Blessed Are the Binary Breakers
Religion & Spirituality
This episode is a slightly abridged version of part 1 of the Neuroqueer Joseph series over on The Autistic Liberation Theology podcast. Be sure to visit Laura's podcast for parts 2 & 3 once you've finished this episode!
My friend Laura and I explore all the queer + autistic elements of Joseph's story, starting with Genesis 37. Joseph wears makeup and the colorful dress of a princess, toe-walks, and dreams dreams that threaten the status quo — a queer and neurodivergent figure if there ever was one! Why did Joseph’s world — and why does ours — view such a person as threatening? What gifts do neuroqueer folk bring to their communities when empowered to do so?
Content warnings: discussions of transphobia & anti-autistic ableism, bullying, familial violence, hate crimes.
Click here for an episode transcript.
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Timestamps:
(0:00) Introducing the episode
(4:24) Introducing Joseph of Genesis, term "neuroqueer"
(9:00) Rabbi Ruttenberg's article; Midrash about Joseph & Dinah
(12:05) Genesis 37:1-11 & Joseph's neuroqueerness — Joseph's coat; Joseph as "na'ar" or youth; naivety, dreams...
(27:31) Genesis 37:12-36 & Why the brothers can't tolerate Joseph — the danger of dreams to toxic masculinity, primogeniture
(39:45) Being visibly neurodivergent or queer is dangerous; passing or hiding yourself; Joseph's toe-walking
(44:00) "Flavors" of violence in this story — macho escalation; Jacob as fair-weather ally; transgenerational traumas
(49:45) Wrapping up; last bonus clip — Joseph was a hottie who wasn't attracted to women
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Further Reading:
- Article: "(Gender)queering Joseph" by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
- Book: Was Joseph on the Spectrum?
- Sermon: "Joseph Comes Out — Genderqueer Thriving, Reconciliation, and Centering the Margins"
- Webpage of articles about trans Bible figures, including Rebecca, Jacob, Rachel, and Joseph
- Sermon: "Jacob and Esau — Imagining beyond Ourselves"
- Podcast ep on Rebecca: "Gender Diversity Pre-patriarchy"
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Blessed Are the Binary Breakers is part of the Rock Candy Podcast Network. Find more shows at www.rockcandyrecordings.com.
This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn. This episode also makes use of "Dreamer" and "Theme 1" by Jeremy SH Griffith.
--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/binarybreakers/message"We’re in this for the liberation” — More from Rev. Krissy on transforming the Church
Marginalized Bodies as Spectacle & the Good News in Jesus's Disabling Wounds
Queering the Cross, Tomb, and Resurrection
Making Space for Gethsemane: two disabled & trans theologians discuss what people in pain actually need
What's in a Name Change? — How I became Avery Arden and made it through the legal process
O Beautiful Dust — Lenten Prayers & the Gospels’ genderqueer water bearer
Coming Back to Life — Rev. Krissy is a politically queer UCC pastor
Naming Faith — Eric Sharp is a Pluralist Agnostic & Systemic Therapist
Revisiting Nativity: Was Jesus born in a barn or a house, and why does it matter?
The Binary Breaking Transness of Jesus — Clip from an interview with Joseph Peterson
Numinous Names: Stories of name changes across genders, cultures, and faiths
"His Name Is John": magnAUtism & allyship in Luke 1
The Blending of Pagan & Christian Belief: Black Book's tour of nineteenth-century Russia
The Transcendent Tale of Brigid of Ireland: Celtic Goddess, Catholic Saint, and Voodoo Lwa
Sex Work and Satanism with Azura Rose
Manlike Babies, Cuckolded Joseph, & the Sex Worker Madonna — More from Neville on Morality in Renaissance Art
"I am God and not a man" - Exploring God's gender in the Book of Hosea with Liam Hooper & Peterson Toscano
God Gets Vulnerable: A trans & autistic look at Elijah and the "still small voice"
When a trans traveler and an autistic apostle cross paths: Reading Acts 8 in community
"God's love should not be tainted by the fear of earthly hatred" - April is a proud Catholic Latina trans woman
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