I will be giving a talk in November at the Society of Biblical Literature called: “This Is My Glorified Body: Pauline Trans Models” for the Mysticism, Esotericism, and Gnosticism in Antiquity (MEGA) section. Here’s my abstract:
Ever since I was introduced to ancient Jewish and Christian mysticism, I have always been personally attracted to it. Now that I have started to publicly transition, it is obvious why: transformation. I love stories of metamorphosis in which people become who they already really were. While this can be negative (look at Ovid’s story of Lycaon), it can also be a noble spirit’s deification or angelification (as in Augustus or Enoch/Metatron). Beginning and ending with the Pauline concept of resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, I will trace Pauline “morph” language, which Alan Segal reminds us, abounds in the Pauline corpus in various forms, from what Melissa Harl Sellew has begun to call a “trans-aware” perspective; that is, from the perspective of someone (me) undergoing a social and physical metamorphosis as I lay claim to my glorified female body.
Jaeda Rising & Reborn: Ancient Jewish & Christian Crossings & Transitions 