Have you ever faced challenges in reconciling your sexual orientation with your religion or cultural background?
I’m so sorry you may be going through this. I wish I could help you more but you have just as much as right as anybody to be happy!
I sure have, I wrestled with my sexual orientation and gender identity. I grew up Catholic, and my paren't have seem to have become even further right wing over time. The town I live in is homophobic and transphobic- if someone gets on a rant about LGBTQIA+ people it's not even a surprise.
Danyasdik.....Yes I have. When I finally accepted that I was and always have been gay, my biggest conflict was my faith. I came to my faith on my own, not by being raised in any church. So reconciling what I knew to be true - my sexuality - and what I had believed for a long time was very difficult. However, though a lot of study and reading I was finally able to realize that the Bible does not condemn same-sex relationships as we know them since they didn't exist they way we have them now at the time the Bible was written! There is a lot more to the whole thing...if you wish I can send you more information about how the Bible does not in reality condemn the LGBTQ community. Just let me know! I'm quite serious. So much of what the Bible has to say on the subject has been mistranslated and/or deliberately misstated to match what society wants it to say. It's sad, but unfortunately quite true. .....David
Yes of course, I would like to know more, I will be glad if you share this information with me, thanks
I believe if we have a meaningful religious history we will have conflict over not being straight. I grew up Protestant and over the years converted to Judaism. So now, I’m a trans Jew. Nowhere in the Jewish world is there room for sexual deviation, although there’s plenty of it. Frankly I’ve learned to give myself a pass and stay Jewish. The only Jewish person who knows my situation is my wife. I told her 2 weeks ago I was trans. She’s still freaked and processing her fear and anger. Don’t know where that’s going to end up. I find that the religious issue for me is null. I’m growing comfortable with who I am and that let’s me be okay with others and religion/s.
In an all girls Catholic school it took me a while to get my thinking from “I never want to sleep with a man so I’ll remain celibate my whole life” to “wait, lesbianism is an option and I’ve been crushing on girls for years”. Yeah the Catholic Church isn’t super accepting but I was no longer forced to attend church after I turned 18 and I was already agnostic by then.
At some point we have to establish within ourselves what we believe and be that whether religious or non-religious and let it fit who we are and what we believe. Otherwise we live in this world of contradictions that confuse and even paralyze us. I have no doubt that trans folks are as close to the essence of life as anyone else.
Only difficulties where during school as small towns suck in that aspect, but after graduating its been mostly smooth sailing.
I was a teen in the late 80s and early 90s when HIV and AIDS was new and all the phobia that went along with it. I don't know if I can help, but feel free to message me anytime you need to talk.
