A History of Jewish Sexuality and Gender Non-Conformity

 

An illustration from 'TimTum: A Trans Jew Zine.'

In the modern day, religion is seen as incompatible with queerness. Because traditional biblical and Talmudic readings have historically enforced conservative ideals on religious communities, we see religion as anti-Queer. In reality, whilst much biblical interpretation is anti-Queer, the original scripture is either ignorant or inclusive of gender non-conforming identities. Today I'd like to talk about the diversity in gender identity that we see in the Talmud - the primary source for Jewish law, tradition, philosophy, ethics, and history.

The Talmud defines six genders, six! That means that when the Babylonian Talmud was written, in the year 500sih - Jewish authorities thought that the populations of non-binary genders were significant and diverse enough to fall into four non-binary categories. The six genders defined in the Babylonian Talmud are as follows:

- Zachar (זָכָר) - AMAB, living as male;

- Nekevah (נְקֵבָה) - AFAB, living as female;

- Androgynos (אַנְדְרוֹגִינוֹס) - A person assigned any sex at birth, with both male and female characteristics;

- Tumtum (טֻומְטוּם) - A person assigned any sex at birth, with ambiguous genitalia;

- Ay'lonit (אַיְּלוֹנִית) - AFAB, but develops male characteristics at puberty;

- Saris (סָרִיס) - AMAB, but is incapable of reproduction or has ambiguous genitalia.

The Talmudic references to these six genders are relatively brief, but they are significant in that they acknowledge and accept the existence of gender diversity. The Talmudic sages recognized that there are individuals who do not fit into the binary categories of male and female, and they provided guidance on how to handle situations where the gender of a person is unclear. The Talmud also discusses how to handle situations where a person's gender is unknown, such as when an infant is born Tumtum (טֻומְטוּם) - with ambiguous genitalia. The Talmud advises that in this situation, the individual should be referred to using gender-neutral pronouns (they) until their gender becomes clear.

Whilst the six genders mentioned in the Talmud are not the same as contemporary gender identities, they do provide a historical precedent for the recognition of gender diversity within Jewish tradition. Today, some LGBTQ+ Jewish organizations and individuals look to the Talmudic references to the six genders as a source of inspiration and validation for their identities.

Now let's talk about Queer Jewish history more generally. Jewish gender diversity and queerness have a very long history that stretches back thousands of years. Whilst the status of LGBTQIA+ individuals has varied by era and community, there have always been sects of Judaism that have embraced or been indifferent to queer and gender non-conforming people.

We first see evidence of queer love in the bible, between King David and Jonathan, who some scholars believe had a romantic relationship. In Deuteronomy, the practice of cross-dressing is prohibited - this implies that the practice was so common that biblical scholars of the time had to ban it. In the medieval period, there were Jewish communities in Spain and North Africa that were known for their acceptance of same-sex relationships. For example, the famous Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides wrote that same-sex love was not inherently sinful, although it was still not viewed as ideal.

Today, we find plenty of Jewish organisations available for queer Jews, although some Jewish communities are actively homophobic or non-welcoming towards Jews who identify as queer. There are still passionate debates within the community about the position of queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming Jews in the community - especially when it comes to rabbinical ordination and marriage under Judaism. 

Modern Judaism can seem hostile to your queer identities, but I think there's certainly a comfort to be found in reading the original scripture - which is often a lot more liberal than ultra-orthodoxy might have you believe.