I was raised as an Evangelical Christian, and I continued with this religious understanding into my early 20’s when I finally came into contact with the realizations that there are numerous ways of understanding Christianity and living into this part of my identity. A big part of my initial tiptoeing into the waters of liberal-progressive ideals was by celebrating Women’s History Month for myself and recognizing the powerful roles held by women in social, political, and theological spaces; that was absolutely transformative to me as I explored what felt like a new world within my common identifier of Christianity.
Throughout my theological education and now as a staff person in Theological Admissions at Drew University who also works in youth ministry, my ideas of faith and gender have changed in so many ways. There are numerous ways to be a woman, and there are numerous ways to live into one’s faith-based beliefs and/or practices. I am constantly drawn back to Dr. Kimberle Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality when thinking about myself and the identities of others along the gender spectrum which propels my work in specifically supporting trans and cis women and non-binary folx.
As a queer, white, disabled, Christian, American, educated, middle class person, it is important for me to constantly continue my education on privilege and discrimination—particularly toward understandings of gender and sexuality—on the pathway to decolonial liberation for all oppressed people. Women’s History Month is an annual reminder to me to keep honoring the women who came before me, keep learning, keep deconstructing, and keep reconstructing the world as it should be
