No MoreNo More
Transgender people are often misunderstood. And certainly ignored, and even feared. Anything that upsets powerful social norms is at least unsettling. And the organization of gender is one of the very most powerful social norms in our world. It begins with birth, when the doctor tells a mom, “Well, you have a healthy (boy or girl).”
That is also the moment when trouble begins for some. Not all babies are born with unambiguous sets of genitals. Some, admittedly a small number, are born with mixed genitals, or parts of both, or perhaps a missing part. For many years, doctors felt they had to determine which gender the baby was, even if it was unclear. Some still do. Many times, the medical decision was enforced by surgery. Parents mostly accepted the medical judgment and the baby suddenly became whatever the doctor decided. That sometimes the doctor was wrong did not seem to matter.
But that is only one aspect of transgender life. Some people have genitals that don’t match their sense of their own gender. Some people with penises really think and act like girls, and even know they are girls. The reverse is also true. Over the years, I have encountered a wide range of transgender folks. I also have seen a wide variety of behaviors by people whose gender identity matches their genitals. And I have read more about the subject of gender. As a result, I have come to several conclusions:
- Gender is not fixed, probably in any of us; we all experience gender adaptation and development over time (even though our assigned or chosen gender category will not change)
- There are many ways to perform the roles that society assigns to us in our respective gender categories
- There are as many genders as there are people; each of us is distinct, a combination of chromosomes and experience and other factors that make us particularly us.
All this can be really upsetting to folks, especially if you view gender as immutable, and believe that there are only two genders. People who believe those two things can view violations with great fear, and even become very angry. Sometimes, people get so angry they maim or murder those they perceive as violators. These people may carry significant anxiety over their own gender or feel threatened by many signs of social upheaval.
Whatever the reason, the truth is that people are killed every year for violating the gender code. Since 1998, there have been more than 600 murders reported in Europe, Latin America, and North America. Many go unreported.
That is why we observe the Transgender Day of Remembrance each year on November 20. I hope you will be able to attend a service in your area, or at the very least include Transgender people in your worship and prayers. We remember in order to draw attention to the crimes, to remind the world of these lost children of God, and to say “No More!”
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