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Is being Transgender like being religious?
This started out as a serious thought but I have drifted into a bit of humour as I wrote ( I can’t help myself.) It is , however not meant as a derision of religion, merely an exploration of an idea. I may therefore NOT be in the ideal forum but I am not going to rewrite all this again in a more suitable forum . If I MUST be moved , then it is..written!
I have been thinking about this for a while but have not fully thought it through. I would like your opinions.
It seems to me that the state of transgender has a lot of similarities to religions. Here’s why:
There is, in some minds a perfect ideal , a deity some call HER ” SHE” some call her “WOMAN” while others have a less clear version of the nature of the deity. Some even say that you can know the “MIND OF SHE!!!”
There are many types of transgender on the ” spectrum” , each Tr can choose just how they want to express their own version.
We are in a state that equates to ” faith” , we have no objective proof of our state of mind and can only express it outwardly( to others) by the outward manifestation of that faith and that expression can best be understood by those who also share the ” faith”.It is also often misunderstood and criticized by those , not of the faith.
There is often a need to ” bear witness” and tell our own version of our personal “journey”.
We have our own Pilgrimages , to the shrines at Monash or Thailand or whereever to follow the gurus of the faith, ( the Surgeons and Endos that others have talked about.
We have Apostates who have been believers and then lose their faith and become critics ( and are they demonized!!!!)
WE even have our own Demons and Devils! Blanchard, Money, Green…ALL those baddies!
We often feel the need to gather together in a support group of like minded folk, a ” church” in the original sense of the word. TR is one such “church” and the web is full of them. Some “churches” vet those who wish to join , some are more catholic and accept individual versions of faith.
WE have our own saints and martyrs. St. Christine ( Jorgenson) St. Lille ( Elba) and the yet to be Beatified St. Amanda (of the Bandwidth!) The martyrs are often the same folk as the saints and we are all invited to Martyrdom ( at the Taxi Club ) if we feel the zeal to do so.
We have a range of degrees of faith. There are those who seek the ” Holey grail” of SRS and tend to ” bear witness” to their faith and those who are only devotees on the weekend or when they can catch an opportunity . On workdays they revert to their “old ways” and keep their faith to themselves.
There are those who want others to follow their view of the faith and criticize those who don’t have the same beliefs, there are fundamentalists of strong faith and those with a softer attitude to their state.
There is often a fear and criticism of gay people. ” I don’t want them in MY church!”
There is often a state of ecstasy when expressing the inner ” faith”
We have our own version of the “Holey Inquisition” , in former days it was the “CHURCH” itself and then the Psychological community. The attempts at ” cures” were akin to the practices of past ages. Though ( like the REAL Inquisition) has softened but still has Gatekeepers who attempt to impose a reality from outside rather than accept the experiences of those of us INSIDE the ” faith”
I am sure there are many other parallels, can you think of any?
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11 Replies
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Hi Christina, I think you can find parallels between most things if you look hard enough or spin it the way you want. A serious answer to your post for me is to say they are, in my experience, totally different. I am religious and believe that I have had a “hand on my shoulder” when being Felicity or seeking help for her. While born a Catholic I don’t have a standard view of religion. It’s more a case of believing in a state of Godliness rather than in a God. I have faith in my religion such as it is but I know that Felicity exists.
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Unlike many religions the far greater majority if the TG population do not attempt to convert others into thinking like themselves. We seek acceptance from others but that is all.
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Well what is religion but faith, but for many its mouldiing into a set way and keeping with people who share the same views as themself.
We are by no means a religion but we do have faith, But what we think and feel again is not the same as the next person to us. Yes was like most have better understanding of injustice and cruelty, But we learn to harness and keep to ourselfs. Anthea is dead on we have a faith , but we do not seek to bring the outside world in.
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Quote:It seems to me that the state of transgender has a lot of similarities to religions. Here’s why:
No. Just…no.
I am deeply, deeply offended to have being TG likened to being religious. -
Total agreeance with Anthea, Cheetara and Vexing.
We are what we are. This is not in anyway a religion.
We read the post here as guidance not the absolute rule to the way we act.The Collins – English dictionary says of religion
Quote:belief in, worship of or obedience to a supernatural power or powers considered to be divine or to have control of human destiny.This girl controls her own destiny by choosing her own paths.
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She it, this was a bit of fun! Settle down girls, life is not meant to be taken that seriously! deeply offended??
It may be true that some people’s experience of Religion can leave them scarred ( or scared for that matter) but my post had the word ” like” in it meaning ” similar” , not ” IT IS A RELIGION” , so please read before reacting
and try and get the general gist of the post. -
Quote:She it, this was a bit of fun! Settle down girls, life is not meant to be taken that seriously! deeply offended??
It may be true that some people’s experience of Religion can leave them scarred ( or scared for that matter) but my post had the word ” like” in it meaning ” similar” , not ” IT IS A RELIGION” , so please read before reacting
and try and get the general gist of the post.Your post had the word ‘like’, meaning similar?
Okay…What if I said that being trans was like being criminally insane?
Or that it is like being morally bankrupt?
The word ‘like’ doesn’t wash as an excuse.I read your post from start to finish and I most certainly got the ‘gist’ of it.
However, relating my TG status to religion (in whatever form) is still very offensive to me. -
Quote:There is often a need to ” bear witness” and tell our own version of our personal “journey”.
Yes! Foucault made this comparison too. He said that the narratives produced in psychiatric therapy are a ritual confession much like the ritual confessions of Catholicism, in the sense that both are social compunctions to construct a narrative out of one’s transgressions.
Gay coming-out narratives (eg “I know I was always a fag because I played with a Barbie doll and I didn’t like to play with the other boys, then later I was attracted to men and I realised I was gay”) and transsexual gatekeeper narratives (eg “I know I was always a girl because I played with a Barbie doll and I didn’t like to play with the other boys, then later I started wearing dresses and I realised I was transsexual”) can also be seen as ritual confessions in this way.
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Vexing, I think that you draw a long bow on this one but of course you are free to view things the way you want. Be offended to your hearts content but I state that it was meant as a bit of fun and a mere relating of my stream of thoughts at the time.
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Depending on your beliefs
My basis the bible
God initially made humans in his image. Not physically of course but in feelings. Happiness, sorrow, love, and of course a sense of humor.
So have FUN FUN FUN
God understands, so girls please don’t take Christina’s light heartedness to serious, as she has said.
I am serious about my belief but when I read Christina’s topic some time ago, I just smiled.
Jeorjette
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Quote:Vexing, I think that you draw a long bow on this one
I don’t know what that means.
Is it a generational thing perhaps?Moderator
Quote:This looks like it is straying far from the original post. Note that discussions about religion as such belong in a separate forum and are subject to the restrictions stated in this post
http://forum.tgr.net.au/cms/forum/F155/2153-153
