First century Jewish men wore tunics.
Tunics are, in every modern sense of the word, dresses.
Doubt me? Google it, and hurry back.
These simple, single piece, ankle-length garments were worn by men and women alike.
And Jesus wore one.
He wore other things too, like shawls, belts, and tassels, and the weight of his cloak would depend on the weather.
Gender norms**, or social expectations based on gender, have varied widely across history.
And in America in 2025, if a man were to walk into a bar wearing a tunic and a lightweight cloak, we’d say, “That man is wearing a dress.”
We might call him non-binary or trans, and some in the church might call them damned.
What a difference a couple thousand years can make.
It’s important to note that we are talking about gender, not sexuality. If you’re not sure about the difference, give that one a Google too.
A quick note to the Queer Community.
Is being transgender as simple as wearing a dress? God, no!
These issues are not simple. In the same way, is my complicated relationship to my own sexuality as simple as the Christian-based purity culture I was raised in? God, no!
Christian women and sexuality have a rocky history. Doubt me? Ask around.
These issues are not simple.
But please bear with me as I’ve simplified some things in an attempt to make this message loud and clear for the guys in the back.
You know the guys in the back.
In today’s Christian circles, gender norms are connected to someone’s rightness with God.
Men wearing pants? Cool with God.
Men wearing dresses? Uncool with God.
But these norms have evolved even in our own country’s short history, like in the 1700s when men wore high-heeled shoes and long-haired wigs, two things not associated with modern American masculinity.
Imagine if that same man in a tunic who walked into a bar was also wearing high-heeled shoes and long hair.
Definitely damned. And if that same man is wearing make up?
Burn the place down.
Never mind that makeup has been used by men and women across cultures and throughout history, like in ancient Egypt when it was worn to signify social class—it was less about your genitals and more about how much cash you had, what a world!
The shift away from makeup for men happened in the 19th century when Queen Victoria deemed cosmetics vulgar and the Church of England agreed with her. And thus, the makeup industry lost half of their market…thanks a lot, Victoria.
Which leads me to my actual point:
The condemnation by the Christian Church of the Queer Community, particularly in the way that people are choosing to dress and identify, is utter nonsense.
Gender norms are always shifting and evolving.
Which is why it is foolishness when people like Jonathan Van Ness are judged with a religious harshness that is completely based on gender normative behavior in the United Sates in the year 2025.
You’re getting it.
By any modern American standard, Jesus wore dresses.
And I’m pretty sure I’ve seen JVN don an actual tunic.
Truthfully, church, if you’re going to continue to declare outrage about gender norms, at least make it make a little more sense.
Like when you quote DEUTERONOMY! in your defense.
If you’re going to quote Deuteronomy 22:5, then you better be honoring the rest of the Deuteronomic Code from that same book of the Bible.
You better not be eating bacon or venison.
You better support canceling everyone’s debt every seven years…ahem, student loan debt, anyone?!
You better show proof of your daughter’s virginity before her wedding, and if she doesn’t bleed upon penetration, you better go ahead and stone her.
You better also stone the adulterers, male and female, because killing people with stones was a thing.
And when you set your slaves free, you better send them off with enough money and resources to build a life for themselves.
…So did you want to play the Deuteronomy game?
Did you want to attach yourself to a law written within a cultural and religious context that clearly no longer applies?
A lot has changed over the last 3,000 years. The people who wrote that law understood God in a way that Jesus spent time adding clarity and context to.
But the second a man wearing a dress, heels, and makeup walks into a bar?
DEUTERONOMY!
You get it. I can tell.
Utilizing the ever-changing gender norm to condemn people to hell is pretty weak.
And for the faithful that need a New Testament reference on the topic, see Galatians 3:28—
“God does not see you as a Jew or as a Greek. He does not see you as a servant or as a person free to work. He does not see you as a man or as a woman. You are all one in Christ.”
OMG Paul! So heavy handed. You are clearly uninvited to be a panelist on the conservative discussion on Trans Issues.
God Himself (Herself?) does not see us as men or as women.
Culturally, we’ve idolized gender norms, roles, and identities: American men look like this and do these things, and the same goes for American women!
These roles served and elevated half of the population for centuries, so naturally, they don’t go down without a fight.
But God said, “I don’t see you as a man or as a woman, so stop your bellyaching.”
Ok, that second part was me, but I can totally hear Them saying that, can’t you?
As gender equality has taken root, perspectives are shifting, but the old guard never sits back and watches progress quietly.
Never.
Which leads me to a quick (but important) note on compassion with the opposition.
There are people in our lives who were formed at a time when gender equality was in its early stages, a time when gender norms were all that there was. These norms make them feel safe, secure, and validated.
It takes a lot of time and exposure for people to let go of this idealized reality. Often, it is a painful process to let go of these ingrained beliefs.
The ego hates change, so our psyche will fight with all that it has until love and experience slowly break down the wall.
Give people the space and time that they need to go through this process.
And if they don’t choose to, that is not our responsibility. Love them and send birthday cards anyway. If they are actively hateful towards you, love from a distance.
Acceptance isn’t a prerequisite for compassion. Love isn’t always reciprocated, but keep going. You aren’t alone in this quest to convert the hate with a heaping pile of love on love on love.
Some will take their bigotry to their death bed, and that wrestling is between them and God.
So yes, Jesus did wear dresses.
And somewhere out there in America in 2025, there are boys and men wearing dresses too.
I like to think one of them is wearing a WWJD bracelet, smiling at his reflection, knowing that this simple, single piece, ankle-length garment has absolutely no effect on his rightness with God.
After all, that’s what He wore too.
**NOTE: I’m using the term Gender Norms with a full awareness that there is a difference between gender identity and gender expression. The fictional assumptions described above (of the churchgoers who are apparently sitting in a bar) are based on an elementary understanding of these issues. Because this audience knows very little about the issues at hand, I start with something very basic. I’m aware of, and deeply appreciate, the expansive nature of this community, but for the sake of the audience of this article, the use of narrow language and over-simplified explanations was intentional.