Transgendering Faith: Identity, Sexuality, And Spirituality

Rating:
Summary: A Contributor To The Text
Review: I responded to a request for submissions and as a result am included within this text (pp. 62-64, "The Phoenix Will Fly"). My personal identity is that of an FTM (female to male transsexual).
As an FTM, I've felt excluded from many organized religions on the basis of my gender identity. Many religions fail to understand just what identifying as transgendered or transsexual is and how importaint a sense of spirituality can be to individuals who identify as such. That is why I submitted a short commentary on my own personal inner struggle in chosing not to subvert one aspect of my identity for another (spirtuality/transsexualism).
I recognized other contributors from names I've encountered during my undergraduate studies on legal battles and social struggles for civil rights of gender variant individuals. Their stories were ones I could identify with or empathize with as a fellow transsexual, spiritual being, and on a human level. I felt this book's strength rests in those personal accounts.
I also felt the suggestions for various sermons and ceremonies inclusive of gender variant people ranged from empowering (ex. "Blessing A New Name" and "Ceremony For Family Acceptance and Reconciliation" pp. 139-143) to a tad cheesy (for lack of a better word).
Regardless of my personal feelings, spirituality for people in the Trans Community is importaint though sources regarding this topic are few and far between. "Transgendering Faith" breaks ground by opening discourses about gender variance within religious practices. It also gives readers a glimpse into the discrimination and innate need for community and spirituality gender variant people have.