Polarities of existence abound: earth-sky; hot-cold; love-hate; and,
of heightened import in transgender discussions, male-female. Any
empowerment enabling one to bridge the gender chasm - to see, think
and feel to a significant extant from the vantage point of opposing
genders - ought to truely be ordained as a gift. The enlightened
development of transgender and transexual sensibilities can provide
a sense of unity, fullness, and completeness of mystical dimension.
In short, it can engender personal spiritual growth.
Yet all is not so easy. Unlike the majority of native American
cultures and many others that have held alternate gender identities
to be of sacred value, our own has consigned such diversity to outcast
status. Perhaps this is due to patriarchal powers developed over
centuries; or perhaps it is due to the misuse of scriptural prescriptives
by entrenched aristocracies; or perhaps it is due to the western
inclination to seek simple, strict answers; or perhaps it is due to a
combination of numerous other reasons. The reason is academic; the
result is most real. Many of us, who in other cultures would have
been treasured as a valued resource and whose bipolar sensibilities
would have been tapped for the benefit of all, feel left out, shunned,
and misunderstood. But 'we' are not the only losers; society, justice,
and the moral order also are in effect deprived.
On a more personal level it is a miracle to have even come this far.
How is one blessed with transgender/transexual insights to make it in
our society? To be blunt its a crap shoot. More recently gay identity
moved out of the dictionary and into the real world. But transgender
history is even more deeply hidden, relegated to obscure anthropological
texts on such matters as the 'berdache' tradition. It is only by
hunting and pecking, and scratching and clawing, and perhaps by
fortuitous events (divine intervention?) that we can find the way.
For most of my life I, like many others, didn't have a clue what this
was 'all about'. At least I never felt guilty about these inclinations
but that is primarily because there were no beacons against which they
could be morally measured. Instead there was a general sense of confusion
and a misty sense of hope - hope that somewhere out there in the recesses
of the future all would either melt away or be explained.
But in life magical answers do not just appear. My own set of 'fortuitous
events' led me to several transgender organizations and events. Eventually
I began to explore more deeply on a personal level, reading medical and
professional textbooks, agonizing over the interplay of genetic and
environmental factors, witnessing the slow evolution of psychiatric
diagnostic standards, and, yes, even sometimes praying. All of these
are of some value; but the essential tuth I reached is as follows:
There is some kernal in the core of my being that is female;
God made me this way;
God made me this way for a reason.
Where do I go from here?
One final point: I apologize for the pedantic quality of this discourse,
but I fervently believe that in today's highly sensationalized, tabloid
world this matter deserves
more insight
and
less incite.
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