Using a mix-method approach, I engage Cultural Anthropology, Narrative Theory, and Black Queer Theology within a Black Posthumanist lens to investigate how Black Trans-masculine identities are shaped by and resist traditional hegemonic theological and cultural structures. This unique perspective allows me to both examine and develop contemporary literary works that elevate Black transmasculine identities. Central to this exploration are three key questions: How does cultural anthropology illuminate Black queer and trans-masculine narratives? In what ways do Black queer theology and Black trans-masculine experiences reshape religious and spiritual landscapes toward liberation? How does storytelling function as a tool for theological and social freedom? I argue that the intersecting identities of the Black Transmasculine experience are liberatory in and of themselves in that they challenge and reshape dominant notions of gender, race, and religion.
A foundational tenant of womanism within Black Theology is its radical commitment to the Black community and its non-monolithic experiences. It emphasizes the ways in which oppression and its various forms and intricacies intersect, multiply, and imprison the Black community - especially the Black woman. Dr. Cannon elucidates on the importance of Black women's literature, saying, "The Black woman's literary tradition delineates the many ways that ordinary Black women have fashioned value patterns and ethical procedures in their own terms, as well as mastering, transcending, radicalizing and sometimes destroying pervasive, negative orientations imposed by the mores of the larger society." The historically invisible, ungendered religio-cultural realities of Black women writers provide a unique foundation for the exploration of similarities (in terms of oppression) among present-day Black transmasculine folks. Thus, Black scholarship and Black theo-cultural realities are behooving to create a new narrative that disrupts traditional binary religio-cultural discourse. I offer theological and literary alternatives for resistance and re-imagination, particularly within the Black church and culture, to uncover how ignored and ungendered forms of identity explore spiritual resistance and identity formation.
Womanist theology and Black queer theology offer valuable and necessary wisdom into the experiences of the intersection of sexuality, gender, religion, and race, revealing more considerable theological and cultural insights. Womanist theology, as articulated by scholars like Katie Cannon (1995) and Monica A. Coleman (2006), examines how Black women's experiences inform theological and ethical practices, fostering re-imagined spiritualities and possibilities. Black Queer theology, drawing from thinkers like Pamela Lightsey (2017), critiquing traditional theological and social structures, emphasizing the significance of gender, sex, and sexuality in shaping Black theological thought. Additionally, the liberationist theology of James Cone (1997) critiques racial and social injustice through a theological lens. My work extends these frameworks, demonstrating how Black transmasculine identities offer alternative understandings of personhood, God, and community.
Scholars such as Saidiya V. Hartman (2008) and Hortense Spillers (2003) have been instrumental in shaping Black posthumanist research that gives particular attention to the Black body. Hartman's work on the historical conditions of Black life, particularly in the afterlife of slavery, frames my exploration of Black transmasculine identities within both historical and contemporary contexts. Spillers' (2003) focus on the Black body as a site of resistance informs my understanding of how Black transmasculine bodies challenge conventional notions of gender and sexuality. Kelly Brown Douglass (2008) and Zakiyyah Iman Jackson (2018) contribute frameworks for thinking about Black posthumanism and Black embodiment, which inform this study of transmasculine bodies in theological discourse. Additionally, I draw from authors such as Yolanda Pierce in In My Grandmother's House and Deesha Philyaw in The Secret Lives of Church Ladies; these works offer narratives highlighting Black women's unique experiences, theological reflections, and religious praxis. In African American literature, writers like Zora Neale Hurston provide rich material for examining the intersections of Black lived religion and African American literature and how Black personhood and religiosity are shaped in the context of narratives. Co-editors Dane Figueroa Edidi and J Mase III are integral in the developing canon of Black trans literature, highlighting the intersections of race, gender, and faith demonstrated in their creation of The Black Trans Prayer Book: an interfaith, multifaceted, theological compilation of creative literature by Black Trans & Non-binary folks.
Methodologically, this project engages qualitative, narrative, and phenomenological approaches. Narrative inquiry allows the exploration of individual stories and uncovers deeper truths about lived experience (Creswell 2013). By interviewing Black transmasculine people and exploring their narratives of growing up in the Black Church, I aim to understand how their experiences of the intersection of sexuality, gender, religion, and race reveal larger theological and cultural insights. Phenomenology (Creswell 2013) allows for a deeper understanding of lived experiences and their intersections with theological reflection, making visible the invisibility of Black transmasculine bodies in theological and literary discourse.
This project significantly contributes to theological education by expanding the conversation to include historically marginalized voices, particularly Black transmasculine identities. Through narrative, I seek to illuminate how Transmasculine experiences challenge and reshape traditional theological frameworks, offering new possibilities for religious practice, community building, and freedom. This research can potentially bring about significant changes in theological education and the church by broadening the scope of theological inquiry and offering new ways for the church and the academy to engage with questions of identity, race, gender, and sexuality.
Using a mix-method approach, I engage Cultural Anthropology, Narrative Theory, and Black Queer Theology within a Black Posthumanist lens to investigate how Black Trans-masculine identities are shaped by and resist traditional hegemonic theological and cultural structures. This unique perspective allows me to both examine and develop contemporary literary works that elevate Black transmasculine identities. I argue that the intersecting identities of the Black Transmasculine experience are liberatory in and of themselves in that they challenge and reshape dominant notions of gender, race, and religion. Through narrative, I seek to illuminate how Transmasculine experiences challenge and reshape traditional theological frameworks, offering new possibilities for religious practice, community building, and freedom.