Camille is a twentysomething working in the LGBT nonprofit industry. She runs an LGBT news blog at gaywrites.org.
Acceptance of LGBT people is on an undeniable upswing nationwide. Slowly but surely, conservative Christians are catching up. And every time a prominent Christian voice “comes out” for LGBT equality, the potential for change grows. In an article for the Washington Post, evangelical minister and ethicist David Gushee writes about how his views on homosexuality have undergone a complete about-face in the last few years, and now he’s ready to tell the world. This is especially a big deal because he was formerly a huge advocate for using the Bible to tear down LGBT people: Read more
What do you call a woman who was assigned male at birth? Her name. At least that’s the obvious answer. But Russell Moore (below), president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, says the Christian response to a trans woman in the congregation is to begin using her birth name and incorrect pronouns, force her to present as a man, and tell all of her friends that her 30 years spent as her true gender were a mistake. In the hypothetical situation Moore sets up in his column for The Gospel Coalition, “Joan or John?”, a woman who transitioned decades ago approaches a pastor feeling disconnected from the gospel. The pastor is horrified that “Joan used to be John,” has a 10-year-old daughter who has always known her as “Mom,” and has physically transitioned through hormones and surgery. Read more
On Monday afternoon, the National Organization for Marriage, one of the biggest anti-LGBT groups on record, basically broke the Internet with this tweet: That tweet — When #marriage is redefined, what prevents a person from “marrying” his/herself? — was accompanied by a link to a story about a woman named Grace Gelder who held a “self-marriage ceremony” as a symbolic gesture of self-acceptance and self-love: I’d been essentially single for almost six years and built up this brilliant relationship with myself. Nevertheless, I was aware of getting into a rut, where a relationship with someone else seemed like too much hard work. So I really wanted to pay tribute to this adventurous period of self-discovery but, at the same time, look forward to a new phase. … I really don’t see it as any kind of feminist statement, but creating a wedding of this kind on my own terms felt incredibly empowering. Of course, NOM made it into a gay thing. And in response, the hashtag #WhenIMarryMyself trended nationwide, forcing us to reflect on how different our lives would be if we all put a ring on… ourselves. I don’t have to explain why this is maybe the most hilarious, desperate argument any conservative group has ever made against marriage equality. Instead, here’s a roundup of the Internet’s most glorious reactions to NOM’s utter confusion. Makes Thanksgiving easier. Read more
Marriage equality may have swept the nation last week, but LGBT people are far from equal. Even in places where LGBT individuals and same-sex couples are granted some array of legal rights, religious institutions routinely fire LGBT teachers after they come out or get married. The most common explanation is that gay teachers aren’t upholding Catholic ideals when they pursue or “flaunt” their relationships. When they get hired, teachers at these schools are often asked to sign agreements stating they’ll abide by “Catholic principles.” If someone gets outed as LGBT, administrators use these documents to claim a breach of contract, then send the gays on their way. In practice, the terms of these contracts don’t do much except ban same-sex relationships, ignoring a host of other prohibitions the Bible sets. In an excellent op-ed for the New York Times titled “The Church’s Gay Obsession,” openly gay columnist Frank Bruni explains why that’s such an issue: Read more
