Hello all!
Unsurprisingly, I'm writing about gender and sexuality issues, yet again. I usually seem to write when I'm angry and damnit, I'm angry again. Angry that another transgender youth has taken their life because their parents decided they loved religious doctrine more than they loved their child. Would the parent see it that way? No, of course not. They see it as the ultimate act of love, to 'fix' their broken child. A child that the church has told them is an abomination. Well, guess what?
YOUR CHILD ISN'T BROKEN!
I'm angry because things like this cause me to question my faith. I spent a large part of my late teens/early twenties doing that. I thought I was finished, that I had found my faith path and could follow it eagerly. But now, I tread more gingerly. I'm hesitant, because I see a faith filled with too much hate and people following rules that existed in a culture far removed from our own. Rules that they pick and choose from which to follow. They say that God says homosexuality is an abomination while eating shrimp, getting tattoos, and wearing clothing of mixed fiber (which God also said was an abomination).
I see people rejecting science because it simply doesn't match up with what their preacher told them. Despite all the evidence that exists they refer to a 2000 year old book on how life should be.
Science makes it all very simple, as far as I can tell. To me, it's simple logic. These same people can accept those born with down syndrome, or autism, or any number of things that change a human brain from being 'typical'. But they can't accept the idea that a male can be born with a female brain and vice versa? Science has proven that male and female brains work, look and behave very differently. Here is a good article from WebMD on the subject.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/how-male-female-brains-differ
When seen through ultrasound and other testing apparatus, male and female brains react differently to stimuli. They are made up of different proportions of gray matter and white matter. This isn't coincidence. I would love to see a study done on the brains of male and female transgender persons. I would not be at all surprised to see that a man who wishes to transition to a woman has a brain that appears more as a female brain, and the same for a woman who feels that they are male. When you can accept other things that happen to change the brain and body in utero, why can't you accept that these same mechanisms can cause homosexuality and gender identity issues?
I'm tired of hearing how parents reject their children and cause those children such unimaginable pain and confusion that that child sees the only way to get away from that is to kill themselves. NO child should have to go through that.
I'm very vocal, when out in the world. When I was Christmas shopping and looking at puzzle glue for Lilli a woman commented to me that I'd be better off going to Hobby Lobby and buying modpodge cause it worked better. I told her I don't shop at Hobby Lobby because I don't agree with their principles. When a nurse commented about her nephew liking theater and musicals but then said, "He's not gay, there's nothing wrong with him," I'm pointedly told her that if my son were gay I wouldn't see it as something being wrong with him.
When are our youth, the future of our world, going to stop being pushed into little boxes that stunt who they are and what they can accomplish?
If my son ever comes to me and tells me he's transgender then I'll take him to the store and buy him a dress and heels and makeup. I'll teach him how to put it on and how to do his hair. I'll let him change his name and tell his sisters that they have another sister. I love the little boy that he is now and I'll love him, encourage him and teach him whether he remains a boy or becomes a girl. The same with any of my children.
And I will continue to be vocal about tolerance, acceptance, and equality. I'll continue to speak out against injustice when I see it. Will I ever make a difference? I don't know. But I know that I never will if I just stand by and let these sorts of things happen without saying something. I hope I made that nurse think that day. I hope that woman in walmart maybe thinks twice before she shops at Hobby Lobby again.
But I WILL NOT stay quiet. Leelah needs us to not stay quiet. Kids that take their lives because of bullying need us to not stay quiet. Special needs kids need us to not stay quiet. So damnit, DON'T STAY QUIET! Shout and scream and kick up a fuss. Let them know we're angry.
BECAUSE WE ARE!!!!
