E8: Before the Binary: Genderqueer Priests, Sacred Sex Workers & the Erased Queer Past

Long before Christianity, colonialism, and the gender binary, queer and trans people didn’t just exist — we held power, ritual, and spiritual authority.

In this Pride Month special, we uncover the erased histories of gender-diverse priesthoods, sacred sex workers, and queer spiritual traditions from Mesopotamia to India, Rome to the South Pacific. From Inanna’s gender-nonconforming clergy to the Gallae of Cybele, from the Hijra priestesses of South Asia to the queer shamans and Two-Spirit leaders across Indigenous cultures — we explore how queerness was once central to worship, ecstasy, healing, and community.

We also dig into how colonial powers, Christian empires, and modern censorship worked overtime to bury these traditions under shame — rewriting “holy” into “sinful,” and “priest” into “pervert.”

Spoiler: we’re not the new thing. We are ancient.

Check out our blog post for a written overview and references: https://thesanctuaryofsin.com/blogs/the-sanctuary-of-sin-podcast/e8-before-the-binary-genderqueer-priests-sacred-sex-workers-the-erased-queer-past

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