic(Letter(Mulieris(Dignitatem((1988^2008),!(Libreria!Editrice!Vaticana:!2010),!92.!

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! 72! !!!

traditional!gender!roles.!By!better!understanding!gender!as!something!fluid,!it!

becomes!easier!to!understand!how!gender!is!transformed!through!the!divine.!

Sarah!Coakley!attempts!to!bring!ideas!of!Butler!and!Gregory!of!Nyssa!

together!to!discuss!the!eschatological!body!and!how!combining!these!voices!we!can!

come!to!a!better!understanding!of!gender!fluidity.!She!argues!that!our!desire!to!

escape!from!gender!reflects!our!own!eschatological!desires.!Coakley!believes!that!

Western!society’s!obsession!with!the!body!reflects!a!profound!eschatological!

longing!that!only!a!certain!theological!understanding!can!satisfy.!Coakley!hopes!to!

combine!Butler!and!Gregory!of!Nyssa!to!help!satisfy!this!longing!and!come!to!a!

better!and!clearer!understanding!of!gender!and!eschatological!body.!She!writes:!

Yet!Butler’s!ingenious!attempts!to!escape!the!repressive!net!of!sexual!stereotypes!are—I!shall!suggest—ironic,!if!ultimately!depressing,!secularized!counterparts!of!an!ascetical!programme!of!gender!fluidity!into!the!divine!that!Christian!tradition!may!hold!out!to!us,!especially!as!we!find!it!in!the!work!of!Gregory!of!Nyssa;!and!Gregory!of!Nyssa’s!programme!works!with!a!necessarily!eschatological!telos.110!!

Here!Coakley!suggests!that,!by!looking!at!both!Gregory!of!Nyssa!ascetical!Christians!

beliefs!of!gender!fluidity!and!Butler’s!beliefs!of!gender!performance,!a!theological!

answer!to!the!question!of!gender!can!be!understood.!

Coakley!agrees!that!a!postmodern!view!of!the!body!is!difficult!and!confusing.!

The!body!becomes!something!difficult!to!grasp!and!understand!in!this!view,!and!can!

only!be!understood!in!resistance!to!the!forces!that!place!limits!and!values!onto!it.!

Coakley!argues!that!this!view!is!ultimately!depressing!and!believes!that!the!body!

needs!some!greater!religious!meaning.!She!explains:!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!110!Coakley,!Powers(and(Submissions,!155.!

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It!is,!I!suggest,!precisely!these!contradictions!that!should!alert!us!to!a!latent!cultural!yearning!in!the!matter!of!‘bodies’—not!towards!the!immediate!sexual!fulfillment!that!appears!as!ubiquitous!cultural!palliative!(if!only!in!fantasy),!but!an!equally!erotic!yearning!towards!a!more!elusive!eschatological!goal.!From!this!perspective!the!bodily!obsessions!just!described—the!quest!for!longevity,!beauty,!health,!sexual!performance—bespeak!a!prevailing!denial!of!death.111!!

This!denial!of!death,!Coakley!argues!comes!from!a!longing!for!a!body!after!death,!a!

body!that!is!truly!transformatively!ours.!A!body!that!is!not!constrained!by!negative!

sexist!ideals!of!biological!sex,!gender!identity!and!gender!roles.!Coakley!argues!that!

Butler’s!theories!of!gender!performance!and!fluidity!are!not!simply!another!denial!

of!death!like!so!many!postmodern!theories!of!the!body—but!rather,!she!argues!that!

Butler’s!theories!show!a!deep!eschatological!longing!and!transformation.!Coakley!

sees!Butler’s!almost!liturgical!understanding!of!rituals!and!practices!that!transform!

the!body!as!acting!out!an!eschatological!body!in!the!here!and!now.!However,!

Coakley!realizes!that!this!interpretation!of!eschatological!longing!for!the!body!would!

not!be!something!that!Butler!would!necessarily!agree!with.!Still,!by!combining!

Butler!with!Gregory!of!Nyssa,!Coakley!sees!the!fulfillment!of!the!eschatological!

longing!of!bodily!transformation!to!that!of!a!more!fluid!gender!described!by!Butler.!

She!writes:!

Both!Butler!and!Gregory!of!Nyssa,!as!I!shall!now!attempt!to!demonstrate,!know!the!meaning!of!that!aphorism!and!present!us!with!visions!of!bodily!(and!gendered)!transformations!that!press!forward!from!the!present.112!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!Ibid,!156.!112!Ibid,157.!

!

! 74! !!!

Coakley!believes!that!a!truly!eschatological!understanding!of!the!body!must!be!

something!that!we!practice!and!understand!in!the!here!and!now,!and!not!something!

that!we!simply!look!forward!to!after!death.!

Coakley!views!Butler’s!“denaturalization”!of!sex!and!gender!as!extremely!

similar!and!connected!to!Gregory!of!Nyssa’s!own!theology!of!gender!fluidity.113!

Butler’s!gender!theories!specifically!call!for!transformation!of!gender!in!order!to!

obtain!liberation!and!personal!fulfillment.!Coakley!writes,!“The!possibilities!for!

labile,!fluid!transformation!towards!a!goal!of!liberation!and!personal!authenticity!is!

what!Butler’s!vision!has!in!common!with!more!ancient!wisdom.”114!Here,!Coakley!

explains!how!a!fluid!view!of!gender!would!be!one!that!is!transformative,!liberating,!

and!authentic.!But!this!does!not!mean!that!Coakley!is!looking!to!dismiss!gender!

distinctions!and!differences!or!to!selfncreate!or!determine!as!the!Church!has!accused!

gender!theorists!of!doing.!By!situating!Butler!with!Gregory!of!Nyssa,!Coakley!tries!to!

show!that!gender!fluidity!does!not!mean!determining!one’s!own!gender!but!rather!

allows!for!a!deeper!understanding!of!gender.!

Coakley!further!emphasizes!the!idea!of!practice!found!in!Butler!and!how!it!

corresponds!with!spiritual!practices.!Transformation,!liberation,!and!authenticity!

cannot!come!about!simply!by!thought!alone,!but!must!come!through!practice!or!

actions.!In!the!case!of!Butler!this!means!going!against!the!predominant!cultural!

assumptions!of!heterosexual!marriage!and!performance!by!breaking!down!and!

subverting!the!roles!that!the!sexes!have!been!assigned.!Coakley!believes!that!insofar!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!113!Ibid,!159.!114!Ibid.!

!

! 75! !!!

as!Butler!discusses!transformation,!a!question!of!“grace”!begins!to!present!itself.!She!

writes:!

To!the!extent!that!this!vision!of!transformation!hangs!over!Butler’s!theorizing,!the,!it!begs!a!question!about!the!possibilities!of!‘grace’;!whereas!a!more!cynical!reading!would!suggest!that!Butler’s!theory!of!resistance!is!merely!reinstantiating!the!conditions!of!sexual!oppression!against!which!she!chafes.115!!

Coakley!does!believe!that!Butler!can!be!criticized,!because!her!system!only!works!as!

an!act!against!oppression.!Her!calling!for!subversion!against!heterosexist!gender!

roles!only!works!when!those!gender!roles!are!already!in!place,!and!Butler!never!

promises!in!her!own!works!that!her!ideas!will!fix!or!change!how!gender!is!viewed.!

In!fact,!Butler!pointedly!denies!that!her!beliefs!will!fix!anything!and!further!does!not!

believe!that!there!was!ever!a!time!when!these!heterosexist!gender!roles!did!not!

exist.!In!this!way,!Butler’s!ideas!about!gender,!while!helpful,!are!decidedly!

depressing!and!discouraging.!However,!Coakley!still!maintains!that!Butler’s!work!

reflects!a!deep!spiritual!yearning,!though!Butler!herself!would!most!likely!deny!such!

a!thing.!But!the!potential!for!grace,!for!God,!to!be!present!and!transformative!in!

Butler’s!theories!of!gender!is!definitely!present.!When!combined!with!Gregory!of!

Nyssa,!this!transformation!of!gender!is!realized.!

Gregory!of!Nyssa,!like!Butler,!fights!against!gender!stereotypes—or,!in!

Butler’s!view,!gender!binaries.!Coakley!explains:!

However!there!are!points!in!Nyssa’s!consideration!of!gender!stereotype!(what!Butler!would!call!the!oppressive!‘gender!binaries’)!which!need!deeper!consideration!than!I!think!has!yet!been!given:!Gregory’s!gender!theory,!like!Butler’s,!does!not!claim!to!obliterate!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!115!Ibid.!

!

! 76! !!!

binaries!that!remain!culturally!normative,!but!seeks—also!like!Butler—to!find!a!transformative!way!through!them.116!!

Like!Butler,!Gregory!tries!to!find!a!way!to!transform!gender!and!create!a!more!fluid!

understanding!of!gender.!Unlike!Butler,!he!does!this!through!ascetical!practices!that!

redirect!eros!or!desire!toward!God.!

Gregory!of!Nyssa!also!views!the!body!differently!than!we!discussed!earlier.!

While!Gregory!does!believe!in!that!concept!of!second!creation,!his!ideas!differ!from!

Origen!because!they!do!not!reflect!that!the!fall!somehow!made!the!body!less!perfect.!

Sure!it!is!now!marred!by!sin,!but!Gregory!views!the!transformation!of!the!body!as!

moving!“from!glory!to!glory.”117!This!view!continues!to!see!the!goodness!of!the!body!

as!it!is,!but!still!sees!it!as!being!able!to!transform!into!more!a!perfect!liberating!and!

fulfilling!form.!Coakley!explains!how!Gregory!redefines!perfection:!

Famously!rendefining!‘perfection’!as!‘never!arriving’—a!daring!move!for!a!Platonist—he!similarly!understands!the!partaking!of!the!Eucharist!in!this!life!as!an!alreadynanticipated!reception!of!heavenly!food.!We!are!on!a!continuum,!then,!from!this!‘body’!to!our!‘angelic’!future!‘bodies’,!and!death!need!not!be!a!dramatic!shift!in!the!case!of!a!holy!ascetical!body,!as!we!shall!see.118!!

Gregory!expresses!how!a!fluid!view!of!gender!can!be!seen!and!lived!now!through!

ascetical!practice!and!orienting!ourselves!toward!God!the!body,!in!this!life,!can!be!

transformed.!Coakley!points!out!how!Gregory!of!Nyssa!subverts!gender!

expectations.!She!explains,!“On!the!contrary,!the!fascinating!banter!between!Gregory!

and!his!older!sister!Macrina!in!On!the!Soul!and!the!Resurrection!give!the!lie!to!such!

a!suggestion.!Here,!as!in!the!related!Life!of!Macrina,!Gregory!takes!the!part!of!the!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!116!Ibid,!162.!117!Ibid,!163.!118!Ibid.!

!

! 77! !!!

passions!and!Macrina!manifests!the!stern!rational!asceticism!in!which!Gregory!

manifestly!fails.”119!In!this!way,!Gregory!overcomes!stereotypes.!In!this!view,!unity!

is!achieved!by!the!desire!for!an!endless!God,!for!the!divine.!Gregory!viewed!

humanity!as!constantly!yearning!and!striving!for!God,!that!only!by!submitting!to!

God!can!we!achieve!any!sort!of!fulfillment.!In!Macrina,!Gregory!sees!a!woman!who!

has!already!achieved!this!in!her!life.!Gregory!sees!men!and!women!in!more!equal!

and!less!stereotypical!terms,!largely!because!his!own!experience!disproved!and!

subverted!gender!stereotypes.!

Combining!Gregory!of!Nyssa!and!Butler!together!also!creates!an!interesting!

view!of!gender!when!understood!through!the!eschatological!body.!Gender!is!viewed!

instead!as!something!more!fluid.!It!is!not!that!bodies!or!gender!performance!no!

longer!matter,!but!rather!that!gender!becomes!something!fluid,!the!gender!roles!

begin!to!reverse!and!subvert!the!heterosexual!gender!roles!supported!by!society.!

Gregory!of!Nyssa!views!the!gender!as!being!something!that!is!subverted!and!

changed!in!ascetical!practices.!He!does!not!necessarily!call!for!an!end!of!a!gender!

binary,!but!his!own!confusing!of!what!is!typically!“men’s!roles”!or!“women’s!roles”!

challenges!the!notions!about!what!gender!actually!means.!

Coakley!argues!that!both!Butler!and!Gregory!urge!for!a!transformation!of!the!

body!that!can!only!be!accomplished!through!practice!and!performance.!Though!

Butler’s!theories!can!devolve!into!a!pessimistic!world!view,!when!combining!her!

with!Gregory’s!ascetical!practices,!there!is!a!hope!for!fulfillment!in!the!

eschatological!body!that!breaks!away!from!these!gender!stereotypes!that!are!placed!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!119!Ibid,!165.!

!

! 78! !!!

upon!us!through!our!physical!sex!and!gender!identity.!In!Coakley’s!reading!of!

gender!fluidity,!it!seems!that!gender!does!not!necessarily!need!to!be!abandoned!all!

together,!but!needs!to!be!transformed,!and!that!this!yearning!reflects!our!own!

longing!for!something!beyond!us!for!an!understanding!of!gender,!which!is!not!

limited!by!the!restrictions!that!society!has!put!upon!them.! !

!

! 79! !!!

CONCLUSION!

!!!!At!the!beginning!of!this!paper!I!described!an!episode!of!Star(Trek:(The(Next(

Generation!that!depicted!a!race!of!aliens!with!no!concept!of!gender.!In!this!episode!

titled!“The!Outcast”,!as!I!mentioned!earlier,!the!J’naii,!is!an!androgynous!race!that!

finds!any!gender!distinctions!as!inappropriate.!The!J’naii!feel!they!have!evolved!

beyond!gender,!but!what!I!did!not!mention!about!this!episode!was!that!the!J’naii’s!

existence!was!not!better!or!more!harmonious!due!to!a!lack!of!gender.!In!the!episode!

one!of!the!J’naii!named!Soren!reveals!that!she!is!both!attracted!to!Commander!Riker!

and!that!she!identifies!as!female.!She!reveals!that!in!her!society!such!identification!is!

viewed!as!perverted.!The!people!who!have!identified!this!way!are!considered!

outcasts!and!forced!into!conversion!therapy.120!The!allure!of!life!without!gender!is!

tempting!only!because!we!believe!that!by!quashing!our!difference!can!we!be!at!

peace!with!each!other,!but!stories!like!this!one!from!Star(Trek!show!us!how!the!

extinguishing!of!these!would!be!harmful!and!contradictory!to!our!very!nature.!The!

goal,!however,!is!not!to!abolish!gender.!Rather,!it!is!to!show!how!gender!fluidity!is!

not!meant!to!abolish!gender,!but!to!help!transform!it!to!what!our!nature!was!always!

meant!to!reflect.!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!120!Wikipedia,!Star!Trek:!The!Next!Generation!“The!Outcast”!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Outcast_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation)!

!

! 80! !!!

In!this!paper!I!attempted!to!show!that!gender!is!much!more!complex!than!

simply!what!is!between!a!person’s!legs.!Gender!is!connected!to!physical!bodies,!to!

biological!sex,!but!also!to!personal!identification!and!psychobiology!due!to!the!

hormones!that!affect!a!person’s!brain.!I!have!further!explained,!through!feminist!

gender!theorist!Judith!Butler,!how!gender!is!practiced!and!performed.!That!no!

matter!what!biological!sex!or!gender!identity!may!say,!the!only!way!we!truly!

recognize!gender!in!order!daily!lives!is!through!performance.!Through!this!idea!of!

performance!I!have!also!explained!how!society!affects!how!we!view!gender!and!how!

society!then!dictates!how!gender!should!be!performed!and!what!roles!the!sexes!

should!fill.!

Gender!is!complicated.!To!try!to!suggest!a!simple!view!of!gender!is!not!just!

unacceptable,!it!is!nearly!impossible.!Furthermore,!humanity’s!fallen!nature!has!

greatly!harmed!our!view!of!gender,!creating!a!sexists!and!patriarchal!world!view!

that!perverted!God’s!original!intent!in!creating!differences!in!gender.!

I!hoped!to!show!with!Sarah!Coakley!how!combining!the!beliefs!of!people!like!

Judith!Butler!and!Gregory!of!Nyssa!can!better!explain!the!notion!of!gender!fluidity.!I!

hoped!to!show!that!a!fluid!view!of!gender!is!not!necessarily!one!that!erases!gender!

or!attempts!to!deny!our!very!nature.!Instead!gender!fluidity!attempts!to!subvert!

stereotypical!notions!of!gender!that!have!been!created!by!sexist!societies!in!order!to!

better!come!to!a!true!understanding!of!what!it!means!to!be!an!embodied!spirit!

created!by!God.!

!

! 81! !!!

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!((!!!!!!!!!!!!!!