In this episode, John and Margi interview four individuals who are transgender and either active LDS or former LDS. Our panelists for this interview are Kimberly, Ann, Emmett, and Augustus. We discuss:
- What it was like growing up in the LDS Church
- What effect bullying and life in the “closet” had on them
- How the panelists see transgender people fitting (or not) into LDS Church doctrine
- “Trans-erasure” in the Church where lesbian, gay, and bisexual identities receive more focus and attention; therefore, transgender issues are less understood
- How they were treated when they attended church as their authentic selves
- Things they would like the Church to address with their transgender members
We thank our panelists for sharing each of their unique stories and for bringing light to the Mormon transgender experience!
Notes:
- Affirmation: Trans* Mormons, Families, and Friends https://www.facebook.com/groups/674629102608451/
- TransActive LDS Support Group for Transgender Mormons & families https://www.facebook.com/TransActiveLDS/
- Utah Transgender FHE https://www.facebook.com/UtahTransFHE/
- Augustus’ Facebook video playlist goo.gl/jGJhm1
- Augustus’ Facebook video recommendations goo.gl/l27WzD
2 Responses
Many unmarried LDS college students live in shared housing with other students of the same gender to meet their bishop’s expectations and church standards. Enter the reality of MtF and FtM students.
Where should these students reside to obey the LDS standard? Should MtF and FtM apply at Mens and Females housing respectively? Or the reverse? Living alone may sidestep the problem but many cannot afford ($$) that solution.
In my opinion, many cis-Millenials accept the realities of L,G,B, or T students but they do not want to lose the church’s approval if a house/roommate does not match church expectation.
Respectfully: Very few organizations are truly “Sex Segregated”. Most are Gender Segregated. We incorrectly take for granted someones gender and sex are the same because it so overwhelmingly, is. But there are exceptions. As long as no one knows, there is not a problem. It’s when someone questions things it gets a…um,,, weird?.
When someone transitions, their Gender remains the same and their secondary sex characteristics are brought more in line with their Gender. Changing Gender has never proven successful in treating Gender Dysphoria while changing sex characteristics is proven very successful.