Trans Day of Visibility
A few days later the younger son gathered all he had and travelled to a distant country, and there he squandered his property in dissolute living.
There are many who are uncomfortable with the idea that gender can be far more diverse than is defined by the Western, colonial, gender binary. Society has dictated that there are only two genders: male and female, and that being slotted into these categories has implications for your preferences, abilities, and place in the world.
Those who try to claim space outside of this binary are viewed by some as 'deviant'. Can we really say a woman who likes to build things is deviant? Can we say a man who is compassionate and caring for his children is deviant? What if someone doesn't feel the way society tells them to feel about their gender? Is that deviant? At what point do such efforts to confine our creativity lead to harm?
- 75% of LGBTQ+ youth reported they had experienced discrimination at least once in their lifetime;
- Only 1 in 3 LGBTQ+ youth found their home to be affirming;
- 29% of LGBTQ+ youth have experienced homelessness, been kicked out, or run away;
- Due to physical, emotional, and sexual violence, LGBTQ+ people are more likely to suffer from mental illness, self-harm, addiction, and suicide.
What more can we do, to ensure that all people feel loved, affirmed, and honoured as the Father showed love to the Prodigal Son?
Loving source and light of all creation, your life and wisdom is gloriously revealed in gender diversity and in the kaleidoscopic beauty of human difference. We give you thanks for gender diverse people. Bless them with assurance of your love. Grant them strength and joy in their lives, bodies, and relationships, and enable everyone to celebrate their gifts so that all may flourish and live as full and equal expressions of embodied love. We pray in the power and mystery of your presence and peace. Amen.
