EX TENEBRIS CRESCIT FLOS
FUN WITH MISSIONARIES
December 31, 2002
One day recently, I was at home chatting with some people in an Internet TG
chat room and something interesting happened: the doorbell rang and I looked
through the peep hole to see who it was, and it was two young guys in suits -
the obvious sign that they were Mormon missionaries.
I was wearing a long loose-fitting light purple floral dress, just the sort of
thing that a Mormon woman would wear to church! Normally, I do not answer the
door when I am not expecting someone, but this opportunity was too good to pass
up. I answered the door and they started in on their usual routine. As the
conversation went on, I informed them that their church would never accept me.
They couldn't figure out why - then, I realized that, in spite of my voice,
they had not read me.
Then I said, "You haven't figured it out, have you?" They were confused. So I
told them that I am transgendered. Blank stare. Then I told them that I am a
transsexual. Blank stare. Finally, I had to get obvious. I told them that I
was born male but that I am in the process of becoming a woman. They looked
rather surprised. They asked me why I wanted to become a woman. I explained a
little about the scientific theories, but I said that it is difficult to
explain. I am sure it is difficult for many of us to explain; it is just the
way we are.
I got into my usual argument of science vs. faith (which I won't repeat here -
that would go on forever), at which point they seemed to despair of ever
"saving" me. I refuted their usual circular arguments and sent them on their
way with a parting thought.
A few days before the missionaries came, I attended a memorial service and
candle light vigil for people who were murdered because they were
transgendered. I told the missionaries about the service and told them that
the reason many of these people were killed was hatred stirred up by religious
intolerance. They had no comeback.
After they left, I went back to the chat room and told everyone what had just
happened. They seemed to get a kick out of it. It certainly made my day!
Concluding Thoughts
While this was an entertaining incident, it does bring up an important point.
It is not often that we (transgendered people in general) have the opportunity
to get into a calm discussion with those who may not accept us. I have to
admit that I was
tempted to act as weird as possible to try to scare the missionaries, but that
would have been counterproductive. Behaving that way, although it would have
been fun, would have reinforced negative stereotypes in their minds. Instead,
I chose to be polite and respectful, but to stand my ground on important
issues. I argued my points vigorously but never got angry. I assured them
that I support their right to believe as they do, but I also insisted that I
have the right to live as I please. I tried to show them that people like us
are not scary. If I was lucky, perhaps I opened their minds a little. At any
rate, I probably gave them something to talk about with their friends. To
their credit, they were very polite and tried to be understanding. Judging
from their demeanor, I believe that they were very strong in their faith, but
I do not believe that they shared the religious hatred that spawns violence.
I find that younger people are far more accepting of diversity than some of
the older generations are; that bodes well for everyone's future.
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Heather Harrison. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to accredited
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