Intersex and Formation

1. Dr Susannah Cornwall University of Exeter and South West Ministry Training Course Intersex and Formation

2. Intersex: An Introduction • Physical difference from male or female • Sometimes involves unusual genitalia • Sometimes involves an unusual combination of genitals, gonads, chromosomes, other physical characteristics

3. Intersex gender identity • Some intersex people will have undergone “corrective” surgery in childhood and been assigned to a “best gender of rearing”.This may not “match” their gender identity later • Many intersex people feel like typical men and women • Some intersex people identify as “third” or genderqueer

4. Sally Gross (Selwyn Gross)

5. Intersex sexuality • Intersex people may be bisexual, heterosexual, homosexual, etc… • Intersex people may or may not be able to have penetrative sex • Intersex people may or may not be able to have children

6. Formation, Identity and Priesthood • “‘Formation’ has the unfortunate connotation of an external shape one receives like a mould; the theology of charismata corrects this by emphasizing a growth from within, which will produce the fruits that are necessary for ministry, but not according to a uniform pattern.” (Thompson 2004: 268-9)

7. Formation, Identity and Priesthood • “The language itself is indicative: ministry is primarily about being, not doing; the minister is formed for ministry, not trained or equipped; she is remade, changed into something new: there is an ontology of ministerial being … Such a model is troublingly ideological. It depends upon a hierarchical understanding of being that seeks to reinforce clerical power over the Church, and is governed by relationships of submission, which are potentially extremely harmful for those in training.” (Green 2010: 114)

8. Formation, Identity and Priesthood • “The only possible preparation is the emptying of the subject, the submission of its agency in preparation for the new investiture, signified by the public vesting of the clerical collar and stole. As a model of ministerial training this (de)formation must cast itself in the language of deconstructing, of brokenness and wounding, leaving the ordinand throughout her training in a high state of identity-anxiety and uncertainty.” (Green 2010: 116)

9. Men and Women in Marriage • “The sexual differentiation of men and women is a gift of God … It is on male and female that God gives his blessing, which is to be seen not only in procreation, but in human culture, too … Persons are not asexual, but are either male or female” (Archbishops’ Council 2013: 1, 9).

10. Formation, Identity and Priesthood • “Put more theologically, it is about helping believers to see Christ in one another. The interpretative work of the priest looks first at how to uncover for one person or group the hidden gift in another – especially when the first impression is one of alienness and threat. The priest is the instrument by which God’s generosity is laid bare, and thus by which generosity becomes possible for believers.” (Williams 2004)

11. Intersex Christians’ Stories • “On a good day I can really embrace my being intersex and seeing the spiritual gifts that come from that and I don’t believe it’s an accident that I’ve been born this way. It’s been a very, very difficult path but it’s been a very powerful path as well. And in terms of the work I do now as a counsellor it’s fantastic. It really is the kind of wounded healer thing … I am very, very grateful for the work that I do today. I know that I am very good at the work that I do today. And that is a gift.” (Sarah, quoted in Cornwall 2012: 3)

12. Intersex Christians’ Stories • “God meant me to be like this; God’s backing me and waiting to see what I do with what I’ve been given. I’ve been given certain gifts. I’ve had a lot taken away but, by Jove, I’ve been given a lot as well.” (David, quoted in Cornwall 2013: 227)

13. Promise-Making and Identity • “Covenant commitments, vows and promises can be risked precisely because the promise is enabled and sustained from beyond self but not in a way that excludes the self. Notwithstanding my inconstancy, I can be counted upon, because I am a promising self, constituted by the God of promise.” (Pickard 2009: 220)

14. In What does Sex Inhere? • Chromosomes? XXXYXXYXX/XYmosaic • Genitalia? malefemaleother • Gonads? testesovariesovotestesone testis and one ovary • Hormone levels? • Gender identity?

15. Questions for discussion • Virginia Ramey Mollenkott argues, “God made no mistake by creating intersexuals”. On what grounds might Christian theologians agree or disagree with this statement? • What difference, if any, might it make to theologies of sex, gender and sexuality if more Christians engaged with the existence of intersex? • Should theologians take intersex people’s experiences into account when constructing broader arguments about the theological significance of sex, gender and sexuality? • How easy or difficult do you think it would be for intersex people to understand and recognize themselves as made in God’s image in your own worshipping/liturgical/studying/formational context? • How well equipped is your denomination for intersex people’s pastoral care and spiritual nurture? • Are there any particular aspects of your faith tradition or context that you think would be challenged by intersex?

16. Works cited • Archbishops’ Council (2013), Men and Women in Marriage: A Document from the Faith and Order Commission Published with the Agreement of the House of Bishops of the Church of England and Approved for Study, London: Church House Publishing • Beckwith, Roger, Sarah Finch, Charles Raven, Vinay Samuel and Chris Sugden (2011), The Church, Women Bishops and Provision: The Integrity of Orthodox Objections to the Proposed Legislation Allowing Women Bishops, London: Latimer Trust • Coakley, Sarah (1996), “Kenosis and Subversion”, in Hampson, Daphne (ed.), Swallowing a Fishbone? Feminist Theologians Debate Christianity, London: SPCK, 82-111 • Cornwall, Susannah (2012), “What Do Intersex Christians Say About Intersex and Faith?”, Manchester: Lincoln Theological Institute, online at http://lincolntheologicalinstitute.com/iid-resources/ • Cornwall, Susannah (2013), “British Intersex Christians’ Accounts of Intersex Identity, Christian Identity and Church Experience”, Practical Theology 6.2, 220-236 • Green, Brutus (2010), “Being Called Out: Vocation as a Model of Anglican Ministerial Training and Priesthood”, Theology 113.872, 114-122 • Hampson, Daphne (1990), Theology and Feminism, Oxford: Blackwell • Hampson, Daphne (1996), “On Autonomy and Heteronomy”, in Hampson, Daphne (ed.), Swallowing a Fishbone? Feminist Theologians Debate Christianity, London: SPCK, 1-16 • Liao, Lih-Mei (2007), “Towards a Clinical-Psychological Approach to Address the Heterosexual Concerns of Intersexed Women”, in Clarke, Victoria and Elizabeth Peel (eds.), Out in Psychology: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer Perspectives, Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 391-408 • Mascall, E.L. (1978), “Some Basic Considerations”, in Moore, Peter (ed.), Man, Woman, and Priesthood, London: SPCK, 9-26 • Pickard, Stephen (2009), Theological Foundations for Collaborative Ministry, Farnham: Ashgate • Tanis, Justin (2003), Trans-gendered: Theology, Ministry, and Communities of Faith, Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press • Thompson, Ross (2004),“Academic Theology and Ministerial Formation: Towards a Contemplative Approach”, Theology 104, 265-273 • Van Huyssteen, Wessel (producer/director) (2003), The 3rd Sex, broadcast SABC (South Africa), November 2003 • Walcutt, Heidi (1996), speaking in Hermaphrodites Speak! (video), Petaluma, CA: Intersex Society of North America • Williams, Rowan (2004), “The Christian Priest Today”, lecture on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Ripon College, Cuddesdon, Friday 28 May 2004, online at http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/1185