The Gay Fray

And yet many thousands enjoy the sport of paragliding all over the globe. They do not have mental aberrations. Nature is not the arbitrary tyrant you make her out to be. People born without legs can wear prosthetic limbs to enable them to walk. People wear glasses to correct their naturally given impaired vision. Deaf people wear cochlear implants to enable themselves to hear. Humans alter their forms to accomplish what they want. This is the human spirit overcoming it's own limiting physical condition. Of adapting oneself to one's own inner vision. This is not a mental aberration. It is heroic and creative and to be admired. But for some reason, in the case of LGBT, for you it isn't. Why is that? Do you think it "natural" to condemn people for living out the person they were meant to be?

 

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Yeah, I keep thinking that if I have to do Easter with this part of the family, I'll wear the purple collar I never use for anything. It's flashy.

Gaudy.

Cheap and silly.

• • •​

There's still the question of a rhetorical pathway. The young one is thoroughly closeted right now, and it's something of a delicate inquiry to learn the status of a constricted twelve year-old who likely doesn't have the vocabulary to express himself. I don't think this is going to explode this year, but neither can I wait until the calender says 2016. Indeed, I would prefer to simply take the next opportunity to assess; that won't be long.

The danger is fucking up badly enough as to become a benchmark of confusion.

 

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Stand, Speak, Fight: Or Maybe a Die-In Will Do?

"This is an opportunity for us to really sit down and say, 'Hey,' or lie down and say, 'Hey, we are dying at a monumental rate, and how do we stop that?' or at least bringing it to light in the community and say trans women are dying at a monumental rate in comparison to the rest of the community."

―Erykah Carter​

Six weeks, six murders, or is it eight?. There's nothing new in that, but this is the new year, and this is the year:

The Transgender Community of Greater Cincinnati staged a “die-in” in the heart of the city Saturday afternoon to protest an alarming trend of violence against trans people across the country.

Members of the organization invited all trans people, friends and allies to bring flags and posters to Fountain Square to show support for the cause. Many brought plastic to lie on during a ceremony intended to symbolize the numerous transgender people who've died in recent years as a result of violence.

Organizers said they specifically wanted to draw attention to the fact at least six trans women have suffered violent deaths in the first six weeks of the new year.

(Weldon)​

The Advocate and HRC have also identified two more apparent murders with transgender hints; a gay man and sometimes dragster. It is not yet known why a gay man with reported drag habits was shot in Louisville, Kentucky, but Lamar is dead, and dead is dead. And Bri is dead in Ohio at age 22, stabbed to death by her father.

If it feels like more and more people are sick and tired of how things have been going, pay attention to that feeling.

And even if the question of transgender rights generally has nothing to do with you, pay attention anyway, because 2015 looks like it's going to be a hell of a show, and with the way things are, this might actually foretell a fabulous spectacle in a 2016 sideshow. If #tglm is on the map in 2016, the gaffes are going to be gobsmacking.
____________________

Notes:

Mutasa, Tammy. "Cincinnati demonstrators hold die-in for transgender individuals". WLWT. 28 February 2015. WLWT.com. 1 March 2015. http://www.wlwt.com/news/cincinnati-demonstrators-hold-diein-for-transgender-individuals/31545790

Weldon, Casey. "'Die-in' at Fountain Square protests rise in violence against transgender people". WCPO. 1 March 2015. WCPO.com. 1 March 2015. http://www.wcpo.com/news/local-news...s-rise-in-violence-against-transgender-people

 

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A Dose of International Awesomeness

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Sometimes it's hard to know what to say.

JamesMichael Nichols↱ of Huffington Post brings a glimpse of the glamour; photographer Kevin Frayer went to Nanning, Guanxi, China to bring images of Chinese drag queens:

The Huffington Post: Why did you decide to embark on the project?
Kevin Frayer: I am always looking for a unique view of China. Things exist here just as they do everywhere else, and it's important to highlight all elements of society -- to give a fuller view. And often they are wonderful stories to share.

Who are the drag queens involved in the project? Do they all primarily operate out of clubs?
The drag queens showcased in my photographs work in the same night club. Some of them live and socialize together, and some are in relationships with each other. They are really wonderful people -- warm, engaging, honest and inviting. It is nice to share their experience with others.

What is life like for a drag queen in China?
They have the same daily challenges as anyone else but also have the struggle of trying to navigate obstacles and attitudes. China is not an easy place sometimes, but for many they face the greatest difficulty in finding acceptance from their families.​

Perhaps we can just leave it at, ¡Phabulous!
____________________

Notes:

Nichols, JamesMichael. "Kevin Frayer, Photographer, Showcases Stunning Drag Queens In China". The Huffington Post. 8 March 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/08/kevin-fayer-drag-queens-c_n_6763674.html

 

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​

¿Oklahoma?
Holy shit, it really comes to this ....

You know, when this sort of stuff was just talk↑, that was one thing.

However―

In an effort to block the state’s involvement with gay marriage, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill Tuesday (March 10) to abolish marriage licenses in the state.

The legislation, authored by Rep. Todd Russ, R-Cordell, amends language in the state law that governs the responsibilities of court clerks. All references to marriage licenses were removed.

Russ said the intent of the bill is to protect court clerks caught between the federal and state governments. A federal appeals court overturned Oklahoma’s ban on same-sex marriage last year. Russ, like many Republican legislators in the state, including Gov. Mary Fallin, believes the federal government overstepped its constitutional authority on this issue.

Acknowledging that his bill is partially in response to the federal court ruling, Russ told ABC News affiliate KSWO that the federal government lacks the power to “force its new definitions of what they believe on independent states.”

Russ said the federal government is attempting to change the traditional definition of marriage, so his legislation would place the responsibility for officiating marriages in the hands of clergy.

(Horton)​

―apparently it really does come to this.

There are ... a few problems with the plan. The important one, for our purposes, is that it won't stop marriage equality.

But, hey, it really does come to this.

The legislation has sparked controversy, both in the Legislature and with groups such as Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Oklahoma Democrats are concerned that the legislation will lead to a “Pandora’s box” of issues, including polygamy, once the government’s authority to regulate marriage is removed.

Americans United released a statement opposing the bill, saying it is biased against same-sex couples and nontheists, including atheists. Russ has been unapologetic in defending his exclusion of nontheists from the right to marry.

“They don’t have a spiritual basis for a marriage and don’t want to have a clergy member or a priest or someone involved in the spiritual aspect,” Russ told KSWO, “then they can file an affidavit of common-law marriage.”​

No, seriously it actually comes to this.

¡Oklahoma!
____________________

Notes:

Horton, Greg. "Oklahoma Bill Would Give Clergy Power Over Marriage Licenses". The Huffington Post. 12 March 2015. HuffingtonPost.com. 15 March 2015. http://huff.to/1GGD6RF

 

From a Father to His Gay Son

The world, my friends, is changing.

Rise. Speak. Love. Live.

1. You Are Bound by Nothing.
2. Being Gay Is a Big Part of You, But It Isn't All of You.
3. Know Your History.
4. HIV Is Still Deadly.
5. Understand the Difference Between Lust, Love and Friendship.
6. I Love You.

―Patrick Roth​

Almost there.

Just hang on. We're almost there.
____________________

Notes:

Roth, Patrick. "6 Things I Need My (Gay) Son to Understand". The Huffington Post. 17 March 2015. HuffingtonPost.com. 18 March 2015. http://huff.to/1LwB9hu

 

Please ... No More ....

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Blake Brockington, d. 23 March 2015​

A year can be all the difference in the world. Transgender pioneer Blake Brockington died last night at age 18, apparently by suicide. A little over a year ago, he was on top of the world, having won the title of Homecoming King at his North Carolina high school.

"I honestly feel like this is something I have to do," Brockington said last year, noting few other transgender male students have had the opportunity.

Brockington said at the time that winning will mean the most for several younger transgender students he had mentored, including a nine-year-old boy.

"He really looks up to me. That's my heart," Brockington said of his mentee. "He has support now and he will be able to avoid just about everything I'm going through and I don't want him to ever have to be scared. I feel like if I do this, that's one red flag for everybody to say, 'Nobody should be scared to be themselves and everybody should have an equal opportunity to have an enjoyable high school experience.'"

But the homecoming win came with a price, Brockington told The Charlotte Observer earlier this year.

"That was single-handedly the hardest part of my trans journey," Brockington told the daily newspaper. "Really hateful things were said on the Internet. It was hard. I saw how narrow-minded the world really is."

He had a strong message for the public — "we are still human."

"I'm still a person," Brockington said. "And trans people are still people. Our bodies just don't match what's up (in our heads). We need support, not people looking down at us or degrading us or overlooking us. We are still human."

(Comer)​

They work so hard.

They try so ... fucking ... hard.

We can't keep losing people like this. For the sake of hatred? In Jesus' name? This is worth it?

Stand. Speak. Fight. Win.

So close.

"Swaying hills of green, rolling sea of blue; if you say life is beautiful I guess it must be true. In a grave beneath the grass, remember how I used to be―made peace with all the things I used to hate, except for me. And so my kingdom comes, my will is done; this thing I know."

―Floater​

____________________

Notes:

Comer, Matt. "Young transgender activist Blake Brockington mourned". qNotes. 24 March 2015. goQnotes.com. 24 March 2015. http://bit.ly/1xwTGEq

 

things like this are the reason that i am so very anti-religion
not anti faith... i don't care what a person believes in... but anti-religion

Religion as in the codified set of rules that create, fosters, promotes and protects prejudice, judgement, hate, delusional thinking and conformity out of fear and pressure.

When we can be free of religion, we can be free of a great many cultural problems in our world

 

Preach on.

Because, meanwhile, California must allow the gathering of signatures↱ for a ballot initiative known as the "Sodomite Suppression Act", which demands execution for people offending God.

The initiative won't pass. It can't be enacted even if it does. But the way the laws are structured in California requires that the state proceed as if this was any other initiative.

And this is raised in Jesus' name.

It is easy enough for Christians to disavow such strangeness, but who among them will stand up, tell their brother how he has gone astray, and demand an end to this barbarity?

The Corpus Christi enjoys extraordinary respect in these United States.

They should try earning some of that.
____________________

Notes:

O'Connor, Lydia. "California Forced To Allow Signatures For Appalling 'Shoot The Gays' Ballot Initiative". The Huffington Post. 23 March 2015. HuffingtonPost.com. 24 March 2015. http://huff.to/1y3VEqk

 

And…

But…

All of us should be put to death by bullets to the head then.

"Seeing that it is better that offenders should die rather than that all of us should be killed by God’s just wrath against us for the folly of tolerating-wickedness in our midst, the People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method."—Matt McLaughlin initiative

I wonder why he isn't being charged with incitement.

 

It's almost a karmic law it seems that for every age of increasing tolerance there arise a few total lunatics who must carry the balance of intolerance. All that rejected homophobia and hatred has to go somewhere. And it finds a nice comfy home inside the brain of one Matt McLaughlin.

 

I'm surprised to hear that from someone like you.

 

Why would you say something like that? Are you trolling me?

 

In truth, I don't think we need to invoke karma.

Rather, look at the last, oh, say, half-century at least. We can even go back beyond that for the Civil Rights movement.

Generally speaking, social conservatives are losing their fight. Losing on racism was inevitable, and they have the Southern Strategy to keep them warm on cold and lonely nights. But there was a backlash against women that occurred in the eighties, as male supremacism attempted to reinforce the privileges men felt were endangered. Still, though, the soccons didn't win that one outright. They may have stopped Equal Rights for Women, and they may be reasserting themselves ferociously today, but it is a losing battle.

Remember that the current arc of the Gay Fray seems to start in Oregon, with a bunch of Christian zealots who turned their wrath upon homosexuals because they were sick of losing anti-abortion fights.

And now things pick up speed.

The last twenty-five years have seen everything falling off the soccon platform. Drug use, needle exchanges, gay sex, gay marriage, rape, birth control, women in the workplace, women wearing pants, you name it, the social conservatives have lost it.

And all of this resulted in redoubled efforts.

Think of the closet cases who fell from grace. No, really, think about the Haggards and Rekers of our society, and never forget Bob Allen, the anti-gay Florida Republican who solicited a cop for a blowjob↗ because he is afraid of black people.

But just think about it for a moment: A closet case in denial who has found a reason to spend that much time thinking about gay sex. Sublimate much? There came a point (and came again) when it no longer seemed surprising. Rather, at the latest news of a social conservative committing the exact sin he or she denounces―

There's hardly a month goes by without some prominent judge or politician being found in suspenders and stockings, being hit with a stick of rhubarb and stood in a bucket of cod; which, personally, doesn't really bother me, except that it always turns out that the day before they've stood up in the House of Commons and said, "If there's one thing that makes me sick, it's people who dress up in suspenders and stockings and get hit with a stick of rhubarb, stood in a bucket of cod!"

―Mark Steel​

―the appropriate reaction seems to be shrugging and muttering that it sounds about right. (Iceaura, 12 Nov. 2007↗: "How do these stories keep their aura of 'against type' for so many years? Surely at some point the repetition forces the recognition that they exemplify a type?")

There are variable values to consider, as well; soccons generally identify as heterosexual, and against lesbians, which terms begin to sketch the shape of what we can perceive about their outlook on women. Or perhaps that is more words than necessary: Keeping women in their mythical place is just that much more important to people who believe being gay is some sort of disease that can be cured.

(No, seriously, when you get down to FOX News guests arguing that teaching equality between males and females is bad parenting―yes, really↱―there really is no question what is happening.)

Watch what happens when the full measure of what President Obama has done for the transgendered finally sets in; some soccon activists have noticed, but the best they can manage is Gov. Brownback of Kansas trying to bait the Justice Department into a fight the Sunflower State will lose (Bells↑). And the whole point of losing is to rally the troops against the phantom menace of liberty and justice for all (bd↱). But when all is said and done, someone, somewhere on the right wing is going to freak out as recognition sets in; Sam Brownback being himself doesn't count.

Still, though, it makes the point. Soccons will strike legal protections, push bills to legalize discrimination (and, believe it or not, domestic violence as well ... yes, really), close their businesses in protest, and even go so far as to sacrifice their intellect such that consent has no relevance to their assessment of human sexual relations.

There is a statistical aspect to the soccon outburst, but I'm not certain the mathematics are understood, yet. To the other, it is also observable that losing the fights they pick, over and over, takes its toll.

We do not necessarily need to consider mysticism; it is predictable that in this time, under these circumstances, such extremity will arise. Their center cannot hold; things fall apart. This rough beast, its hour come 'round at last, slouches toward Hell to be born unto itself.

Look at it this way: Soon enough, we'll need to whittle an ADA accommodation for these people as a mental health issue.

The sooner we can end the fight and get on with human sympathy, the better.

Some years ago, a friend of mine descended of mixed heritage, sat at Thanksgiving dinner while his proverbial crazy uncle ranted on about how white people are the real victims. Instead of correcting the man, my friend simply set down his fork and knife, looked pointedly across the table, and said, "Maybe it's about your turn."

It can be a comforting sentiment in the moment, but we all know it's not the right way to go about things.

When it is finally established that these people are certifiably crazy, they're going to need our compassion.

But these sorts of furious ejaculations are as inevitable as masturbation; it is inherent to the social conservative character, and we already know how dangerous it can be if left unattended.
____________________

Notes:

Steel, Mark. "Sexuality". The Mark Steel Solution #301. BBC Radio 4, August 4, 1995.

 

They know they're losing the war. Maybe not the battles, but the war is over. Listen to Billy Graham's son all but admit it:

"Easily the biggest round of applause at this weekend’s The Awakening conference in Orlando came when evangelist Franklin Graham walked on stage. Although the Religious Right event took place at a seemingly generationally and racially diverse megachurch, the attendees were largely older and white, and Graham — the son of evangelist royalty Billy Graham — represented a link to an era of a powerful, politically connected evangelical leaders.

Graham captured the spirit of the crowd when he railed against pastors and churches for giving up on condemning homosexuality and abortion for fear of offending congregants, telling the audience of activists that “God will bless you and he’ll honor you if you speak up and you tell the truth” about those issues.

“Let me tell you something. A lot of pastors have quit preaching against homosexuality. You know why? I’ll tell you why. Because they are afraid that there may be some man or woman in the congregation whose son or daughter is gay,” he said, lamenting that some pastors are tempted to “just shut up” about homosexuality.

“Don’t shut up, guys,” he said to wild applause. “You don’t shut up. If the people that are coming after you, ‘yak, yak, yak,’ and they want to run you out of church, then let them run you out of church. Go to another church, let them have that church. I’ll tell you what, God will bless you and he’ll honor you if you speak up and you tell the truth.”

He added that it was “the same with abortion”: "Don’t shut up. It’s a sin against God, okay? It’s murder.”

“Young people in the church today don’t know that homosexuality is wrong because pastors aren’t speaking up, but they go to school and teachers in the school tell them that it’s okay, that it’s all right, God made them that way, that’s the way they are and it’s a choice,” he warned.

- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/conte...mosexuality-and-abortion#sthash.wMVEPIfz.dpuf

 

Nostalgia

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​

Note: It has been recommended that instead of explaining things here, I should instead write a blog entry and post the link. For those who prefer that version, and would rather skip the rest of this Sciforums post, please see, "Nostalgia: The Mingling Scents of Bluegrass and Excrement"↱.​

In a way dear to my own heart, this ... is ... awesome.

The thing is that this chapter takes me back. You can find those days in this very thread↑.

Let us start with the news out of Kentucky:

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear says the state's ban on gay marriage should be upheld in part because it is not discriminatory in that both gay and straight people are barred from marrying people of the same gender.

In an argument labeled absurd by gay marriage advocates, Beshear's lawyer says in a brief filed last week at the U.S. Supreme Court that "men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, cannot marry persons of the same sex" under Kentucky law, making the law non-discriminatory.

The argument mirrors that offered by the state of Virginia nearly 50 years ago when it defended laws barring interracial marriage there and in 15 other states, including Kentucky, by saying they weren't discriminatory because whites were barred from marrying blacks just as blacks were barred from marrying whites.

The Supreme Court in 1967 rejected that argument in the historic case of Loving v. Virginia, in which Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred Jeter, a black woman, were charged with a crime for marrying.

(Wolfson↱)​

No, really, it's been years since I heard that argument. And it is not simply acceptable, but actually encouraged, to have a good hearty laugh.

The article, though, is accidentally misleading, and this is the part that I adore: While Wolfson notes that "Beshear has declined to discuss his personal view of gay marriage", conservatives have known since before he was elected that he supports marriage equality.

No, really. That's at Sciforums↗, too. But let us recall 2007 with Dan Savage↱:

But there's a little good news—just not in our time zone. In Kentucky, the corrupt, sleazeball, incumbent GOP governor of Kentucky was running for reelection. In a last ditch effort to hold on to his office, Ernie Fletcher's campaign stooped to—what else?—gay bashing. Washed up crooner Pat Boone recorded a couple of rabidly homophobic robocalls for Fletcher. Boone warned Kentucky voters that Fletcher's Democratic opponent, Steve Beshear, would turn Kentucky into a second San Francisco.

"Hello friends. This is Pat Boone—a fellow Kentuckian by descent from granddaddy Dan'l. I've always been proud of Kentucky's stance on patriotic, military and moral issues—a great heritage. Now, as an American and a Christian I'm very concerned about the upcoming governor's election. Ernie Fletcher is a typical Kentuckian. He's worked long and hard for the state, its people, and its traditions. And of course he's come under attack by political opponents. And now, he faces a man who wants his job, who has consistently supported every homosexual cause—same-sex marriage, gay adoption, special rights to gay, lesbian, bisexual even transgender individuals. The prominent gay advocacy group CFAIR just enthusiastically endorsed Beshear, knowing he's their guy. Kentuckians have already voted to amend the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage. Now, do you want a governor who would like Kentucky to be another San Francisco?"​

Look, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, a Democrat, flatly refused to argue the case. Gov. Beshear, also a Democrat, felt compelled to defend the law as a matter of sworn duty, and picked attorney Leigh Gross Latherow. And this is what she came up with. It is clear enough that the governor's heart isn't in the fight, but we might also wonder about Ms. Latherow. We can, on this occasion, invoke Poe's Law; she also argued that allowing gay marriage in Kentucky would threaten the entire human species.

Yes, it is okay for civil rights advocates to enjoy this moment of macabre. I mean, think about it: The State of Kentucky just tried arguing the sort of knowing desperation we at Sciforums encountered over six years ago.

And, yes, this even tops the time Paul D. Clement, argued on behalf of House Republicans, in Hollingsworth, that gay marriage should remain illegal because it does not "present a threat of irresponsible procreation"↑.

This is what it looks like. The end is nigh.
____________________

Notes:

Wolfson, Andrew. “Ky: No one can marry same sex, ban not biased”. The Courier-Journal. 31 March 2015. Courier-Journal.com. 3 April 2015. http://cjky.it/1bTu0bf

Savage, Dan. “A Little Good News on Election Night”. Slog. 7 November 2007. Slog.TheStranger.com. 3 April 2015. http://bit.ly/1IYA9xF

See Also:

B.D. "Nostalgia: The Mingling Scents of Bluegrass and Excrement". This Is. 3 April 2015. bdThisIs.WordPress.com. 3 April 2015. http://wp.me/pUgG0-1bm

 

Not Quite Stonewall, But ....

British comedian Mark Steel once pointed out that only homosexuals could find themselves in the middle of a riot and decide to stage a musical.

We might suggest it's arguable; indeed, it's something of a stretch to figure out who else.

Never mind. That kind of sterotype-based humor―true as it was for Stonewall―is fading.

Still, though, for all they complain about the Gay Agenda and the Militant Homosexual Lobby, it would seem the bigots still haven't figured out to not fuck with gays.

A lawyer named Matt McLaughlin filed a ballot initiative with the California's Department of Justice in February to enact the "Sodomite Suppression Act," which calls for the killing of anyone who engages in sodomy. (Never mind that the state ruled the death penalty unconstitutional last June.)

"Seeing that it is better that offenders should die rather than that all of us should be killed by God's just wrath against us for the folly of tolerating-wickedness in our midst, the People of California wisely command, in the fear of God, that any person who willingly touches another person of the same gender for purposes of sexual gratification be put to death by bullets to the head or by any other convenient method," McLaughlin wrote.

Now, other Californians are responding with some new ballot initiatives of their own -- like the "Shellfish Suppression Act" and the "Intolerant Jackass Act."

Joe Decker of San Jose proposed the legislation against shellfish, writing: "Shellfish are a monstrous evil that Almighty God, giver of freedom and liberty, commands us in Leviticus to suppress. They also smell bad." Leviticus calls the consumption of "all that have not fins and scales in the seas" an abomination. Those who consume or sell shellfish, Decker wrote, should be subject to a $666,000 fine or a prison term of six years, six months and six days. (Get it?)

The Intolerant Jackass Act by Charlotte Laws of Woodland Hills calls for anti-gay individuals to attend sensitivity training and donate $5,000 to an LGBT organization.

(Sieczkowski)​

You know what the difference is between now and two decades ago, when this arc of the Gay Fray started?

Basic decency is winning.

Because it may be a nasty political fight, and it might not be a musical, but there is still some room to enjoy the coming victory.

Oh, right, it's also worth noting that the California Legislature has asked the State Bar to look into whether or not Mr. McLaughlin, having advocated murder, is fit to practice law.

Really. It's not about our nelly knees, anymore. But people decided to fuck with gays, and marriage equality would never have happened without them. Nor, most likely, would basic legalization of homosexuality.

Thanks, fuckers.

We are so enjoying this part of the fight. You know, winning? As in, stomping your sorry bigotry into guttermuck?

But don't worry. A few more of our friends will kill themselves in despair before this is over, so you'll have some moments of happiness in there, too.
_____________________

Notes:

Sieczkowski, Cavan. "Californians Respond To Ballot Initiative To Kill Gays With Shellfish Suppression Act And 'Jackass' Act". The Huffington Post. 7 April 2015. HuffingtonPost.com. 7 April 2015. http://huff.to/1yT33cD

 

Parenthood

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"Six months ago, our 10-year-old began to identify as transgender." ―Lisa Keating↱​

This is how it goes:

Our child's birth name is Morgan and since the age of 4 has said, "I feel part boy and part girl." Up until last August, Morgan self-identified as a boy who likes girl things and advocated for himself and all kids spreading the message, "Be who you want to be, not what people think you should be."

There was a lot of anxiety leading up to the first day of school for all of us. Earlier that month Morgan was creating dance videos wearing a sarong. Bouncing over to me to say, "Mama, when I'm wearing this [sarong] I want you to call me Stella and when I'm wearing regular clothes call me Morgan." I didn't think much of it naturally saying yes. When my husband came home from work he got the same request. With a slightly, curious raised eyebrow Dmitri agreed. Little did we know that was the beginning of the end for the name Morgan.

You might be asking yourself, "Isn't Morgan a unisex name?" We tried that argument and were met with complete resistance followed with the proclamation, "Stella would have been what you called me if I were born a girl." Along with a "take that" type of attitude with a dash of Tweener.

On the first day of school Stella was very nervous and didn't know which name she wanted to go by. It was a new class, new teacher and none of her good friends were there. She was friendly with many of them just not friends. As we drove to school, I told her to follow her heart, it's her compass and trust herself.​

And this is what it takes to get them through.

To keep them alive.

And, yet, it should not be a burden. Ms. Keating tells us of an adventure that, all in all, is the essence of what makes parenthood actually fun.

Don't underestimate the resiliency of a gender diverse kid who is loved, accepted, appreciated and respected. They can change the world ... Stella already has.​

Everybody raise a glass.
____________________

Notes:

Keating, Lisa. "The Mother Of A 10-Year-Old Transgender Daughter Sounds Off On The Significance Of Her Child's Journey". The Huffington Post. 7 April 2015. HuffingtonPost.com. 7 April 2015. http://huff.to/1GlgMAJ

 

Figure I'll just drop this in here...

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Don't forget "Lot and his daughters" not "Lot and his sons".