Paul Becomes Paula: Books I Read in 2024, Vol. IX

 

AS A WOMAN: What I Learned About Power, Sex, and the Patriarchy After I Transitioned
Paula Stone Williams

Dr. Paula Stone Williams was a married father of three who held several prominent jobs within the Christian community. Then, she made a life-changing decision: she would physically transition from a male to a female at the age of sixty. Feeling utterly alone after being expelled from the evangelical churches she had once spearheaded, Paula struggled to create a new safe space for herself where she could reconcile her faith, identity, and desire to be a leader.

In [this book], Paula pulls back the curtain on her transition journey and sheds light on the gendered landscape that impacts many in the LGBTQ+ community. She urges men to recognize the ways in which the world is tilted in their favor and validates the experiences of women who have been disregarded based solely on their gender, while also acknowledging how she was once like those men who are blind to their privilege.

I read this book in an attempt to better understand the world of transgenderism. It certainly told the tale of the author's personal journey and feelings, but in terms of understanding "why," it never went beyond "I've always felt like I was in the wrong body; that I should have been born female." And maybe that's really the only explanation for gender dysphoria. As for insights into "the patriarchy," I think Dr. Williams was confusing the shocked reactions of the evangelical ministries he led as a cultural sense of male privilege. But to be fair, the final third of the book DOES point out several instances of being treated differently, i.e., less respectfully, merely because of being a woman, and that is something to be ashamed of and to work on changing.

First Line: I had a big dream but could not hold on to the details, except some vague sense that I'd been immersed in water.

Page 56 / Line 5: Since the subject had been so much on the back burner during my college years, I was confident it was going to go away once I got married.

A Good Line from Somewhere in the Middle: Bible college is kind of like being at your aunt's house.

Last Line: To all who believe the call toward authenticity is sacred and holy and for the greater good, there are no guarantees you will find happiness, but you will know joy.