Theology for Every Body

website relaunch with a new mission

In 2020 I started a blog, and I called it Theology for Every Body.

I named it that because it felt true to the kinds of writing I wanted to do and, in many ways, it still is. I studied disability theology and medical ethics in graduate school, inspired by my younger brother who was born with Cri Du Chat and DiGeorge syndromes. Then, while in school, I was diagnosed with PCOS and started identifying as chronically ill. Everything I thought I’d learned about combatting ableism in religious spaces seemed exceedingly harder to do when it was my own body in question. I started writing about the challenges of being unwell in a society that sells wellness, and the overlap I found between disabled and chronically ill identities. Encountering queer and crip theories about the body - that society is constructed in such a way to marginalize the “non-normal” - helped me see that all bodies are connected to each other, and the bodies that Christianity oppresses have many similarities.

Still, as it happens, my writing and professional interests grew. I found myself full-time freelancing. I started this Substack. Theology for Every Body was still my mission statement, but I didn’t know what to put there anymore.

I’ve been quietly working on a rebrand for the last two years.

As the political circumstances in the United States escalate - Donald Trump just signed an executive order with the intention of invalidating trans and intersex people (but which incidentally named all human people female) and is gearing up to challenge Medicare and Medicaid - it is becoming more and more crucial that we establish networks of community and participate in mutual aid.

For me, this means amplifying the voices of disabled and LGBTQ+ persons in every way I can. And so, we come to Theology for Every Body 2.0.

Theology for Every Body is a curated library of resources and essays as well as reviews of books, TV, movies, podcasts, and music for people with a vested interested in non-normative bodies and Christian spirituality.

This summer, submissions will open for guest contributions of reviews and personal essays. Theology for Every Body will feature 12 guest contributors per year, at one guest essay per month. Each contributor will be compensated $45 for their published work, with no limit to the number of submissions each reading period.

Where is this money coming from?

Well, a year or so into Theology for Every Body 1.0, I started a merch shop. I never quite knew what to do with the money, so I never cashed it out (not that it’s a particularly high amount, it’s definitely not…) I thought about donating it to charity or just funneling it back into a different initiative of mine. But, as I brainstormed this rebrand, it became clear: I would use the money to pay other voices.

This is what mutual aid is going to look like for me in the coming years.

For now, the first four book reviews for the Theology for Every Body library are now live! I’ve got 25+ waiting in the wings, for posting in the coming weeks. I’m also working on gathering an editorial committee to review and select submissions this fall.

For the sake of boundaries, I’m not going to share on here every time a new review or essay goes live. I will, however, send a monthly recap of what’s new on Theology for Every Body.

My hope for this new chapter is that Theology for Every Body can be a one-stop shop for caregivers, academics, ministers, and folks living in different types of bodies themselves. I hope this curated platform helps people feel not-so-alone, and in doing so, abolishes the sense that “nobody is doing this work,” which permeates so many niche academic fields. Lots of people are doing work in the areas of LGBTQ+ and disability theology. It’s time for me to do my part in spotlighting it.