"GLBT"

I don't know if you've noticed, but I've resisted using the term GLBT or LGBT on this blog even though I'm well aware that most other gay-friendly blogs, books, magazines, etc. use it freely. It would be so nice if I could make my peace with these four letters. I wouldn't have to say "gay and lesbian" or "the gay community" all the time, or worry whether using the term "gay" sounds like it's excluding lesbians. GLBT just rolls off the tongue lickety-split. Simple.

My problem is the whole honesty thing that I tend to get obsessed with. Am I really addressing the needs of bisexual and/or transgender people on this blog? Not really. Not because I don't want to, but because I haven't had enough personal experience with bisexual and transgender individuals to make the claim that I can write intelligently about their situations. I don't feel right about using the term GLBT when I'm always going to be leaving the "B's" and "T's" out, or only addressing their situations tangentially. I imagine that bisexual people face different issues than gay and lesbian folks, and being transgender is certainly a very different experience than being either gay, lesbian or bisexual.

Actually I've had more transgender people write to me to share their stories than bisexual. I believe transgender people when they say they have always felt like a woman trapped inside a man's body, or vice versa. I used to think that maybe it was a problem of a mismatch between soul and body, a female soul in a male body for instance. But the latest scientific findings suggest that our sense of "maleness" and "femaleness" may reside in the brain, so perhaps it has something to do with the mismatch between people's brains and physical bodies, whatever that means. Then I'm aware of the people who want to deny that there is any such thing as maleness and femaleness but assert that we all exist in some kind of socially flexible gender continuum. I get the whole idea that we need to be more flexible in defining maleness and femaleness, but in the end I don't really buy into that theory, yet I'm not sure I can explain why. Anyhow, as you can see, I sort of grope around with these thoughts. They are certainly not well developed enough to claim that I am somehow addressing the needs of the transgender community by sharing them.

Bisexuals are even more of a mystery to me. I recall only one person writing to me and claiming to be bisexual, but without any explanation. I know that truly bisexual people are out there, but my difficulty in being able to nail down this issue is two-fold. First, I'm never sure how to distinguish between the people who are truly bisexual, and the people who are claiming to be bisexual but are really just warming up to the idea that they might be gay/lesbian. Second, I suspect many bisexual people feel no need to reveal themselves because they are able to pass themselves off as heterosexuals. I mean, if many gays and lesbians are able to masquerade as straights by dating and marrying opposite-sex partners, how much more successfully would bisexuals be able to remain closeted, especially since they can have satisfying sexual relationships with opposite-sex partners?

I do want bisexual and transgender people to read this blog, especially if they feel my musings benefit them. But I just don't want to add the "B" and "T" as if I'm promising to address their situations, then I just forget about them. I think that would be disrespectful. I believe the situation of transgender people is especially unique and complex and, frankly, I just feel bad when I see how they are sort of tagged on as the fourth letter of the GLBT grouping like an afterthought.

A second blog

I'm not sure what's gotten into me because I already have a thousand things going on in my life--but I've started a second blog. Don't worry, I'm still going to be keeping up this blog, but I'm starting the second blog to record my thoughts on the New Testament. The posts will be arranged so that anyone can use it for their own devotional readings. My ridiculously ambitious plan is to cover all the New Testament books from Matthew to Revelation. So I've decided to call it "Matthew to Revelation" (matthewtorevelation.blogspot.com).

In January 2009 I started a series on this blog called "Finding Jesus Christ" in which I put down thoughts for seekers on understanding who Jesus Christ is. I've felt a little uncomfortable trying to incorporate those studies onto this blog because I consider "More Musings On" to exist for the very narrow purpose of recording my musings on issues of faith and sexuality. On the other hand, I know that many gay and lesbian people are too estranged from the church to have a chance to explore issues of faith with anyone. So I kind of go back and forth about this series I've created. Maybe a separate Bible study blog altogether is a better solution. It won't be for seekers per se, but I'm planning to make the posts layperson-friendly.

I probably won't be posting every day and I don't know if I'll even make it through Matthew, let alone the entire New Testament. But I've always had a passion for understanding the Bible. I love doing Bible studies with the women at church and reading through the New Testament with my kids at home. I've considered for a long time whether I should write up some devotional materials and have them published. But that would involve a publishing company and all the politics and marketing schemes that come with that. Who needs it? Blogging is more accessible to people, and it's free. Didn't Jesus say, "Freely you have received, freely give"? Besides, in order to get published with a publishing company I'd probably have to adjust my writing style to sound all boring and dignified, instead of just being able to talk out my thoughts about the Scriptures like I do with my kids at the kitchen table.

Anyhow, I hope you'll check it out.

It's that time again...

Welcome to our newest followers!

Kimberly
Jimmie Lee
Josh
Jerica Truax
Greg
Kate Larson
Melissa Milage

The count is up to 58. Thanks, everyone!

New packaging, same message

You may have encountered a recent press release by an organization called the American College of Pediatricians that announces "College Cautions Educators About Sexual Orientation in Youth":

The College reminds school superintendents that it is not uncommon for adolescents to experience transient confusion about their sexual orientation and that most students will ultimately adopt a heterosexual orientation if not otherwise encouraged. For this reason, schools should not seek to develop policy which “affirms” or encourages these non-heterosexual attractions among students who may merely be experimenting or experiencing temporary sexual confusion. Such premature labeling can lead some adolescents to engage in homosexual behaviors that carry serious physical and mental health risks.

There is no scientific evidence that anyone is born gay or transgendered. Therefore, the College further advises that schools should not teach or imply to students that homosexual attraction is innate, always life-long and unchangeable. Research has shown that therapy to restore heterosexual attraction can be effective for many people.

I just thought I'd point out that the American College of Pediatricians is not the same as the mainstream organization you might have heard of called the American Academy of Pediatrics. If you dig a little deeper into the American College of Pediatricians website and find the list of books that they recommend for parents, you'll see Focus on the Family and James Dobson materials, plus a book called A Parent's Guide to Preventing Homosexuality by Joseph Nicolosi.

I'm just saying that a press release, a fancy website and an official sounding name can sound intimidating, but the bottom line of the organization is pretty much NARTH and Focus on the Family. Same old same old.

Update: The American Academy of Pediatrics speaks out about the confusion caused by the American College of Pediatricians. So does Dr. Warren Throckmorton.