Why We Need a Queer Theology of the Body
Each week during June, the month in which much of the world celebrates Pride, Bondings 2.0 will be share at least one story of Catholics who are “Pilgrims of Pride.”
Today’s post is from guest contributor Emma Cieslik (she/her), who is a queer museum professional and religious scholar researching the intersections between gender, sexuality, material culture, and religion.
When I attended a purity culture retreat in middle school, I was asked to pray for my future husband. From lectures delivered in a musty church basement and small group discussions at the rectory, I learned that it was my responsibility to keep my body and my mind pure for this man, wherever he be. All of this, I was told, was to prepare me for the ultimate vocation: being a mother. We even walked up the central aisle of the church with a white rose to place in a vase next to a Mary statue on the altar to affirm our promise.
While I laughed it off at the time, this retreat was the reason that I, a queer woman whose sexuality wasn’t even acknowledged on the overnight retreat, grew up deeply shameful of who I was. As someone with PMOS (a condition that causes intense menstrual cramps that kept me home from school), I was told by church leaders not to talk about the birth control medication that I had to take just to survive in my own body.
As I learned later, these messages were directly lifted from evangelical Christian purity culture. They were co-opted by Catholic parishes when they saw how effective it was in mobilizing (but also traumatizing) a generation. As I’ve unpacked this experience, I’ve come to realize that the church’s Theology of the Body is an antidote to fear of the body, but that some work needs to be done to expand these ideas to a theology of queer bodies. And that affirmation of the body’s goodness and holiness is needed. That’s whyI propose a queer theology of the body that would be more inclusive of diverse realities of sexuality and gender..
What I want is a queer theology of the body that affirms that gender and sexuality are not a strict binary. Bisexual, pansexual, and asexual people exist, along with intersex, nonbinary, and agender people. As opposed to the expectation that we exist as either/or, a queer theology of the body affirms and celebrates the “and.”
Same-sex attraction and gender diversity is completely natural and common in nature. As medical institutions and practitioners understand today, sexuality and gender are spectrums that encompass people with same-sex and different sex attraction, and no sexual attraction at all, along with people who fit into a strict gender binary and those everywhere in between.
A queer theology of the body would affirm that not all sex is inherently procreative. It is a biological fact that conception does not occur every time that a heterosexual couple has sex, so why is procreation viewed as the basis for acceptable sexual activity? Embracing the fact that not all sex will lead to a child is not only liberatory for queer people but also for straight people who have been shamed for not being able to conceive.
A queer theology of the body would affirm that not everyone engages in sex–for example, the many people in consecrated life– but that doesn’t mean that they are less than. Asexual and aromantic people exist, as do people who freely choose celibacy, but people should not be forced into celibacy. To deny fruitful, consensual physical expressions of love is based on blind spots in the church. There are different ways to practice and express human sexuality, just as there are different ways to express gender.
Finally, a queer theology of the body would affirm that gender is complex and nuanced. Accepting and embracing gender diversity means acknowledging that intersex people exist, trans people exist, and the protection of their right to bodily autonomy and healthcare is at the heart of the church’s call for everyone’s access to adequate medical care–and the protection of human dignity.
A queer theology of the body calls for the end of medical violence and the protection of medical rights. Fighting non-consensual operations on intersex babies to “make them fit” into the binary is one practice that can be done. Protection of gender affirming healthcare for all, not just for trans people, is another.
For people like me with PMOS who have hair on her face and chest, who had terrible menstrual cramps that put me out of commission once a month, I receive gender affirming care every time I get my hormone implant, every time that I get my eyebrows threaded and face tweezed. As I understand it, many of us defy a strict gender binary–whether it’s getting our upper lips waxed, undergoing hormone therapy, getting a haircut, or just literally wearing pants.
We could all use a theology that reflects that our sexualities and our genders are sacred and rooted in the image of Christ. While this may seem simple for people whose sexuality and gender fit into cultural standards inside the church and their communities, it is transformative for queer people who were raised to believe that we are made, that we are fundamentally wrong.
A queer theology of the body is, at its very heart, affirming a love and appreciation of God’s creation–trusting that we know and can shepherd the bodies that God has given us, and that at its heart, LGBTQ+ inclusion is about protecting human dignity and life at the heart of this church.
–Emma Cieslik, June 6, 2026
Further reading:
To read other posts in the “Pilgrims of Pride” series, click on the titles below:
June 29: 2026: Community Can Heal LGBTQ+ Employees in Catholic Institutions
June 22, 2026: Remaining Catholic–Despite It All
June 16, 2026: The Blessed Merciful: Coming Out Catholic in a Gay Bar
June 12, 2026: Gay Scottish Parliament Member Speaks Out About His Catholic Faith
June 10, 2026: All Are Welcome! Are All Welcome?
June 6, 2026: Why We Need a Queer Theology of the Body
June 3, 2026: St. Euphrosyne-Smaragdus: A Saint Beyond the Binary
An outstanding piece, Emma. All matter is holy, including the matter of which our bodies are composed. The queer community is making an important contribution to the world’s understanding of sexuality and gender, by taking seriously the goodness of our bodies.
A very enlightening explanation. It’s been difficult to acknowledge my body as a temple of God when it’s ashamed of its attractions. It didn’t help growing up in fear of being outed. Thank you. I feel much better.
Hello fellow cyster! I have PCOS (now recently dubbed PMOS in the Lancet) and certainly feel this. I’d forgetten that intense cramps were an aspect of the syndrome. I do remember my cramps were so bad once in junior high I vomited at the flag pole. I didn’t learn until my mid-twenties that my recent balding and a dozen other historical insecurities were due to this condition. When my blood test results indicated high testosterone I thought I might’ve been intersex. No, of course I wasn’t, but my gender experience is different. I didn’t grow up in a purity focused parish, but I am still disheartened to see condemnation of contraceptives in the Catholic Catechism manual. There is a bit of ambiguous language in there that says something like “please adhere to medical professionals for more guidance” (paraphrase) which I interpret *could be* an allowance for contraceptives. I know NFP can encompass herbalism to regulate one’s cycle, but such methods can be expensive (in time, monetary cost, and mileage distance). Birth control pills are the easiest and cheapest option. I think revising the Catechism to include more mentions of metabolic and reproductive issues may be a good start to addressing the queer theology of the body.
Very good article. This is another reason the Church needs to have a pontifical commission established to thoroughly re-examine current teachings surrounding the gifts of sexuality and gender identity based on fifty years of biblical and sociological research and learning.