Elizabeth’s presentation is called, “Beyond the Binary: Trans-sacrality in Vedic and Indigenous American Cultures”
We in the West often think of religion and transgender issues as being at odds. However, there are many religions in which trans-imagery and being is not only accepted, but seen as a sacred aspect of the Divine. This paper examines two examples of this phenomenon: Native American and Vedic traditions. The act of seeing oneself and of being seen, of perceiving one’s own being in the images of myth and belief, connects us to history and culture and is one way in which we construct identity. Reclamation of religious transgender imagery and history not only furthers dialogue between religious and transgender communities, but helps affirm trans modes of being. These mythological images and roles also illuminate ancient wisdom in modern day trans people’s questioning of gender assumptions and of the concretization of binary modes of being.
About Elizabeth:
Elizabeth Wolterink earned her Ph.D. in Mythological Studies with an Emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in 2017. Her dissertation, Cloaked in Darkness: Feminine Katabasis in Myth and Culture, explored the differences between male and female mythological descents to the underworld and found that female katabatic figures not only have far more agency than is traditionally granted to them, but that they hold important psychological and cultural insights into female identity. Elizabeth has presented at the Western and Midwestern American Academy of Religion as well as at the Parliament of World Religions. She has also worked with youth for over twelve years using myth, depth psychology, philosophy, martial arts, and wilderness skills as means to psychological and spiritual development. Elizabeth guest lectures on mythology and gender for high schools and community organizations and on gender identity and welcoming in churches.