The Godly “I Am” of Trans Identity

Abstract

To many, reading trans identity through a Christian lens only makes sense if the goal is to deny trans people of rights. As such, trans persons have generally been understood through a secular lens, thus erasing the value held in Biblical texts on understanding humanity. In this paper the author reads trans identity as emerging from what they describe as “the Godly ‘I am.’ ” With a framework rooted in the works of Winnicott, de Certeau, and trans theological practice as well as referring to the Tower of Babel narrative and the various declarations of “I am” throughout the Bible, the author presents a view of trans embodiment as the expression of human possibility where one may truly “come into being” in the enunciation of “I am”.