Sex and Uncertainty in the Body of Christ is Published and Available!

At long last, I'm pleased to announce the publication of my book, Sex and Uncertainty in the Body of Christ: Intersex Conditions and Christian Theology. This book, which is a shorter and updated version of my 2007 PhD thesis, is an examination of the existence and treatment of physical intersex conditions in theological perspective. I discuss existing theological engagements with intersex, from authors including Karen Lebacqz, Heather Looy and Hessel Bouma III, J. David Hester, Patricia Beattie Jung, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, Sally Gross, and John Hare, and build on them to begin to show the ways in which intersex impacts on Christian theology.

Here's the blurb, to give you a taster:

"Sex and Uncertainty in the Body of Christ provides the first full-length examination of the theological implications of physical intersex conditions and their medical treatment. Mainstream Christian theology has valued the integrity of the body and the goodness of God reflected in creation, but has also set much store by the 'complementarity' of 'normal' male and female physiology. However, a deconstruction or querying of male and female as essential or all-embracing human categories changes conceptions of legitimate bodiliness and of what it means for human sex to reflect God. Theologies which value incarnation and bodiliness must speak with stigmatized or marginal bodies too: the Body of Christ is comprised of human members, and each member changes the Body's definition of itself. Accepting the non-pathology of intersexed and otherwise atypical bodies necessitates a re-examination of discourses about sex, marriage, sexuality, perfection, healing and the resurrection body. Informed by existing theologies from three marginal areas (transsexualism, disability and queer theology), this beginning of a theology from intersex demonstrates the necessity of resisting erotic domination in defining bodies. It provides a robustly theological perspective on a topic which has become increasingly examined within sociological and critical discourse."

The book is available for purchase from Amazon and other good online retailers, or directly from Equinox, my UK publisher. US publication is scheduled for 2011.

Thank you to everyone who has supported me through the long journey of researching, writing, revising and waiting for this book - and to all those whose stories inspired me to write it on the first place.