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Table of Contents: Christian Faith and Gender Identity

Published on by Mx Chris Paige1 Comment

Well, I just realized that I never posted the table of contents for my second book! Christian Faith and Gender Identity is my second book, but the first OtherWise Reflection Guide (now there are two!). It came out in October 2019. It is not exactly a shorter version of OtherWise Christian: A Guidebook to Transgender Liberation, but it does cover a similar kind of content in a more devotional format.

Anyhow, here’s the Table of Contents, as I review all my online material in preparation for OtherWise Christian 2: Stories of Resistance. Better late than never!

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Beyond “Coming Out”

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“Coming Out” is a word that has prominence in and around lesbian and gay communities as a way of describing the disclosure of information about one’s not-heterosexual orientation. There is a common narrative about “coming out” stories that include personal wrestling and eventual disclosure to family or friends.

The dominance of this narrative form is in itself a problem. Just as people of color often embrace “same-gender-loving” as an alternate way of describing their sexual identity or experience, David Johns offers “inviting in” as an alternate framework for the narrative around disclosure. He provides a variety of reasons in this video from The Root (2020):

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Four Reasons NOT to Host a Transgender Day of Remembrance Service

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This article was first published at Transfaith and Believe Out Loud. I also reprinted it as an appendix in In Remembrance of Me, Bearing Witness to Transgender Tragedy: An OtherWise Reflection Guide, because it sums up some important points that go against the grain in terms of recognizing this “holiday.”

Four Reasons Not to Host TDOR 
by Chris Paige

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Dee Dee Watters on Supporting Black Transgender Women

Published on by Mx Chris Paige2 Comments

There is so much talk about Black transgender women and death that I compiled an appendix in In Remembrance of Me, Bearing Witness to Transgender Tragedy on how we can be better allies to them. For all the talk about the statistics, allies (other trans folk included) are often almost entirely irrelevant to transgender women of color too much of the time.

Dee Dee Watters is a key leader in Texas and in Black Trans Women, Inc. In that appendix, I quoted from two interviews Dee Dee has done with Transfaith.

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Angelica Ross on Supporting Black Transgender Women

Published on by Mx Chris Paige1 Comment

There is so much talk about Black transgender women and death that I compiled an appendix in In Remembrance of Me, Bearing Witness to Transgender Tragedy on how we can be better allies to them. For all the talk about the statistics, allies (other trans folk included) are often almost entirely irrelevant to transgender women of color too much of the time.

When we created the Toolkit for TDOR Organizers in 2013, Angelica Ross wrote the third article in that core of the toolkit and it focused on “Taking Transgender Women of Color Seriously.” Angelica has gone on to become a well-known celebrity through her appearances on PoseFX and American Horror Story: 1984, but before all that blew up, she was already an entrepreneurial activist through Trans Tech Social Enterprises, which she founded.

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Diamond Stylz on Supporting Black Transgender Women

Published on by Mx Chris Paige3 Comments

There is so much talk about Black transgender women and death that I compiled an appendix in In Remembrance of Me, Bearing Witness to Transgender Tragedy on how we can be better allies to them. For all the talk about the statistics, allies (other trans folk included) are often almost entirely irrelevant to transgender women of color too much of the time.

Diamond Stylz is a well-known podcaster, both under her own YouTube channel (also here) and through the Marsha’s Plate podcast. Diamond was recently profiled by The Root and I quoted from that interview as a part of my appendix on supporting Black transgender women. I also recommend Diamond’s numerous podcast entries as a wonderful (and fun) was to build cultural competency.

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Resilience Through the Practice of Lament by Dr. Koach Frazier

Published on by Mx Chris Paige2 Comments

In Remembrance of Me, Bearing Witness to Transgender Tragedy unpacks deep wisdom around themes such as grief, self-care, repentance, and our ancestral traditions. Mid-way through the body of that project (chapter 5), I pause to consider the wisdom offered by Dr Koach Baruch Frazier in his May 2019 offering, “Resilience Through the Practice of Lament,” at Speak Torah to Power.

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We Gather by Louis Mitchell

Published on by Mx Chris Paige4 Comments

My friend and co-conspirator wrote this invocation for the 2013 online Transgender Day of Remembrance service that we did as TDOR Unite. That project was co-sponsored by Transfaith, the Trans People of Color Coalition, the Trans Latin@ Coalitions, and The UU Church of the Larger Fellowship.

Everybody knows that I love me some Louis, but I think this is one of his best things–on a topic that is so difficult to do well. I am grateful that he agreed to let me properly publish it as a part of In Remembrance of Me, Bearing Witness to Transgender Tragedy this year. Review the Table of Contents for links to additional content previews!

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