Hop Against Homophobia and Transphobia


-Leave a comment for a chance to win either a copy of Impossible: Tate Pack Book 6 (when it releases) or any book from my backlist as well as $20 in Strandbucks to be used over at Bookstrand. Contest ends May 27th at 11:59pm, est.
-I will have a separate post to announce the winner, which I will do on May 28th. When I have announced the winner, I will contact the winner using the email that they have left in their comment



  Homophobia and Transphobia in Religion
It's that time of the year again. The international day against homophobia and transphobia. Here's the link to the site: http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/
Last year I did a couple of posts, one of which I talked about my experience coming out and living as a transgender male.
This year I wanted to talk about the war that takes place daily within and outside of myself as a transgender gay man who is also a Messianic Jew. I grew up hearing about all of the evil things out there created to corrupt my soul (did you know that the Smurfs were evil? Yep, they use magic and magic is witchcraft which is evil.) and after I turned ten my parents latched onto the homosexual issue and my birth mother began to constantly ask my siblings and I what we would do if we had a female friend who went away and came back with a guy's name, dressing like a guy. I didn't know then that my parents had their suspicions about me, that the "deep" voice I had even as a kid and a teenager gave them pause in addition to other things. I do know that I was the child that they seemed to always worry about. Granted, I went through a lot, suffered a lot of pain, heartbreak, hell and torment and didn't really handle it well (a story for another day) but their almost obsessive need to make sure that I looked, acted, dressed and lived like a "girl" or a "woman" and the Scriptures they constantly brought up was slightly overboard.
So many Christians, conservatives, Republicans, and other fanatical religious groups (Jews, Muslims, Hindus, just to name a few) constantly talk about, condemn and disparage those of us who love differently from them. Those of us who struggle to live our truth. We know that love is love but for them, love is a man and a woman, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. They use Scripture, either the Holy Bible, the Torah, the Qu'ran, or other holy texts to justify their bigotry. I know some of the ones that get thrown around a lot is Roman 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and Leviticus 20:13. Now, there are more that people use but these are the ones that are most consistently brought up. Now I could go off on a tangent and point out how the Scriptures were mistranslated from their original text into the English we have today, how those who translated the Bible were oftentimes anti-Semitic or extremely religious. I can even point out that much of the New Testament is not necessarily "the word of YHVH" but is merely the writer's interpretation of what he thought he heard YHVH [God] say.
I'm not going to though. I'm going to talk about the fact that people use religion to justify their hatred, their judgmental, condescending, bigoted attitudes. One of the biggest reasons that I hesitated on coming out to my family was because of how religious they are and the fact that I knew they would not take it well. They didn't. Over a year has gone by since then and while I am back with my biological family, none of their beliefs have changed, though their handling of the issue has.
There used to be a time when every day my birth mother was talking about "the homosexual agenda," my stepdad was talking about how "disgusting" the thought of two men being together was (while at the same time licking his lips and fantasizing over the image of two women-hypocritical, yes, I know) and other members of my family would turn up their noses at the thought that anyone they knew or saw was gay. Transgenders didn't exist in my family. It wasn't acknowledged or accepted, not just in family members but in anyone that they knew. "God made you the way you are and He doesn't make mistakes."
When I began talking to my birth mother again one of the biggest things I pointed out to her was that YHVH made me a man but that biology screwed up and made me a woman. She didn't understand that until we sat down and talked one day. That talk came about because I told her that I still listened to the Torah every day, still listened to gospel or Hebrew music, it was just that now I could listen to it and accept it as being applied to me.
But wait, Vic! You said you're a transgender male homosexual, how can you possibly still be into religion?
Yeah, my birth mom pretty much asked me the same thing.
Contrary to popular belief, being a transgender man who craves sex with other men (yes, I put craves, it's been a while for me people) does not prevent me from being a Messianic Jew. If anything, having accepted my truth, it makes it much easier for me to accept the truth of a Higher Power. It makes it easier to believe in YHVH. It makes it easier for me to pray and to listen to the Torah without cringing the entire time.
And yes, I hear constantly that all of the medical issues and the fact that I went blind last year is all due to the fact that I'm "outside of the will of God" (yes, they said that to me) and that as soon as I return to "the path of righteousness" that everything will clear up, but here's the thing, I don't believe in a God that would punish someone for living their truth. I don't believe in a God who would curse someone for loving someone else. The God I believe in, YHVH [In the Tanakh, YHVH is the personal name of God- Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey-the Unutterable Name), is a deity who loves His creation. He does not curse them, or punish them for loving someone or living their truth, He did not allow Hurricane Katrina to occur, or AIDS to be spread to punish people, to punish a nation or a generation (contrary to what Pat Robertson says). You see, the YHVH I believe in loves His children and wants us to live our truth.
But having to face those who don't believe the same thing can be difficult. The underhanded jibes I receive daily. The refusal to call me by the correct pronoun or even the correct name (I went through all of the trouble to have my name changed and they don't even acknowledge it unless they have to) makes it very hard to be around my biological family. The discussions, heated debates and arguments that take place almost every day about homosexuality, transgenderism and religion is enough to make me want to pull my hair out or take other measures to just make it stop.
But then, there's that sliver of hope. An offhanded statement: You were right that if Jesus were alive today he would be pro-choice and for marriage equality. He was all about free-will and he would want everyone to have the option to do the right thing even if he didn't agree with it. An offer to help: I'll take you to the hospital to have your T-shot injected. A gesture of support: I'll let you get back to writing. What are you writing? I bought your books and read everything but the sex part. I told my friend that you were a really good writer and that you write about gay romance...
All of these things keep hope alive that maybe, just maybe, something is getting through.
With more and more organizations and churches standing up to say that they support marriage equality, after decades, hundreds of years, millennia of homosexuality being a crime, one that in ancient times was worthy of death, we have come a long way when pastors and other religious members and leaders are now supporting not only marriage equality but the gay lifestyle as well.
It sucks to have someone tell you that you're an abomination for loving someone or for living your truth (or in my case, doing both), but the saying is right: It Gets Better. It really does. We have to stay the course, keep up the fight and do what those Christians, conservatives, Republicans, and other religious groups are failing to do: Judge not and love.
Because what they have forgotten (and what I love to point out to them) is that Jesus ate with those who were different from the pharisees and sadducees. He ate and drank with them, he hung out with them, and the only people he ever got angry with were the "religious" ones. Why? Because they had essentially turned the temple into a place it was not meant to be. They had corrupted the very religion they were so proud of.
Sound familiar?
So yes, we face scorn, ridicule and hatred from the religious right. They can call us abominations, try to condemn us to hell, but as long as we continue to live our truth, continue to love, continue to fight with kindness and unwavering determination, there is absolutely nothing that we cannot accomplish. Even staring down into the hateful visage of homophobia and transphobia and telling them that they are no longer welcomed in our world. And while I know that not everyone shares my faith and beliefs, I respect them for theirs as I hope they respect me for mine. We are all a huge salad bowl of differences and experiences, attractions and expectations, childhoods and adulthoods that all make us who we are today. Let us honor that, and each other, as we take a stand against them.
Yes, they're out there: homophobia and transphobia, but I believe, I truly, truly believe that if we stay the course, continue in our fight for justice, support each other, and keep each other encouraged that one day there won't be a need for this hop at all.

All the Best and All my Love,
-Vicktor Alexander


-Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win either a copy of Impossible: Tate Pack Book 6 (when it releases) or any book from my backlist as well as $20 in Strandbucks to be used over at Bookstrand. Contest ends May 27th at 11:59pm, est.
-I will have a separate post to announce the winner, which I will do on May 28th. When I have announced the winner, I will contact the winner using the email that they have left in their comment. -Also, don't forget to go and check out the other hops. There are a lot of giveaways going on! I'm sure you'll enjoy them. 




Here's the link to the main blog: http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot....