“ These saints have been historically described as “transvestite saints.” This way of thinking is connected to feminist readings of their stories, which focus on giving women more agency by viewing these characters as women who temporarily dressed as men to gain freedom or spiritual growth. We question this interpretation because the term is outdated and simplifies the complex nature of gender identities. Seeing these saints’ masculine appearance as just a disguise limits understanding to a simple man-woman binary and overlooks the richness of gender diversity.

We also want to recognize that these stories were shared in a patriarchal context that favored stories of women changing into men. In that context, masculinity—linked to reason and piety—was seen as a better, more virtuous identity than the female gender, which was often associated with sin, especially around sexuality. It’s important that we do not repeat this biased view in our work. Instead, we should see sainthood as a way to celebrate gender transition, and to include these stories as part of Christian history. While this project mainly looks at transmasculine saints because they are the most documented historically, we also aim to use stories of sainthood to honor and uplift transfeminine and nonbinary role models today, hoping to recognize them in our own records for future generations. “

Introduction from the Zine