3. ON CHRISTIANITY AND SEXUALITY

I've recently been asked a lot of questions about Christianity and sexuality, so I've decided to take the time to get all my thoughts laid out here. As far as I can tell, Christians fall into three main categories on this issue:

1. Anything other than heterosexuality is 'deviant' and 'unnatural'.
   People with this opinion often deny evidence which indicates that our sexuality is determined by biological and hormonal factors, and instead declare that it is purely a matter of choice. As well as perpetuating the myth of 'choice', they often promote the idea that change is possible. I get into a lot of arguments with people who believe this. They like to tell me that I cannot be both a Christian and bisexual.  
2. Hate the sin, love the sinner.
   People with this view usually acknowledge that the biological factors determining sexuality and will usually say something like "we are all predisposed to sin; homosexuals need to overcome this inclination to sin just as everyone else does". In short, they hate the perceived sin (which they usually classify as 'homosexual acts') and love the sinner (the LGBT person). I take issue with this view, because it teaches that there is something inherently wrong with LGBT people. In fact, I believe the Catholic catechism on the issue classifies homosexuality as 'intrinsically disordered'. It is damaging to teach people to believe such a thing about themselves.
3. LGBT affirming.
   The "I'm on the right track, baby, I was born this way" view. People with this view are accepting and affirming of LGBT people. They acknowledge the rights of LGBT people to identify as Christians and believe that God's love is all encompassing. They do not believe that there is anything sinful about homosexuality or 'homosexual acts'. I, obviously, fall under this category.

Since the first two positions are generally the most vocal, and in any case I disagree with them, I'm dedicating this blog post to the defence of the third position. Basically, I will outline why I believe what I believe.


Reason #1: Sexuality is beyond our control.
This is difficult to prove, as the factors determining sexuality have not yet been conclusively confirmed. However, the American Psychological Association states:

"most scientists today agree that sexual orientation is most likely the result of a complex interaction of environmental, cognitive, and biological factors. In most people, sexual orientation is shaped at an early age. There is also considerable recent evidence to suggest that biology, including genetic or inborn hormonal factors, play a significant role in a person's sexuality."

For more on this see:

• Soulforce, http://www.soulforce.org/resources/what-science-says-and-doesnt-say-about-homosexuality/
• American Psychological Association, http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/sexual-orientation.aspx

Reason #2: There is no Biblical condemnation of homosexuality.
This is somewhat more difficult to prove, and a more accurate statement may be "there is no Biblical condemnation of homosexuality as we know it today" (and I've stolen that phrasing from Soulforce). I will only speak briefly on this here and say that when all contextual and cultural factors are taken into account the six or seven verses pertaining to homosexuality mean something quite different to what they initially read.

For more on this see:

• Soulforce, http://www.soulforce.org/resources/what-the-bible-says-and-doesnt-say-about-homosexuality/
• Whosoever, http://www.whosoever.org/Issue7/romans.html
• Christian Gays, http://christiangays.com/articles/anita8.shtml#
• Religious Tolerance, http://www.religioustolerance.org/homarsen.htm

Reason #3: Jesus advocated love and acceptance of all people.
This is more straight-forward. I think I will let the Gospel of Matthew do the talking. Matthew 22:36-40 says:

³⁶ “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
 ³⁷ Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

For more on this see:

• Soulforce, a beautiful and inspiring sermon by Rev. Mel White, http://www.soulforce.org/resources/mel-white-gay-christian-how-can-i-be-sure-god-loves-me/

* * * * *

All these things, combined with my own personal, affirming experience of the Holy Spirit, have convinced me that my sexuality and my faith are fully compatible. And, while my stance is a difficult one, I feel it is the only one I can take. My views have made me the target of some accusations, caused a lot of (respectful) arguments, and may cost me a few friendships in the future, but I can always rely on Jesus' love, and that is what keeps me strong.

2. ON THE GENDER CONSTRUCT

I'm in my final year of high school (five days of classes left; yay!) and the New South Wales curriculum has an Extension English course. There are a whole bunch of modules the teacher can choose from in it, and at my school we have studied the module 'Language and Gender'. It is fascinating.

We've looked at a bunch of gender theorists, like Deborah Tannen, Keith and Shuttleworth, Dale Spender and Robin Lackoff, all of whom point out language traits which they categorise as either masculine or feminine. Men's language and women's language. For example, Tannen says that women make requests while men give orders.

What really interested me, though, was a court room study done by O'Barr and Atkins. They found that the language that people used wasn't actually determined by their sex, but instead by their status. So, people with high status, like the judge, used 'masculine' language, even if they were a woman, and people with low status used 'feminine' language. O'Barr and Atkins re-named 'women's language' as 'powerless language'.

The conclusion that can be reached from this is that the differences between men's and women's language aren't determined by sex; they are socially and culturally imposed differences. Surely that's got to get us thinking - what other differences are imposed upon us? Is there actually any difference (other than physical difference) between men and women?


At this point I think a couple of definitions are in order. The most concise and clear definitions I've found are from Literary Terms: A Practical Glossary. It states:

"in the social sciences, researchers use the terms sex and gender to refer to different kinds of division.

• Sex is used to refer to biological difference, while
• gender is used to refer to social and cultural differences that are built upon sexual difference."

And that brings me to the point of the post; gender is a social construct. The sex we are born does not determine our gender - instead, society teaches us to behave in certain ways which they view as being appropriate for our sex.

I cannot see this as a good thing. It is the worst form of discrimination; people are brought up in a culture of gender inequality, and taught that it is simply because of some inherent or 'natural' difference. People are systematically conditioned to impose this discrimination upon themselves.

I hate the gender construct most of all because it is rampant in my life. I have made my fair share of jokes about men who are effeminate or women being butch, and I conform to a lot of the expectations society has for women. The gender construct affects almost every aspect of society, making it almost impossible to escape.

There is hope though. With the 'boys are good at maths, girls are good at English' myth slowly being destroyed, and transgender people being acknowledged in society I think people are starting to realise that they don't have to conform to the fallacious expectations which have been forced upon them from birth.

* * * * *

The most beautiful and intelligent exploration of the separation between sex and gender may be Virginia Woolf's Orlando. The novel is a mock-biography documenting the life of the character Orlando, whose sex spontaneously changes. The sex change, however, does not change anything about the inner person.

"Orlando had become a woman - there is no denying it. But in every other respect, Orlando remained precisely as he had been. The change of sex, though it altered their future, did nothing whatever to alter their identity."

Your biological sex has no power to define you unless you endow it with that power. The more aware we as a society become of our self inflicted limitations, the more able we become to fight what Soulforce's Director of Development, Haven Herrin, termed 'the gendermonster', and to find that (like all our other childhood monsters) it was just a figment of our imaginations.

1. ON THE BLOGGER

It seems a natural place to start for a few reasons:

1. A blog is, by nature, solipsistic and egocentric, so of course I will start with myself.
2. When I try to add to the 'About Me' I am met with an error, so I'll put it here for now, probably in greater detail than I would have otherwise.

I decided to start a blog because most people I know are tired of my tirades, and so creating this outlet for myself will spare them from having to listen to me. Also, I just love expressing myself, especially in a form which I can come back and edit later. I do, however, have a chronic fear of being recognised as the whiny teenager that I am, so I'm only going to update this blog when I have something worth writing.

A 'something worth writing' will probably be my opinion on an issue which falls under one or more of the following categories:

• literature
• gender
• sexuality
• Christianity
• philosophy
• politics

Well, that's all from me for now.
If anyone actually reads this blog; questions and comments are very welcome - now and always.