Eunuchs and transgender sexuality in Matthew's Gospel...

I was sent the attached paper (please download the PDF) by a colleague of ours. It makes for a fascinating read!

It is a very accessible exegesis of Matthew 19:12. It poses the question whether our traditional reading of this text is valid in relation to the prevailing view of eunuchs in Matthew's cultural and religious setting.

It also offers some remarkable insights into heterosexist readings of scripture and the the dominance of masculinity in modern biblical scholarship (and of course popular Christianity).

This has been a real eye-opener for me. I have never thought of any other reading of Matthew 19:12 than the heterosexist askesis approach (i.e., that what Christ demands, according to this passage, is sexual purity and fidelity. Which, is of course, what we assume the Eunuch to embody).

However, this transgender understanding of the Eunuch, particularly as it relates to cultural understandings of both sexual morphology and social acceptance, challenges that view fundamentally!

From what I read in this paper, 1) Either Matthew records this saying, and intends quite a different reading from the one that has become accepted in modern scholarship (i.e. heterosexist askesis), or 2) it is a later redaction of Matthew to make a point to support social and cultural norms that prevailed after the 5th century 'outlawing' of transgender eunuchs. Of course this is quite plausible as well since this text is a logion with no other text to compare it to (from either the Gospels or the Epistles).

I would love to hear what your thoughts are!

Please click here to download the PDF file.