Professor
M. Wolff
Book
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Body Problems
with Sally Gross
In Body Problems, M. Wolff offers groundbreaking insight into Sally Gross, a South African intersex priest and activist whose body was continuously policed and politicized. Gross’s role in founding Intersex South Africa and her involvement with the African National Congress are celebrated in the Apartheid Museum, but the complex dimensions of her life—from her Jewish heritage, Christian priesthood, and Buddhist practices—remain largely unexplored. Wolff illuminates these lesser-known aspects of Gross’s spirituality and theorizes her resistance to the regulation of intersexuality. The book urges readers to rethink bodies and belonging, particularly as they relate to formations of gender and religion. Wolff presents Gross’s life as a guide for discerning our commitments to social justice and responsible relations. Body Problems is a timely and expansive contribution to ongoing discourses on the medical, religious, and political construction of bodies.
“Engagingly written and extensively researched, Body Problems is a compelling and insightful account of the life, contributions, and ongoing relevance of scholar-priest-activist Sally Gross. M. Wolff has done a remarkable job of organizing such a rich and varied life into a story that functions not only as a biography but also something more expansive and more enlightening: a provocation to think more carefully about questions of identity, the regulation of bodies, and the consequences of committing one’s life to activism.” - Kent L. Brintnall, author of Ecce Homo: The Male-Body-in-Pain as Redemptive Figure
Critical Acclaim
“Body Problems provides a rich, theoretically rigorous, cross-culturally contextual, biographical account of the life of Sally Gross, whose contributions to numerous activist movements have yet to be fully recognized. Combining theology, decoloniality, and feminist and queer theory, this work stands at the cutting edge of numerous fields, including critical intersex studies, religious studies, and cultural studies, making it valuable to students, scholars, and activists. Moreover, M. Wolff’s accessible, poetic style, and careful research tell Gross’s story with verve, compassion, and great critical insight.” - David A. Rubin, author of Intersex Matters: Biomedical Embodiment, Gender Regulation, and Transnational Activism
Upcoming Engagements
Iowa & Illinois
​​​​​​​​​​Virtual Book Launch
Saturday August 16, 2025
11:15 am Pacific | 12:15 Mountain | 1:15 pm Central | 2:15 pm Eastern USA
email me for the recording
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KWQC live
Tuesday August 19th
Watch here
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Book Talk
Saturday August 30, 2025
6 pm-7:30 pm Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
Davenport, Iowa​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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Meet the Author & Book Reading
The Atlas Collective
Friday September 12, 2025
6 pm-8 pm in person
Moline, Illinois ​​​​​​
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Intersex 101
The Project Quad Cities
September 23, 2025
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Conclave Private Screening & Discussion
The Last Picture House
Thursday September 25, 2025 6:30 pm
Davenport, IA
Optional discussion afterwards in the lounge
Generously sponsored by St. Paul's Lutheran Church​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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Chapel Talk: Sacred Bodies
Sunday September 28, 2025
St. Paul's Lutheran Church
Davenport, IA
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WGSS Tea Talk
Friday October 24th at 1 pm
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
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Intersex Awareness Day Dialogue (postponed)
Guest on Jessica Slice's Substack @jessicaslice
Author of Unfit Parent, This is How We Play, Dateable, etc.
October 26th
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Book Talk & Signing
Prairie Lights Books
Monday October 27th at 7 pm
15 S. Dubuque St.
Iowa City, IA
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Hybrid Book Talk
Vanderbilt Divinity School
Sponsored by The Carpenter Program
Hosts Rachel Heath and Stephanie Budwey
October 29th 12:30 pm
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Book Talk & Signing
Davenport Public Library
Thursday October 30th
6000 Eastern Avenue
6pm-7:30 pm
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November 2025 Boston, MA
details forthcoming
Author-Meets Critics
American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting
Monday November 24, 2025
12:30-2:30 pm A24-212
Presider:
Mari Joerstad
Panelists:
Sarah Imhoff
Joseph Winters
Megan Goodwin
Stephanie Budwey
Respondent:
M. Wolff
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The Revealer Podcast
​Details forthcoming
December 2025
The Theology Mill Podcast
Details forthcoming
Our Lady of the Prairie Podcast
​Details forthcoming
2026 Iowa
Book Study Kick Off
Metropolitan Community Church QC
January 12th at 6 pm
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​​​All Day Retreat
Our Lady of the Prairie
February 21, 2026
10:00 am-4:00 pm
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Local Authors Panel
Bettendorf Public Library
Details forthcoming 2026
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