Omnigender

Mollenkott, Virginia Ramey. Omnigender: A Trans-religious Approach. Revised, expanded edition. Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 2007. 223p. ISBN: 978-0829817713. Softcover. $22.00.

Readers who devoured Virginia Ramey Mollenkott’s original of this highly readable title in 2001 will find the new edition a thoroughly updated and expanded historical examination of the binary model of gender identity and its social and spiritual impacts on individuals and society. Beginning with a description of the various ways in which mandating precisely two acceptable gender identities has inflicted damage on humans who fit into neither, the discussion then moves to a clear and in-depth exploration of transgender people and their situation. Of particular value for general readers is the outlining of the definitions of each population contained under the “transgender” label, and the chapters on the ways Christianity and Judaism have written about and considered gender limits. The omni-gendered model is then used to examine the Scriptures and the history of the Christian church, addressing the question, “How can the church that is called to bear God’s message of reconciliation scorn or reject people of any sexual orientation or gender identity?” (p. 142). Mollenkott advocates for the adoption of the full continuum of sexual orientations and gender assignments contained in an omnigender universe and see her book as “about gender justice and challenging the dominant gender construct in the search for such justice.” (p.44). Librarians will find her discussion of the main recent publications on transgender topics and religion (both books and articles) helpful in evaluating their collections in this area. Most useful for public, college, university and seminary libraries.

Reviewed by Robert Ridinger
Professor & Electronic Information Resources Manager
Northern Illinois University Libraries

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