A Reflection for Transgender Day of Remembrance 2022
A reflection for Transgender Day of Remembrance, written by Susan Gilchrist and shared here with permission. You can find liturgies for previous years here: http://www.tgdr.co.uk/liturgies/liturgies.htm.
Image: Lena Balk, via Unsplash.
Reflection for the Transgender Day of Remembrance. 20 November 2022
Susan Gilchrist November 2022
Each year, on the 20th. November, which is the international Transgender Day of Remembrance we remember those transgender people who have been murdered or committed suicide because of who they are. Current lists show that there are more than 400 of these in the current year, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. There are no complete lists. In 2021/2022 in England and Wales alone 4355 hate crimes against transgender people were reported to the police. This is an increase of 56% from the previous year. Surveys show that over 88% of transgender people in the United Kingdom do not report serious incidents to the police and 44% were unhappy with the action taken by the police. In the present circumstances in the United Kingdom these figures are only likely to increase.
Today, transgender people are mostly well accepted in the United Kingdom, but it only takes a minority to create the persecution and discrimination that occurs. That is not the case in many other parts of the world where transgender people, along with other gender and sexually variant people can face severe imprisonment for expressing their identities and in some cases even death. Any government action which aims to reduce the present protections for transgender people by allowing discrimination to be based on identity, instead of abuse, must be a matter for concern. All the professional institutions recognise transgender conditions are about the search for identity where no threats to others, or disruptions to society are involved. All the major Churches and religious organisations emphasise their pastoral care for transgender people, and totally condemn the violence that occurs. Yet because of ignorance and fears generated by others, violence against transgender people continues to increase.
Any group which disturbs the normal expectations of society can create fear and uncertainty. Today the need for acceptance and understanding is even greater. What transgender people are seeking is often misunderstood. Instead of adopting approaches which increase ignorance and fears we must listen to their voice. That same listening occurs in the Gospel Message. It was Jesus who took his message to the outcasts in society. It was Jesus who condemned the institutions and authorities who discriminated against anyone who disrupted the “good order” of society on the grounds of who they are, and not what they do.
In the Bible we read; “The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So, it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13) “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28).
Many will be aware of the intense disputes about the nature and origin of transgender conditions. The professional medical institutions and world authorities adopt a scientific consensus which regards these “naturally expected variations of the human condition, intrinsic to the personality created, arising very early in development, and cannot be changed either by the individual concerned or by the predations of others in subsequent life. It is a search for identity, it rejects what is wrong, it is internally focussed, it does not attack others, and is about being yourself. Gender-critical feminist arguments and the historic teaching of the Church, which is based on its own traditions, regard these instead as sexually driven personality disruptions and departures from the normal or divinely prescribed paths of development, where fears of predation or abuse appear. The motives and methods of management are directly opposed to each other. Great harm can occur if the wrong one is applied. If we, or any government, including the present United Kingdom government, listen only to the views of the righteous, who Jesus attacks, and if we too ignore, ridicule, or dismiss all others, then in our ignorance, are we also complicit in the tragedies, persecutions, and cruelties that occur.
Today, we remember all those transgender people who have been murdered by others or have taken their own lives in the last year because of the persecution and abuse heaped upon them, solely because of who they are. Let us take these tragedies as a warning of the harm that ignorance and prejudice can create. Let it remind us that when any dispute occurs all sides of the argument must be considered, not just the preferred one which supports the prejudice and abuse. Let this inspire us to work for society in which all people, not just transgender, people but heterosexual, lesbian, gay and bisexual who seek to fulfil the gospel message in ways that are true to their own identities, are not just fully welcomed without prejudice in society, but also find full and complete inclusion in the Christian Church.
© Susan Gilchrist November 2022 SuP1120a
Links https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hate-crime-england-and-wales-2021-to-2022/hate- crime-england-and-wales-2021-to-2022 https://tdor.translivesmatter.info/reports https://www.glaad.org/tdor
This document: Gilchrist, S. (2022): “Reflection for the Transgender Day of Remembrance 20 November 2022”: http://www.tgdr.co.uk/documents/SUP1120k-TdorReflection-2022.pdf
For earlier TDoR liturgies go to: http://www.tgdr.co.uk/liturgies/liturgies.htm
