The Magdalene
The Magdalene
About
The Magdalene is a transexual multimedia arts blog created by Mary to spread the word on greatest works of art you have never heard of. And to share some of my own art (Coming Soon™)
I am a woman, an anarchist, a Christian, and trans. I love books, stories, music, and video games. I also write my own songs and stories! I am heavily invested in political causes such as:
FIGHTING ICE AT EVERY TURN
BLM
POLICE ABOLITION
TRANS RIGHTS
LAND BACK
FEMINISM (A BLANKET FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE)
Why Mary Magdalene?
Mary Magdalene was the closest disciple of Jesus during his ministry on earth. This drew ire from Peter, the leader of the male apostles, because her place as a woman in the world should mean that she was below the men. A servant, a child bearer, perhaps a lesser disciple who may listen but not teach… but to be Jesus’ most beloved? Absurd! But, much like Mother Mary, Mary Magdalene was chosen to play an important role because of her devotion and understanding. Her social class was important to Jesus only because it caused her suffering. Mary was present at the crucifixion and, fittingly, was the one to discover Jesus’ tomb empty three days later
So… why does all of this matter? Because most American Christianity disavows Jesus’ teachings while at the same time declaring that those who live as Jesus wanted us to live are sinners. In this modern world, the anti-theist who stands up to injustice is far closer to Jesus than the theoretically devout one who ignores or perpetuates it. Us, the queer, the people of color, the Muslim, the atheist, the true Christian, the undeserved, the marginalized, are the ones working to build the kindom of heaven in the hearts of people on earth. We are The Magdalene.
The Renaissance Problem
Let’s address the elephant in the room: Most of the paintings I am using of Mary Magdalene depict her as white. Obviously, this is historically inaccurate. Mary, like nearly everyone else in the bible, was middle eastern. The one and only reason for this discrepancy is white supremacy. I ultimately decided to use these renaissance portrayals of Mary for a couple of reasons:
- These paintings are varied, common, and public domain. Most paintings of Mary with brown skin are newer, and would require licensing that I can’t afford
- I don’t want to engage in digital brownface.
That said, I am not confident this decision is the right one. If you have input, please feel free to email me and I will take your point of view into consideration.
Why do you call yourself transexual and not transgender?
I feel that the word transexual better represents my personal experience as a trans woman. I experienced severe gender dysphoria before transitioning which manifested mostly in my body. I hated having so much body hair. I hated my flat chest. I hated that deep voice. Lord knows I hated my natal genitals. These aspects of myself, these physical characteristics of my sex assumed at birth, were completely out of line with my metaphysical perception of myself as a woman. The goal of my transition for me was to change my sex. Now that I have, I feel most comfortable using the terms transexual or post transexual to describe myself.
I’d like to add that in recent years transexual has been weaponized to exclude non-binary folks, two spirit folks, and others who’s experiences don’t neatly fit into the Euro-American conception and colonization of gender. That is not my goal here. Non-binary experiences and identities are valid.
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