If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Recently I asked a number of transgender and cisgender friends the following: If a transgender person does something that may reflect badly on the trans community, is their personal freedom of expression more important than expectations to conform?
As the Cardinal entered his office, I rose and we embraced each other in what could best be described as a bear hug! The Cardinal then turned to me and said, "You are most welcome here." Do you know what is radical about that statement?
New York City has an annual event that educates the public on mental health that I believe is the finest in America. This symposium - and luncheon - ...
I have to say, Your Eminence, with all love and respect, that your blog entry of April 25 was another painful, insulting failure at ministering to LGBT Catholics.
Americans of all backgrounds have a chance to work together in solidarity, and women must take the lead, not follow the naysayers or incrementalists.
Over the years, I have come to know a lot of guys who grew up in "the south" -- clearly, a completely different world for gay guys trying to figure out their sexuality.
I will be watching and cheering for him and I hope he is able to live up to the high standards that many heroes preceding him have constructed by building the pedestal on which he has been placed.
The other day, I posted on my Facebook page that in the wake of the Cardinal's recent false welcome, I stand at a crossroad in my faith journey; however, I realize now that it is not I who stands at this crossroad, but rather the Cardinal himself.
I am a mother of a transgender son, and I want the world to be safer and more accepting for my child and all LGBT individuals. Every day, I try to do something, even if it is small, to create that safer world. However, when I have been called an activist, I look back with puzzlement.
But wait. Let's not rush too quickly into an orgy of premature self-congratulation. Yes, it's okay to come out -- if you're a celebrity. But in the hearts of Americans, homophobia remains quite alive. It just may be about more than just gay people.
I am always bitterly amused when I hear people say that homosexuality is a choice. I could only imagine, as a prepubescent boy, the relief I would feel when nature finally flipped that hormone switch, when at last I would begin to slaver and tremble over pictures of boobs in dog-eared copies of Playboy, stashed lovingly under my bed. Truly, I looked forward to it.
He was the only openly gay student I'd ever taught, and I admired him for having the courage to stand up to a pretty homophobic culture in South L.A., but otherwise he made no impression on me. He seemed, not surprisingly, content to be invisible -- and I'm ashamed to say that I was content to let him be.
Jolly for you that you have a deep voice, a culturally acceptable walk and all that cisgender privilege, but let's be clear that some of us do not; some of us are feminine, and we switch, and we talk with a lisp, but that does not make us stereotypical.
Why can't the leading ladies be badass and lesbian? And if they are, why can't we see them as authentic, whole beings -- sex and all? When we throw stones at each other for including sex, we're telling ourselves that depicting our sexuality automatically shames us. I disagree.
Why can't LGBTs play nice with one another? Why do we draw lines and exclude whole groups within our collective community? And most importantly, why do we demand equality from the rest of the world and fail to demonstrate equality within our own?
I've been punishing myself for years, but not identifying as a top, a bottom or versatile doesn't make me less attracted to men, less of a sexual being or less of a gay man. And it doesn't have to make my sex life less exciting either.
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