Pearls of Pride

The definition of “pride” today is “a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people.” This has a different connotation from an older definition which meant “inordinate self-esteem.” Likewise, our definitions of personhood are evolving.

The first Pride march in New York City took place 6-28-1970, one year after Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village gay bar, was raided by NYPD. Violent demonstrations followed. Stonewall became a rallying call, creating a turning point for gay rights. Pride Month was recognized nationally by President Clinton in 1999 and later endorsed by President Obama. Month-long activities highlight the courage and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) individuals.

Everyone’s story is unique. Here is one story.

Gender Magic (2023) is the book that Mx. Rae McDaniel wished they might have had as a guide when they were young. Growing up with missionary parents was challenging for this adopted child. The following words convey McDaniel’s extreme discomfort: “The journey to my nonbinary identity was like discovering I’d been walking around in shoes a half size too small. Until I was almost 30, I didn’t notice how uncomfortable and constricted I felt in my assigned gender as a woman, but after decades limping around with blisters, my cramped toes screaming for relief, something had to give.”

According to the National Library of Medicine, it is impossible to know the population size of transgender individuals in the U.S. The Census Bureau has a don’t-ask-don’t tell approach to gender- identity differences. A study searched the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health literature and estimated 1 million adults nationally are transgendered individuals.

Further study results are frightening. According to a 2008 national survey, transgender individuals were 4 times more likely to live in poverty with twice the rate of unemployment and homelessness: 28% postponed medical care due to discrimination. More traumatic, 41% attempted suicide.    

Research (June, 2022) by the Pew Research Center reports that 1.6% of U.S. adults are transgender or nonbinary; their current gender identity and assigned-at-birth sex differ. Younger adults (under age 30) are more likely to report being trans or nonbinary: 2.0% under 30 are a trans man or trans woman, while 3% identity as nonbinary which means they are neither man nor woman (or are not strictly one or the other). The American Psychological Association explains: “Transgender people, like cisgender people, may be sexually oriented toward men, women, both sexes, or neither sex.”

Those of us who do not question our gender and/or sexual identity are not as accepting of differences as we might be.  Physician and poet Jeremy Nobel (Project UnLonely: Healing our Crisis of Disconnection) has pertinent advice: let’s accept each other as “who we are and welcome hearing their story.”   

Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz

299. What is your experience in fostering inclusiveness for those who identify differently from you?                       

300. How might you foster cultural connotations that are inclusive of all people?