Tag: Identity
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One of the first messages I encountered this morning asked, “Do you think people are ready for the coming world war?” I was somewhat taken aback. Wars are a persistent rumor in the United States; they always have been. Looking back across the past 250 years of US history, war is a dominant topic. So…
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Euphemisms are a part of our culture. For centuries, we’ve been finding ways to communicate without actually saying what we mean. Over 1,000 years ago, Northern Europeans used a word meaning “the brown one” in place of the word bear, because they feared that actually using the word might cause the bears to show up…
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Therapy used to be one of those forbidden topics that no one mentioned in polite conversations. That has changed. Now, chances are pretty high that in any group of four people, at least two have been in therapy and at least one probably still is. No one is considered “crazy” anymore for recognizing that they…
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Courage is not a word I would use to describe myself. In my head, courage defines people who fight battles against enormous odds. Courage is taking a stand when everyone else stays seated. Courage is finding the strength to do something others thought you couldn’t do. Those are the assumptions I’ve made all my life,…
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Gender autonomy may be the unsung hero in the war against authoritarianism. We don’t see it getting a lot of press at the moment, but that doesn’t mean the issue isn’t vital to unseating power structures that repress us all. Several people I know and love actively express their gender in terms other than what…
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Sexual identification is extremely important. More than just a label, sexual identity is personal. Older generations confirmed who they are around the age of 18. However, studies and polls show younger generations making that decision much sooner, anywhere between 12 and 14 years old. Complicating matters, especially for family and friends, is the fact that…
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Belonging and community are topics you’ll see me writing about often because those factors matter more than ever for people who have been marginalized and traumatized. Chances are, if you’re here, you’ve been challenged by others because of your lifestyle choices and sexual identity. Yet, we all look for a level of spiritual belonging somewhere.…