Thursday 10 May 2012

Arguments Against Gay Marriage

With President Obama putting the subject of "Gay Marriage" firmly in the headlines again, I thought I'd look at some common arguments against it...
If God had intended gay couples to marry he would've created Adam and Steve not Adam and Eve.
I'm sorry, I thought the Christian belief was that we were ALL children of God?? So surely God did create Adam and Steve as well as Eve?? In which case, I'm sure He wouldn't have created any of His children with the intention of denying them the same privileges as the others. If He did, then I think He's an unfit parent and should be dissuaded from further procreation!
Same-sex relationships are "unnatural".
I thought Christian belief declared that mankind was "begat of God" and thus completely separate from nature?? In which case, no human relationship is "natural", so why discriminate against just the same-sex ones??
Same-sex relationships are "unhealthy".
I'm sorry, I fail to see the relevance. I know many a heterosexual couple who are unhealthy - particularly so in the USA - and, yet, they don't seem to have been discouraged from marriage?? Which is a shame considering the children some of them produce!
If we allow "Gay Marriage" then we may as well allow people to marry their pets!
Again, I repeat: Christian belief declares that mankind is "begat of God" and thus not part of the animal kingdom. So surely it follows that a pet - a creature of the animal kingdom that mankind is no part of (even gay ones) - is not equal to a person?? In which case, having the two distinct in law would seem a logical and fair thing to do. Wouldn't it?
Gay people should not be allowed to marry because they suffer a higher incidence of AIDS than heterosexual couples.
I'm not sure of the scientific basis of this argument but anyway... Christian marriage is supposed to be a monogomous affair. Thus whether a couple has AIDS or not is completely irrelevant because, if they're obeying the strict rules of Christian marriage, they won't be having sex with anyone else!
Same-sex marriages have adverse affects on the parties' children.
If this is true, then it applies to the children of all gay couples not just the married ones. However, I think you will agree that a couple who have committed to spending the rest of their lives together makes for a more stable upbringing than those that haven't. So, surely, allowing gay couples to marry would foster a better environment for their children not make it worse??
The children of same-sex marriages are apt to suffer stigma.
Children suffer stigma for all kinds of reasons - what class they come from, what disabilities they suffer from, what race they belong to, what religion they are, etc, etc, etc... and no one suggests we ban marriage for any of these reasons so why single out same-sex marriage?? Besides, the best way to counteract stigma is not to stigmatise people in the first place and that lies very much at our own doorsteps rather than anyone else's.

In conclusion then there seems no good reason to bar "Gay Marriage". So, as far as I'm concerned, the sooner this self-righteous protection of the privileged is done away with the better.

Tuesday 8 May 2012

It's The Economy, Stupid! (Not Gay Marriage or The House Of Lords)

An article in The Daily Mail suggests that David Cameron is backing down on proposals to bring in "gay marriage" and modernising The House Of Lords.
The reason why The Mail states the PM is doing this is because Tory MPs want him to concentrate on getting the economy sorted out instead of being "distracted" by unpopular policies.
And they're right... sort of!
Yes, of course the PM should get the economy sorted out but if The Daily Mail thinks the issues of "gay marriage" and The House Of Lords have somehow muddied the waters then...
  1. They only have themselves to blame
  2. Only the seriously cracked think the issues of "gay marriage" and The House Of Lords comes anywhere near rivalling the issue of the economy!
So The Daily Mail's argument becomes almost instantly redundant because...
  1. If The Daily Mail would stop plastering their pages with irrelevant issues and concentrate on those that matter to everybody in this land (instead of just a minority) then the waters would instantly become clearer!
  2. It's my understanding that the insane aren't allowed to vote so the opinions of the seriously cracked are of an irrelevance anyway!
And I have to say to those Tory MPs who refuse to back David Cameron on these issues that if you want to win the General Election by an actual majority next time then you need to win over the floating voters.
If you wish to do that then you need to appear friendly and trustworthy - not bigoted arseholes who protect the privileged classes at the expense of everyone else!
So amongst all these savage cuts to public spending why not try a few "touchy feely" policies like legalising "gay marriage" and modernising The House Of Lords?
Such policies may help soften your image from "The Nasty Party" to one that appears a little kinder and those who have found their lives adversely affected by your policies might then be a little more forgiving.
...which might just make a difference when it comes to being re-elected!

Sunday 6 May 2012

My Life As A Hormone Junkie: Week Three

Well, I guess the first thing to report is that there's nothing really to report. There are still no changes that I can pin down 100% to taking hormones.
The other thing to report is that I've decided to stop taking them. I'm not sure I'm ready for developing a female body or even if it's what I really want.
I find myself uncertain about what I do want though. I've spent a lot of this week running through my options and the option I seem happiest with is to stop taking the hormones. But whether that's a temporary or permanent thing only time will tell. I could very well start again tomorrow morning for all I know!
I guess I shall have to notify my GP if I do find this pause turning into something more permanent though...
A Day Later: And I'm back on the hormones!

Friday 4 May 2012

Finding My Voice

Since Thursday last week I've been working as a temp for a company called Amey.
As a new starter I was required to read their policies and discovered that they had one of the best diversity policies I've had the pleasure to read. This did not particularly surprise me as the people in my office have been really friendly and welcoming.
However, it did not seem to count for much as I struggled to find my "female voice" which prompted much soul searching: If I could do it on the telephone and in interviews (two more stressful circumstances I could not imagine!) why was I struggling so badly in such welcoming circumstances???
It wasn't even like I was trying to hide anything!
As part of my application I'd been required to submit my passport (which is still in my old identity) and, to comply with their drugs and medication policies, disclose that I was on hormones - both of which obviously outed me (not that I believed for one minute that everyone in the office hadn't already sussed it out anyway!).
And so it was that I was ready to throw in the towel yesterday. I'd lost faith in myself and was gonna go take a long walk off a short pier!
...but not until I'd gone to my singing lesson!!
So I walked in and my singing teacher asked how I was getting on and I gave her an honest answer. And so my teacher spent the first half of my lesson counselling me.
Obviously, I employ her as my singing teacher not as a counsellor and so it's to her credit that she put those duties to one side to listen to me and give me some sage advice.
So, where half an hour earlier I'd been ready to walk out on my life, I left my singing lesson ready to give it another go.
And this morning on my drive into work I was thinking of the best way to tell everyone I was trans when I started to wonder why it was so important to tell everyone I was trans??
Was them knowing I'm trans really what I wanted?
No. What I wanted was to stop worrying what people thought about me! And the only person who can make that happen is me!
So I went into work with that thought in my mind and, you know what, it paid off! I found my "female voice" more often than not and I stopped beating myself up when I didn't!
So the end result was that I finished work today far happier than I did yesterday! :-)

...You know, we people of the LGB&T community have kind of had it brainwashed into us that we must out ourselves otherwise we're being dishonest.
Well, today I realised this is too simplistic.
It is completely pointless outing yourself in the hope of avoiding a scene or having people think better of you. The purpose of outing ourselves should be to free ourselves of the worry of those things!

...So, having dwelt on it some more this evening, I hope I can have the same attitude towards my gender as I have towards my feet and legs.
After all, is my gender any less or more of a birth defect than my feet and legs? And, yet, I don't feel the need to tell people I have deformed legs and feet and worry that I am being deceitful if I don't tell them of this fact. I don't particularly care what people think about my legs and feet any more! They are what they are! They may have given me some life experiences others missed out on but they are not the be all and end all of all that I am! I am more than my feet and legs!!
And so, surely, it must be the same of my gender (and any other part of me)?? And thus follow that it would be better for me to get things in perspective and treat it as such??
Yes, I think that it would. :-)