23/08/2026
New podcast episode | Charlotte Jacobs on Queering Theology, Reproductive Labor, and the Silencing of Mary
In this episode, host Gabby Lisi talks with doctoral candidate and theologian Charlotte Jacobs about her new co-edited volume, Queering Theology, the erasure of reproductive labor in Christian narratives, and why q***r theology must inherently be liberation theology. Jacobs challenges the mainstream German theological discourse that often reduces q***r theology to a harmless plea for inclusion, pushing back against the idea that it is acceptable to be q***r only as long as you fit neatly into the existing system. Instead, she approaches "q***ring" as an active verb—a practice that disrupts capitalist production, the social reproduction of gender, and systems that oppress marginalized people.
LINK: https://religionandjustice.buzzsprout.com/2237315/episodes
Gabby and Charlotte dive deeply into Charlotte's specific chapter, "The Silencing of Mary: Queering Labor as the Intersection of Everything." They explore how the traditional Christian nativity scene completely sanitizes the intense, physical, and bloody reality of childbirth, rendering Mary an invisible, passive figure. By highlighting Natalie Lennard's striking photograph "Creation of Man," Jacobs reinstates the "blood, sweat, and cries" of reproductive labor, dismantling the pervasive "white male working-class myth" and recognizing caregiving and childbirth as essential, exploited labor.
Key Points
-Mainstream q***r theology often relies on apologetics, seeking inclusion within the current system rather than attempting to dismantle it.
-Queering is not merely a static identity, but an active practice that questions the social production and reproduction of the world.
-True q***r theology must be fundamentally rooted in liberation theology and materialist social analysis.
-The historical erasure of Marxist analysis in the works of prominent theologians, such as Dorothee Sölle, intentionally deprives their theology of its radical, anti-capitalist edge.
-Traditional depictions of the nativity render the intense physical labor of childbirth invisible, silencing Mary and sanitizing the reality of giving birth.
-Reproductive labor and caregiving are essential forms of work that are often heavily exploited and overlooked under capitalism.
-Addressing class and labor requires moving past the "white male working-class myth" to recognize how gender, class, and labor deeply intersect.
About Charlotte Jacobs
Charlotte Jacobs has been a doctoral candidate in systematic theology and ethics at Friedrich Schiller University Jena since 2023. She is a scholarship recipient of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. Her dissertation explores the significance of the concept of class in Protestant theology and examines the relevance of class analysis to intersectional ethics. Her research focuses heavily on materialist q***r feminism, theological gender studies, and the intersection of antifeminism and religious rights.
