For some people, nontraditional sexuality and gender diffusion are spiritual aberrations. It is a “sin” to be queer in any way—all categories of LGBT are God-less or even God-defying. God has assigned us a gender and sexual orientation and any attempt to change this assignment is a declaration of war against God. The history of this spiritual/religious warfare is legendary and profoundly disturbing. Yet, the religious institutions and religious zealots have not controlled the dialogue about LGBTQ and gender diffusion, for there are just as many people and secular institutions that are aligned with a second assumptive world: being “queer” is a social deviation. These people aren’t “sinners”; rather, they are violators of the law and clearly wish to bring about the collapse of our current social order. We must all declare ourselves as “male” or “female”. If we refuse this categorization—if we insist on being gender neutral– then many social structures and regulations will be trampled.
Is it a matter of gender confusion? If this is the case, then we can readily diagnosis this problem as a “developmental Issue’ that can be treated with some counselling or therapy. However, what if it is a matter of gender diffusion or even indifference? What do we do about those people who want to live with a shifting sense of gender identity (“sometimes I feel like a man and sometimes like a woman and sometimes I feel like neither male or female”).
I am reminded of the powerful tale that Ursula LeGuin (2016) offers in The Left Hand of Darkness. She portrays a world in which gender can change from moment to moment and in which people spend most of their time in a state of neutrality (they are not always “in heat” as are we Earthlings who insist on always being male or female). This shifting stance is troubling to many members of our society, as is the third stance—which is an indifference to gender. It simply makes no difference. How is this possible in a world that requires us to be male or female and that has this distinction embedded in all aspects of life and culture (including language, clothing, and manners).
